The Most Reliable Parental Control App
FamiSafe lets parents control screen time, track real-time location and detect inappropriate content on kids' devices.
Since TikTok became famous, young people and kids have explored the platform’s different features and challenges. Due to this, many social media platforms have tried to include a similar feature in their space. Instagram released reels, Snapchat introduced spotlights, and YouTube created shorts. YouTube shorts app is a feature that allows users to create short videos not longer than 60 seconds on their mobile devices. YouTube shorts have grown over the years, and some common trends of YouTube shorts are exercise tips, dance challenges, pet videos, funny skits, and many more. Although many people would like one, there isn’t a YouTube Shorts app in the works.
Kids have been spending a lot of time on YouTube shorts, and parents are beginning to wonder about its dangers. If you’re a parent wondering if YouTube shorts are safe for kids, you’re not alone. In this article, we’ll be exploring the dangers of YouTube shorts to your kids and how you can protect them from them. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
Part 1: Safe Problem
Most of the time, YouTube Shorts might seem harmless, but it bears many risks to children and young people. To put it simply, YouTube Shorts is not a safe option for your kids. If you’re a parent with a kid under your roof, there’s a good chance that YouTube is a part of your family’s screen time and, by extension, YouTube Shorts. In this section, we’ll be exploring some of the dangers of YouTube Shorts for your kids and young people.
Anyone Can Use Videos
One of the dangers of letting your kids watch and upload YouTube Shorts is that there’s no privacy whatsoever. If your kid uploads a YouTube Shorts video, anyone can view and use it. Strangers could also attempt to use this medium to interact with your kids as their YouTube profile will appear when people watch the video.
Whether negative or positive, any type of comment can lead to many problems for your kid. Like many others, your child can become obsessed with feedback and distort their sense of self-worth. The bullying also occurs in the comment section, irrespective of how lovely the comments are. It could affect the kid’s confidence and well-being. Additionally, it opens your child up to dangerous comments.
The Need for Fame
Another reason YouTube Shorts are dangerous for your kid is the need for popularity with YouTube shorts. Kids are quickly drawn into trends because of the attraction of being famous. Due to this, your kid might attempt some fame-seeking tactics like engaging with strangers on the app, sharing personal information to connect with their fan, or wearing revealing outfits. In addition, they could also join insane trends like dance challenges with insane moves that might put them in danger of getting hurt.
It is Addictive
Another reason why YouTube shorts are not safe for your kid is how addictive it is. Most people believe that since it is short, it won’t consume much time, but watching shorts might lead you to more screen time than watching YouTube long videos. It might encourage more screen time with your kid and draw attention from important activities like reading and more.
Inappropriate Content
There are several harmful and inappropriate content continually popping up on YouTube Shorts. Although there are several fun videos to be found on YouTube Shorts, you can’t control the content that pops up when you’re on the feed, and therefore, something inappropriate might be the next video your child slides up to. Your child can jump from a harmless video to one with adult content the next minute. It can be pretty difficult to monitor the content on YouTube Shorts. Therefore, inappropriate content is one of the reasons the YouTube Shorts app is not safe for kids.
It Could Affect Their Development
Although there is educational content on YouTube Shorts, not all your kids are exposed to it. Sometimes, watching YouTube Shorts can affect your child’s language development. Additionally, the shortness of the seemingly educational clips might make it difficult for your kid to understand the content fully. There is a connection between poor pulse control and more prolonged use of low-quality media.
Part 2: Kids May Spend Too Much Time And Attention On It
Digital addiction is a controversial topic, but there are several indications that it is genuine and is a danger parents have to fear when their kids watch YouTube Short videos. One common feature with YouTube Shorts and YouTube Long videos is that it causes your child to pay more attention and time to them. However, many would argue that YouTube Shorts are more addictive. Compulsive YouTube Shorts consumption can play a role in the mental breakdown of your kid.
Digital addiction is a controversial topic, but there are several indications that it is genuine and is a danger parents have to fear when their kids watch YouTube Short videos. One common feature with YouTube Shorts and YouTube Long videos is that it causes your child to pay more attention and time to them. However, many would argue that YouTube Shorts are more addictive. Compulsive YouTube Shorts consumption can play a role in the mental breakdown of your kid.
YouTube Shorts videos are great for providing your audience with quick, easy-to-digest information. YouTube short videos are like TikTok videos. They are not more than 60 seconds in length, and they usually appear in the short videos and stories category of YouTube watch pages.
YouTube Shorts is designed to be addictive with its algorithm working to ensure that you stay on the platform longer than you planned. On the other hand, YouTube long videos are more educational and easier to control. They have a longer watch time and require exciting content to keep users engaged. Another difference between the long and short videos on YouTube is the control over the next video that pops up. YouTube longer videos provide you suggestions of similar content, but users usually have to click on a video before it starts playing.
That’s not the case with YouTube shorts, as a new video automatically pops up when one video finishes. This could lead your child down an endless path of watching several short videos, increasing their screen time. Children could stare at the screen for hours instead of socializing or doing homework. This could also affect their sleeping time, especially if your kids watch YouTube shorts right before bedtime. If your kids go to bed with devices in their room, they’re sure to have fewer minutes of sleep each night compared to kids who sleep without mobile devices in their room.
Part 3: How to Stop Kids From Using YouTube Shorts?
There is too much information online for kids to access, and YouTube Shorts don’t make it better. Millions of short videos get uploaded on YouTube each day, and there’s a need to take some measures to ensure your kid doesn’t get exposed to inappropriate content on YouTube shorts.
Method 1YouTube Kids.
YouTube is a vast and diverse site, and one of the ways you can stop your kid from using YouTube Shorts is with YouTube Kids. Many parents found that YouTube Kids is a safer option for their children as it is family-friendly. Parents can set a timer for their children on YouTube Kids, determining how long their kids spend on the platform. You can also suspend the search button when you use YouTube Kids.
That’s not all the features that parents enjoy when introducing their kids to YouTube Shorts. It also has no interactive features, so your kids can’t chat or upload videos on the platform. Parents can also block some videos, informing the YouTube algorithm of the videos you don’t want to view. The YouTube Kids app is available for iOS and Andriod devices
Method 2Restricted mod
Another way you can protect your kids is through restricted mode. You can use YouTube restricted mode for videos that you find to contain questionable content you don’t want your kid to watch. It uses signals like description, metadata, video title, community guidelines review, and more to filter content. Most times, YouTube automatically enables YouTube restricted mode, and you have to be up to 18 years to disable it. As a parent, you can turn on restricted mode for your children following the steps below.
• Launch YouTube on your mobile device and select your profile icon located at the top right corner.
• In the accounts menu, click the ‘settings’ option and choose the ‘General’ option.
• On this page, tap the ‘restricted mode’ slider.
If the slider is gray, it is an indication that the mode is disabled. However, if it is blue, the mode is enabled and applied to your device settings.
Method 3Parental Control Apps
It’s easy to hand over your tablet or phone to your kids. Therefore, you should always ensure that YouTube Parental Control is enabled. Parental control allows you to determine if your kids can search videos or not. You can also choose trusted channels and add them to your collection channels, limiting what your children can view and what they can’t. YouTube Parental Control allows you to create profiles for your kids if you have more than one, including their age. You can also set up the search option for each profile and set up the passcodes for each mail. If you have specific YouTube videos you want to restrict, you can also block them for each video. The amazing part is that you can also use the data of this video to prevent similar videos from popping up while your kid is watching YouTube shorts. Timers are also crucial as they determine how long your child can spend on YouTube Shorts app. Once the time expires, they have to stop viewing.
Here is the video conveying online safety tips for kids.
FAQ
Do you get paid for YouTube Shorts?
Yes, you can get paid for YouTube Shorts. However, your video has to first qualify for the Shorts funds. The engagement and viewership of your YouTube Shorts video determine the payment you’ll receive. Eligible channels could receive from $100-$10,000.
How to Watch YouTube Shorts on PC?
There are three different ways you can watch YouTube Shorts on PC. You can search for #Shorts on the YouTube search bar or simply type in YouTube.com/hashtag/shorts to be able to watch short videos. You can also search for YouTube Short videos from a particular creator by searching #shorts + (creator name).
Wondershare Famisafe
FamiSafe lets parents control screen time, track real-time location and detect inappropriate content on kids' devices.
