YouTube is introducing new safeguards to protect teen mental health as the role of big tech companies in the youth mental health crisis comes to the forefront of public discussion. YouTube will limit the number of times teenagers receive repeated video recommendations about sensitive topics like body image.
YouTube will limit the number of times teenagers receive repeated video recommendations about sensitive topics like body image.
The Google-owned video streaming platform announced Thursday that it has created additional safeguards for content recommendations for teens, focusing on content that compares physical features and idealizes some types over others, idealizes specific fitness levels or body weights, or displays social aggression in the form of non-contact fights and intimidation.
Such content can be harmless as a single video, but it could be problematic if teens watched them repeatedly, according to the company’s Youth and Families Advisory Committee, a group of independent experts in child development, digital learning, children’s media, and more from academic, nonprofit, and clinical backgrounds.
Increased exposure to content that promotes unhealthy norms or behaviors can highlight potentially harmful messages, which may have an effect on how some teenagers view themselves. As teenagers naturally assess how they want to appear in the world and compare themselves to others, guardrails can help them maintain healthy patterns, according to Allison Briscoe-Smith, a clinician, researcher, and Committee member, in a press release.
YouTube has already begun to limit repeated recommendations related to those topics for teenagers in the United States. According to a company statement, this will be expanded to more countries over the next year.
YouTube’s new safeguards arrive at a time when social media companies’ actions are being scrutinized for their impact on children’s mental health.
Several states in the United States sued Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, in October, accusing it of contributing to the youth mental health crisis due to the addictive nature of the social media platform.
The attorneys general of 33 states, including California and New York, charged Meta with repeatedly misleading the public about the dangers of its platform and knowingly inducing young children and teenagers into addictive social media use.
Given Below are Some Adaptive Features of YouTube |
Follow and Connect with us on
Facebook | Instagram | Linkedin | Dribbble | Twitter | Tumblr | Pinterest
