YouTube's Algorithms Are Harming Children

Two important new articles shine a light on violent, scary videos that are targeted to children on YouTube. On Medium, James Biddle describes how disturbing videos – depictions of popular characters being assaulted, beheaded, or put in other compromising positions – end up on YouTube, where they're shown to children and infants. The videos are built to exploit YouTube's ad algorithm: the more views a video gets, the more ad dollars the creator receives. The problem, the author argues, is huge, because rather than being the work of a few bad actors, the videos are directly tied to YouTube’s business model. The New York Times describes how these same videos are shown on YouTube Kids, which is supposed to be a child-safe version of YouTube.

Both pieces have spurred discussion, and parents are swearing off YouTube for good. This is a great opportunity for Network members: instead of steering parents to Netflix or other alternatives, we can suggest unplugged activities and creative play! Our resource library is full of parent handouts and suggestions for activities that don’t involve screens.

New Report: Pediatrics Supplement on Children’s Screen Time

This month, the Journal of Pediatrics published an important supplement on children and digital media. Children, Adolescents and Screens: What We Know and What We Need to Learn features articles on cognitive development, parent mediation of screens, adolescent social media use, anxiety, depression, obesity, literacy, and more. Each article contains a review of the research and suggestions for parents, policymakers, and researchers. Contributing authors include Network advisory board members Doug Gentile and Jenny Radesky, as well as CCFC’s Screen Time Program Manager, Jean Rogers.

Introducing Sherry Turkle

We are thrilled that Dr. Sherry Turkle has joined the Action Network’s already robust Advisory Board!

Dr. Turkle is the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT, and the founding director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self. She has investigated the intersection of digital technology and human relationships from the early days of personal computers to our current world of social networks, mobile connectivity, and sociable robotics. Her current book, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in the Digital Age, is a New York Times Best Seller.

At CCFC, we’ve had the pleasure of working with Sherry closely on our recent Aristotle campaign, where she served as incredibly effective and powerful spokesperson.

The Children's Screen Time Action Network is a project of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

www.screentimenetwork.org