Sometimes, our brains store utterly unimportant childhood moments in our long-term memory, causing us to wonder, Why do I even remember that? Well, one of mine involves the first time I heard about YouTube.
It was 2008, and I was in third grade. As my classmates and I were leaving gym class, a friend of mine told me that there was a video on YouTube I just had to see: a FilmCow video titled Charlie the Unicorn, wherein a couple of multicolored unicorns harass their cynical friend to visit the mythical Candy Mountain.20 (Prospective viewers should note that the video and the series that followed involve a bit of violence, swearing, and nonsensical humor.)
I went home that day and watched the video. And before I knew it, a flood of other early viral videos and channels began to take up my time. Videos like Charlie Bit My Finger, David after Dentist, and Double Rainbow provided our family with a steady supply of quotes for years to come.
As the video-sharing website began to grow in popularity, so, too, did its first stars. Names of YouTubers and channels began to circulate as commonly as celebrity icons did: Fred, Smosh, PewDiePie, nigahiga, Jenna Marbles, Annoying Orange. YouTube added the ability to “like” and comment on videos, incentivizing more people to visit the website. As the site experimented with advertisements, top creators were paid in ad revenue for bringing in views and clicks, causing others to start creating content too. Some creators even began getting paid enough to justify working as YouTubers fulltime, making videos more frequently and enhancing quality. YouTubers with more views were even able to gain sponsorships, justify selling personalized merchandise, and hire teams to edit and manage their content.
All this growth set the stage for YouTube’s domination of social media. As the site’s selection of content grew, more and more users found videos that appealed to them. And as the number of creators increased, people were more likely to find YouTubers they enjoyed watching.
Those two factors—selection of content and the charisma of creators— made YouTube a momentous force in both the entertainment and the social media industries. (We’ll talk about those factors in more detail in the next section.) Because of the large variety of videos and creators, YouTube allows its users to not only find the exact niche that tickles their fancy but also the charismatic video creators who focus on making those niche videos. On YouTube, users can search for content as niche as “marble run” or “garage sale pickers” and find dozens of channels that exist entirely to make videos about those topics. Few other streaming services can compete with that level of specificity.
YouTube isn’t going anywhere. In fact, by many measures it’s the most important entertainment option for kids, and only seems to be growing. With that in mind, what should we know about YouTube? And what kind of impact can it have on us and our children?
The Website of Everything
First, let’s talk about how YouTube’s large selection of videos has propelled it to prominence. As of August 2022, YouTube boasted the second- most traffic of any site on the internet (second only to Google Search, which, as a browser, gains a portion of its traffic from people using it to access YouTube). To give you a reference point for that statistic, the most visited streaming service, Netflix, came in seventeenth. Furthermore, as of 2019, YouTube’s most popular channels (nearly forty-four thousand of them with at least two hundred fifty thousand subscribers) account for at least fourteen billion views each week alone.21
When we see numbers like these, it’s not hard to understand how YouTube’s appeal comes from its vast assortment of content. Think of it this way: If Hulu had every show you’ve ever loved on every topic you’ve ever cared to watch, it would be hard to justify spending time on any other streaming service. When it comes to YouTube’s charms, the choice for many is simple: either spend an hour searching for something on a streaming service that might not be that good and requires a dedicated time commitment or view the newest weekly ten-minute upload from your favorite YouTuber on a topic you almost always enjoy.
Still don’t believe that YouTube has a channel out there that appeals to your interests? Consider these statistics: According to Statista, as of 2022, YouTube reported that more than five hundred hours’ worth of video content was uploaded to the site every minute. 22 These videos spanned hundreds of genres and topics—beauty tips, cooking, gaming, history, how-tos, music, news, pranks, product reviews, politics, religion, science, sports, technology, vehicles and much, much more (video games, vehicles, and food-centric videos were the most viewed videos of all subjects).23 There’s even an entire YouTube community based on building aquariums. If you can think of a subject, there’s more than likely at least one video on the topic.
While this can mean that your boring day can be filled with a few interesting videos to help pass the time, it also means that your family could stumble upon myriad videos that are inappropriate for them. Though YouTube age-restricts videos containing adult themes such as violence, sensual images, and heavy swearing (which means that users under eighteen or those without an official account cannot view them), it’s still quite easy to bypass this restriction. Users can simply create a new YouTube account and lie about their age, for instance.
Inappropriate content can still land right in your child’s lap. With so much new content uploading to the site every second, how could it not? And no filter will screen for issues that might be big problems for your family.
Videos may discuss topics inappropriate for your kids or contain ideas that are antithetical to your family’s beliefs. They can be full of foul language. Though nudity technically isn’t allowed on YouTube, some videos include it anyway, and clothing that leaves nothing to the imagination is pretty common. Other videos may contain gore or frightening imagery, such as uploaded clips of horror movies.
YouTube’s mission is to “give everyone a voice and show them the world.”24 The website certainly been able to accomplish that. In fact, it’s is so chock-full of videos that if you were to begin watching from birth and not stop until death, you’d barely make a dent. This also means that problematic videos and channels might slip past your radar undetected for your kids to discover. We’ll talk about how to protect your children from inappropriate content on YouTube in a moment, but first let’s investigate another factor that has contributed to YouTube’s enormous success.
YouTubers and Identity
The second (and arguably more influential) factor that has boosted YouTube’s popularity over the years is the thousands upon thousands of people who create YouTube content.
But before we dive into that topic, let’s first set the scene. Do you wonder whether Plugged In is just wasting time writing reviews for YouTube channels? How many kids actually use YouTube? Well, according to many reports, the answer is a resounding lots—more than any other social media site by far.
For instance, in a 2022 survey, the Pew Research Center found that 95 percent of US teens had used the site.25 The next highest- ranking social media outlets— TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat— saw significantly less usage among teens: 67 percent, 62 percent, and 59 percent, respectively. And of the teens who used YouTube, a respectable- yet- concerning one in five of them reported that they visited the site or its app “almost constantly.” Seventy- seven percent said they used the website daily.
Common Sense Media found similar results in 2021, reporting that 64 percent of “tweens” and 77 percent of teens reported daily online video consumption. With 95 percent of teens choosing YouTube as their preferred video platform, it’s easy to see which website these kids are flocking to each day. The Common Sense Media survey also found that nearly one in three wouldn’t want to live without YouTube.26
When children hop onto YouTube, they’re not just doing it to find videos on their favorite topics or personal hobbies. They’re also using it to connect with the content creators. A Think with Google analysis reported that 70 percent of teenage YouTube subscribers “relate to YouTube creators more than traditional celebrities.”27 Additionally, the United Kingdom’s communications regulator Ofcom found that 46 percent of thirteen- to- seventeen- year- olds used “influencers” to help them feel happy, and 41 percent used them to relax.28
So what’s the concern about charismatic YouTubers? Well, it’s that children are building bonds with online personalities they don’t really know who may not be good influences on them. These connections often go beyond casual online relationships. As one research article noted, “Not only did tweens want to be like their favorite YouTuber, they also reported experiencing feelings of friendship.” In fact, they even followed their favorite YouTubers “across social media platforms other than YouTube.”29 That might not seem like a concern, especially if the YouTuber is someone you approve of. But it certainly would be a concern if your children begin acting like YouTubers you wouldn’t want them emulating.
What Can We Do?
Don’t get me wrong. YouTube can be fun, and it can even be—dare I say—a nice way to unwind at the end of the day. I have to confess that I’ve got my own favorite YouTubers, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little excited each time my phone tells me they’ve uploaded a new video.
But it’s important to teach our children to approach YouTube the way we approach the internet and entertainment as a whole. There’s a plethora of things online that are immensely helpful and good to enjoy, but there are also things online that we shouldn’t be messing with. Teaching our children to choose the good while steering clear of the bad will keep them safer as they navigate YouTube and other sites.
Sometimes, though, we know our kids simply need some boundaries to help them stay on the good path. YouTube allows users to make a YouTube Kids or supervised account, both of which automatically filter out many inappropriate videos, allow for screen-time limits and even grants parents the option to block the ability to search for new videos. However, parents should know this option doesn’t block all concerning content, such as videos regarding LGBT topics.
You might also consider purchasing monitoring software. Plenty of services would love to help you monitor your children’s internet usage, including their use of YouTube. Focus on the Family—Plugged In’s parent ministry—even partners with one. But keep in mind that no monitoring software is perfect.
Most importantly, as parents we should not just monitor our children’s YouTube consumption. We also need to foster relationships with our kids so that we can talk about the things they see on the site. That might mean allowing your children to use YouTube only when you can watch videos with them, or perhaps letting them access the site only on a family computer in plain sight.
Asking these questions will help you guide your children in their YouTube viewing:
- What is the point of this video? (“Just for fun” is an okay response too!)
- What messages are being conveyed in this YouTuber’s videos?
- Why do you like this YouTuber? Do they act in a way you should emulate? Why or why not?
YouTube is a big space. It can be daunting to dive into, and we can feel overwhelmed as we try to figure out how to navigate it safely. But as the parent, you don’t need to analyze every channel; instead, focus on the ones your children gravitate toward, and build communication with them around those channels.
Kennedy Unthank is a contributor to Focus on the Family’s Plugged In publication. He studied journalism at the University of Missouri. Kennedy knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He doesn’t think the ending of Lost was “that bad.”
The Plugged In Staff gives families essential tools to understand, navigate, and impact the culture in which they live. Through reviews, articles, and discussions, they aim to spark intellectual thought, spiritual growth, and a desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” Their most recent book, Becoming a Screen-Savvy Family, releases on March 5, 2024.
Adapted from Becoming a Screen-Savvy Family: How to Navigate a Media-Saturated World—and Why We Should by The Plugged In Staff. Copyright © 2024. Used by permission of Focus on the Family. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.
