Very recently, YouTube released a new app named YouTube Kids. As the name suggests, it is targeted to engage the younger audience while also playing age appropriate videos for the children. With the growing popularity of the internet and YouTube, many parents have been asking YouTube for a product like this. A YouTube spokesperson explained that the videos are highly edited, screened for content, but they will also rely on users to tag anything that is inappropriate. In addition, the app only allows users to watch videos; uploading, commenting on, and sharing videos is not a possibility on the app. Created with minimal text design it is easy enough for a toddler to use. There are four main categories of videos and YouTube will make their money through ads which are highly screened, yet aimed at children.
I think this is a great move by YouTube in order to promote more users for their site. Moreover it allows parents to worry less as it provides children with a safe place to view videos, without much worry. Perhaps the best feature for the parents is their ability to set a timer for the app, which shuts down once the time limit is reached. It is great to see such a popular company listen to the demands of the users and create something like this. While it is great publicity, and a sure money maker, YouTube still provided what the consumers wanted. I think this is an interesting point because although they are not the first website to have a kids section (Netflix offers a section for kids too), they are the first free website to do this idea. That being said many other websites do not have a need to do this as Facebook and Twitter and primarily used by adults, and there are not very many other popular video websites such as YouTube. I do believe that many other companies will start making products to focus on kids such as an iTunes section for kids or Google kids. While those are just some hypothetical suggestions, the point is that other popular sites which also have apps will follow YouTube's lead. What is interesting is that a few years ago babies and children would not have been interested in YouTube, and now they are so fascinated with it, a whole app was created with children in mind.
I agree with your claim that this is smart business move for YouTube. Listening to their customers and expanding the reach at the same time is sure to be good for them. My concern with this advancement is that it is so basic. You mentioned that it is for viewing only, no commenting, uploading, etc. While I think this is smart because allowing other features would jeopardize the filter for kids, I think this dumbs it down too much. This is just another outlet for kids to sit and watch television or videos mindlessly for however long until the parents step in and stop it. This seems to be a problem with children that they aren't being active or creative anymore because they are sucked into technology and not developing the same way. YouTube for kids just fuels this concern.
ReplyDeleteHowever, your comments about other companies following in YouTube's footsteps gives me hope. iTunes and Google for kids could have more positive effects. It is inevitable that kids will be drawn to technology because this is the way our society is going as a whole. But if Google had a kids' version, this could be very constructive. Kids will need to learn how to navigate the web using search engines and hyperlinks and Google can introduce this in a fun and beneficial way.iTunes could do a similar software that introduces kids to buying music that could lead to an understanding of spending money, virtually or otherwise.
In all, I think this is a good step by YouTube for the customer service and for the future of kids' versions of popular platforms. But, parents must be aware the amount of time their children spend on YouTube.