11–20 of 403 posts
Why not just take ur kids on a hike on the weekend or read some books? Both are free (parks and libraries) and better than burning your kid’s eyeballs. Update: nobody wants to put in effort. No surprise there, poor kids :(
Because I can't fit a 3 hour hike in the car ride to school.
Perfect example of declining critical thinking and reading comprehension.
YouTube is terrifying. Ever since I read about people faking up Peppa Pig episodes with inappropriate content, I keep my two kids (3yr and 7yr) away from it. Edit: „Elsagate“ seems to be the appropriate term. https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-39381889.amp
I like Youtube, there is content of tremendous value, for knowledge and entertainment.
However, one thing I’ve personally observed is that too much of it can destroy your focus and motivation. There is some science in there about brain chemistry and reward systems, in line with what some pop scientists with Cal Newport and Andrew Huberman are preaching.
I don’t know the details of said science, and I don’t feel like I need to, because my own experience and observations have cemented a strong belief that an excessive usage of the proverbial bottomless digital wells (be it Youtube or other usual suspects) have deleterious effects on focus, motivation, and happiness.
I can only imagine the effects on the developing brain. But again, I don’t know the science so maybe the answer is “a kid’s brain is so malleable that there is nothing to worry about”. Wouldn’t that be convenient for big tech?
Well I for one, am not going to take risks. If I ever have kids I am not going to deprive them of watching a bit of Youtube or playing Mario. But there are going to be some serious authoritarian vibes around time limits and sequencing (ie, only after you’ve fulfilled your obligations)
Nope, nope nope. My kid is 10 and still doesn't know a single Youtuber by name and doesn't really watch Youtube. We did try Youtube Kids at one point, but it was just 99% toy ads masquerading as authentic content. Netflix has a pretty good age limiter and well produced TV-shows. Disney+ has Bluey and a ton of other content. AppleTV+ has a few good ones too, but not as much as the two big ones. Paying the few coins fo…
Authentic curiosity - does your child not go to a normal school? In my experience you can literally detach your home from the internet and live without electricity, but the second your kids go to school they instantly know all the latest fads and videos and what not. To make it to 10 without being at least somewhat familiar with youtube through that exposure seems....almost impossible?
What does he watch? Things like....
* 40-50 year old Russian language cartoons, to help with his language learning.
* Quite a few British shows like Edwardian Farm[1], Victorian Farm[2] and Wartime Farm. Pretty educational stuff.
* Documentaries about stuff he's interested in. At one point it was Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory, another time it was the Cutty Sark[3]. He went through a real tall ships period. We followed this up last summer by visiting both the Victory in Portsmouth and the Cutty Sark in London. It was amazing the way he was able to point things out on the real ships, because he'd watched the documentaries.
* Ski racing. He's mad for it. Races himself on weekends and obsesses with who is winning the World Cup races. Mikaela Shiffrin hitting the record was a big moment.
We never see any adverts on there. I don't know why, maybe something to do with a combination of uBlock Origin and Linux.
We do have a Netflix subscription, because I enjoy watching a few shows on there, but we've never watched anything in the Kids section, because it's 95% crap.
So from our perspective, YouTube is quite a reasonable educational tool, when used under supervision and in moderation.
Edit: I forgot the Australian stuff we watch together! Bush Tucker Man[4] and Fishing the Wild[5] are two worth mentioning.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwardian_Farm
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_Farm
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutty_Sark
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcsZHOD9P8E&list=PL7HSPnTFVA...
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1xGBPQlH_A&list=PLvP8XBCt3L...
Why not just take ur kids on a hike on the weekend or read some books? Both are free (parks and libraries) and better than burning your kid’s eyeballs. Update: nobody wants to put in effort. No surprise there, poor kids :(
This is not mutually exclusive with youtube time. Even if you spend a lot of time outside and read for full hour every day, you wont do these things all the time. Partly because it would drive you crazy and you need to rest too and partly because you need to cook, clean, take shower etc.
I haven't banned YouTube (yet), but I have limited it almost completely due to concerns about the long-term effects of extended use from such an early age. Those concerns will only deepen as my son gets older - there's a lot of good content on YouTube but it's sitting under a mountain of mindless, click-bait, influencer drivel.
If you don't want your kids pacified their entire lives, make sure you're not pacified yourself first.