Lockdowns led many parents to allow their children to go online far more than they might have chosen to. It was a way for children to connect with their friends during this isolating time. But this may have accelerated internet uptake among primary aged children and set a trend for their younger siblings to join at ever younger ages.It’s a new frontier of friendship which those of us who ‘grew up in analog’ can find it hard to understand. But it isn’t going anywhere and the best thing for us to do is to understand it. Attempting an outright ban is unlikely to be successful and will create secretive behaviours that will do more harm than good in the long run. Openly discussing online activities with children making informed decisions that give them a reasonable level of privacy is a strategy for success.
YouTube is often the first social network that children engage with. It might appear to just be a video viewing platform, but the comments section below each piece of content invites viewers of all ages to leave their thoughts out for public consumption - making it a social network. This is where children start to create their ‘digital footprint’ - and as such, needs to be monitored by parents.
In this article, we’re looking at YouTube and the measures you can take as parents to protect primary school aged children and encourage digitally aware decisions.
According to Ofcom’s latest statistics, nearly all children (99%) went online in 2021, with YouTube and TikTok the two most popular activities. 89% of children aged 3-17 used YouTube.
A majority of children under 13 had their own profile on at least one social media app or site; a surprisingly high 33% of parents of 5-7s said their child had a profile, and 60% of 8-11s said they had one, despite being under the minimum age.
One third of children aged 8-11 had profiles on YouTube (27%) and TikTok (34%). Among those who had a profile but were under the minimum age (ie aged 3-12), significant minorities of the younger children claimed to have set up their social media profiles themselves.
Only 42% of parents of children aged 3-17 knew the minimum age for social media is 13 and 38% of parents of 8-11 year olds said they would let their child use social media.
Because all the content is created and uploaded by its users rather than the platform, there are very few ways to stop your children seeing inappropriate or upsetting content such as the Momo Challenge. They aren’t old enough to process this scary content and it can lead them to feeling anxious or depressed, especially when they are absorbing it all alone.
Children might be watching an innocuous video about baking one minute and then skip over to a violent or graphic video without meaning to. It’s impossible to ‘unsee’ this content.
YouTube viewers are fed advert after advert while they browse. ‘Unboxing’ videos are just as damaging, leading to feelings of missing out and wanting merchandise which they can’t have, which will leave them feeling hard done by.
It’s addictive when one video instantly takes you to the next and the next and the next. Without strict rules or parental guidance in place, you can’t blame a child for being sucked in to the timewarp.
Meeting strangers online is as dangerous as meeting them in real life. Children might be vulnerable to grooming and sexual abuse online.
The best way is to sit down without your child and create your own profile in the app, explore it and check that you’re happy with what you see. Delve into the privacy and security settings to work out what information might be shared and what can be blocked. Then play it with your child to see how they use it before agreeing.
Classlist is a private, safe social network where parents can communicate with others at their school only. It’s a moderated and polite online space where friendships can flourish and parents can help each other.