Top line
YouTube announced Thursday that it was limiting the frequency with which videos related to topics such as body weight and social aggression were recommended to teenage users in the United States, amid a growing number of lawsuits against social media platforms, including the Google-owned platform, alleging that they contribute to adolescent behavior. mental health crisis.
Highlights
YouTube and its Youth and Family Advisory Committee have identified categories of videos that could be problematic for some teens if viewed repeatedly, it said in a blog post.
The content includes videos that compare and idealize certain physical characteristics and body weights, or show social aggression which it defines as non-contact fighting and bullying, the blog says.
The platform is limiting how often teen users receive recommended videos related to these topics in the United States starting Thursday, and will add other countries over the next year, YouTube said.
YouTube was sued alongside other social media platforms by at least three school districts, including Seattle Public Schools, which said the platforms were causing a mental health crisis among young people, making it difficult for schools to fulfill their educational mission, CNN reported.
In 2018, mental health experts warned that inappropriate content slipping through the cracks of YouTube’s moderation process was contributing to anxiety and inappropriate sexual behavior among young children, CNBC reported.
YouTube said in its announcement that it was advised by independent experts from academia, nonprofits and clinics on how online content can impact teen well-being.
Key context
In 2018, YouTube launched its Youth and Families Advisory Board to learn more about adolescent development and how teens can be affected by what they see online. Allison Briscoe-Smith, a committee member who is a clinician and researcher, said in a YouTube blog post that frequently seeing content idealizing unhealthy norms or behaviors can emphasize potentially problematic messages and these messages can have a impact on the way some adolescents perceive themselves. In its lawsuit against YouTube and other social media platforms, the Howard County, Maryland, public school system accused the platforms of being addictive and dangerous, and said they had redesigned the way young people think, feel and behave. YouTube said in its blog that it continues to enforce its community guidelines to remove content that violates its policies on child safety, eating disorders, hate speech and harassment. YouTube is also updating its Take a Break and Bedtime reminders to be displayed more clearly and frequently since those features launched in 2018, and is expanding its crisis resource panels so users can browse emergency topics. helps if they are looking for content related to suicide and self-harm. A YouTube spokesperson said Forbes the mental health of adolescents and young viewers is a constant priority for the platform.
Tangent
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, was sued last week by a group of 33 states for allegedly targeting children with addictive characteristics and encouraging harmful behavior.
Large number
95%. That’s the percentage of teens who reported using YouTube in a 2022 survey by the Pew Research Center.
Contra
The US Surgeon Generals’ advisory on social media and youth mental health for 2023 said that data shows that social media may have benefits for some children and adolescents, but that there is some evidence that it may also present a significant risk of harm to mental health and well-being. children and adolescents.
Further reading
“It’s life or death: the mental health crisis among American adolescents (New York Times)
The Truth About Teens, Social Media, and the Mental Health Crisis (NPR)
Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Send me a secure tip.
#YouTube #announces #limits #videos #recommended #teens #experiencing #mental #health #crisis
Image Source : www.forbes.com