YouTube tries to bridge the gap between the dedicated Kids app and regular YouTube for parents of tweens and teens.
YouTube announced On Wednesday, it will launch a new “supervised” beta experience that will introduce additional features and settings for regulating the types of content older children can access on the platform. Content is limited based on the selection of one of the three categories. Explore introduces videos suitable for ages 9 and up, Explore more puts them in a category with videos for kids 13 and older, and Most of YouTube shows them almost everything except age restrictions and subjects that may be sensitive to non-adults.
YouTube says it will use a combination of machine learning, human assessment and user input to research content – a system that does worked spectacularly for YouTube in the past. Seemingly trying to get ahead of the problems that will ensue broken moderation systemthe announcement blog stated that YouTube knows “our systems will make mistakes and continue to evolve over time”.
Obviously, any tool that tries to filter inappropriate content on YouTube is welcome and necessary. But guardians can’t rely on YouTube alone to take the wheel and guide their children’s experience. We have seen how well that worked in the past via YouTube’s dedicated Kids app, which isn’t great.
Part of the problem is that, like that of other social media giants, the YouTube platform is just too big to moderate enough. A wrong turn can give your child one rabbit hole of conspiracies whether they were looking for them or not. And if we’re honest, teens and tweens are likely to find a way to watch any content, no matter how kid-safe the home computer is.
G / O Media can receive a commission
That said, creating a middle ground between YouTube Kids and the chaos of normal YouTube is a thing. Just don’t count on a perfect moderation system. Even YouTube says it.