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YouTube has become the world's nanny

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Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#371

Post by BillyTheMage »

browningstreet wrote: post #362
TeMPOraL wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was that a "no screens after N pm" or a "screens only between N pm and bedtime" rule? I can imagine the latter working well, but we never tried because we're worried about screen exposure close to bed time causing sleep issues (blue light, but also because content on screens seems to excite and energize kids somewhat) - we're already having way too much problem getting kids to sleep on a sensible schedule.

The latter -- and getting to sleep on a regular schedule wasn't really a challenge in my situation. We did consistently start it at a certain hour, though.. so it would be, say, 7pm to 830pm and then start the bedtime rituals.

Would you change your rules if your kids showed interest in developing actual computer skills? My parents had rules similar to yours and wouldn't budge, and it effectively killed a decade of potential programming experience. I still resent them for it to a point, but I realize they were just ignorant and thought learning to program was equivalent to playing, because I was at the age they thought I was supposed to be playing.

Just... try to avoid making your kids be something they're not, in general.

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#373

Post by yamtaddle »

HTTP418 wrote: post #367
yamtaddle wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You really do have to do this if you want your kids to be able to pick what they're watching without you right there all the time. If only all these video services would just let parents add content to allow-lists for kids' accounts. But no. It's literally all we need , but they won't do it. [EDIT] Incidentally, Jellyfin doesn't have an allow-list, either. You have to put kids' content in a separate library. They hav…

There is an easy solution to this. Make 2 folders. One with stuff for you, one for stuff for kids. Make an account for the kids that can only see kids folder. Make an account for yourself that can see BOTH folders. Isn't stuff like this normal for plex/jellyfin/kodi? Before these media servers I used to organize everything based on genre and if I liked the video or not (watch using vlc)

It works, but it's worse than a tag-based allow-list.

With tags you don't need to shell or sftp in to move things around.

You never have to wonder which library something is in ("wait, did I put Star Wars in the kids' library...?") which, admittedly, matters more for some Jellyfin clients than others (the natural way to browse in the web UI or on Roku is by library—the natural way to browse on my 3rd party tvOS client is by type, which browses across libraries, i.e. movie, TV, et c., so it matters less on there).

Since it's easier to make changes, you can swap material in and out on a whim, from any device with a web browser.

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#374

Post by BillyTheMage »

HlessClaudesman wrote: post #359
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And you'll have to remember that curating content won't be possible forever. At some point they will be alone with an unlocked device and the internet, probably much sooner than you're comfortable with. We've got filters set up at home; they worked fine for a while, but teenagers are easily impressed and soon we had to add stock photo websites to these filters. Then there's free VPN services, going around the (consum…

Thanks for this reminder. I am dreading that first flight into the unrestricted internet, but I guess I had better get my head around it.

Maybe try to actually prepare your kids for these moments instead of trying to restrict them so hard. Teach them how to use a computer for real, instead of sitting them down at a hyper-restricted one for an hour a week.

Would you let your kids get a driver's license without teaching them the rules of road safety? Would you let your kids cook without telling them the stove is hot and will hurt them? Do your kids know not to let random people in the house?

Or do you just helicopter them so they never experience danger?

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#375

Post by mrsubletbot »

wnolens wrote: post #277
swimf wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never admitted this online but screw it. I've been a drug user for about 2/3 my live. Battled with prescription pills the longest.. managed to kick the habit with meth. YouTube is as addictive as anything i just mentioned. More so if you're in a group testing future services in return for an "ad free" experience (you know the ones which claim to"improve Google services"). Everything else everyone has said is tru…

Thanks for that comparison. I have never truly experienced addiction without losing self control for whatever reason. I can start and stop smoking, drugs never took a hold. I feel the pull for sure, but am able to stop. But I lose several hours a day to YouTube. Ever since Shorts made their way into my life, I start and end most days with an hour of watching bullshit I don't even like. And before I open it I tell mys…

I was in the same exact boat as you. If you have uBlock origin, you can add these custom filters to remove shorts: https://ronangelo.com/how-to-hide-shorts-videos-on-youtube/

I have not missed them one bit, nor had any desire to unblock them. Like you, I would mindlessly watch them in between tasks at work, and felt duller and worse for it every time my little binge ended. I also got a dumbphone, which I honestly love.

Good luck to you and kudos for caring about your health!

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#376

Post by BillyTheMage »

fma wrote: post #196
vermote wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any recommendations on good pedagogical content channels/playlists on youtube?

Piggybacking off this, is there a way to allow only certain channels. Unless i missed it, even on YouTube kids I only have the option to block...and to my horror one day I let my kids watch the Peppa Pig official channel and find out later through YouTube recommendations they were watching some grown man playing with Peppa Pig toys. Also, my eldest is 6 and already knows you can get to YouTube via browser -__-

"Also, my eldest is 6 and already knows you can get to YouTube via browser"

That's a good thing, they won't be completely ignorant with computers. You need to teach them how to be safe, not keep them away from it.

These hyper-restrictive measures are the equivalent of the D.A.R.E program. They will ultimately harm your kids more than any good they could do.

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#377

Post by BillyTheMage »

It makes me sick to see all the people who think the answer is to keep their kids away from computers or restrict screen time to a ridiculous degree. That's a real good way to leave your kid ignorant and defenseless when they inevitably escape your prison.

Not only that, you're making sure a kid who might have had an interest in programming or something never develops that interest, or if they do they'll resent you for holding them back.

I agree you shouldn't plop your kids down in front of YouTube and say "here you go". You need to teach your kids to be safe with computers. Failing to do that is neglect at this point in history. You'd be crazy if you never told your kid not to run out in the road or put their hand on a stove. And you'd be crazy if you didn't teach your kids to use computers the right way.

Stop letting your kids be ignorant.

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#378

Post by touisteur »

kibwen wrote: post #269
ulrikrasmussen wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We used YouTube for a few months with our first kid but we stopped again because you quickly end up in a rabbit hole where it mostly recommends videos that look weirdly auto-generated, are devoid of any meaningful content and have an uncanny pacifying effect on children - exactly like the surprise egg videos you linked to. We were the ones controlling the app, but the kid quickly learns to recognize the bright thumbn…

> I really don't think watching this kind of brain-melting content is healthy for anyone. I spent two hours yesterday transfixed by the AI-generated Infinite Seinfeld stream. Afterward I felt the mental equivalent of the feeling you get after eating an entire tray of cookies in a single sitting. This algorithmic crap is brain poison.

I'm guessing the meta thing we're going to have to become robust to (after 'the system is trying to sell you things you don't want/need' and 'the system is trying to make you feel bad about yourself', 'the system is trying to make you believe that you are more clever than everyone for discovering a cabal', 'the system is trying to get you angry for engagement', 'the system is trying to have you invest in a thing you'll have to pay exponentially to keep enjoying at all') is going to be 'the system is trying to engage you in getting you to watch predictable things'.

So many horrible human tech we're teaching our kids to harden against, how powerless is our society that this constant violence is accepted.

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#379

Post by BillyTheMage »

878654Tom wrote: post #66
blitzar wrote: post #60

To my grandparents / great grandparents generation at the time (70/80's) TV has become the world's nanny would have generated all the same comments as this. If you watched tv - the idiotbox - for more than 15 minutes your eyes would go square.

That is simply not true, with television you also had the panic of "brain rot" but at least you could still trust public television networks with not showing dubious content. Youtube for kids seems to be a rabbithole place where you end up with "Spiderman kisses Anna", very obvious advertisements or very trippy shows while on public television you had kid shows with educative touch on them (a visit to the forest, chi…

"That is simply not true, with television you also had the panic of "brain rot" but at least you could still trust public television networks with not showing dubious content."

No you couldn't. TV has always been used for nefarious purposes, especially political.

Re: YouTube has become the world's nanny

#380

Post by PebblesRox »

scld wrote: post #265
HlessClaudesman wrote: post #59

As a parent, screen time vs no screen time is a fine line that we have to continually renegotiate. Screens can be great, there is so much good information out there that can enrich our lives. I wouldn't go the "no screens ever" route because that's just being a luddite, robbing them of the change to experience, and acquire expertise in, the digital world that they will be interacting with for the rest of their lives.…

As far as educational screentime goes, my child has learned addition, subtraction, and multiplication purely from Number Blocks. To the point where we have to do supplemental learning because the fellow kindergarteners are just learning numbers and letters.

Numberblocks is such a good show! We made an exception to our no-cartoons policy for this one and I don't regret it.
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