The millennial generation is the first one that was provided the privilege of the internet when it came to the country. Although the trend was slow, and it has only picked up speed in the last decade, generation Z is the one that is born into it. They are surrounded by digital devices and internet streaming from the time they have opened their eyes. They are cajoled and entertained with the internet and especially YouTube, to divert their minds and stop them from crying. The situation has become worse than ever before. What is of importance is that when it comes to getting spoilt, things don’t take ruin people generation wise.
The millennials that are well into their teens use the internet extensively for research as well as entertainment. But YouTube is a vast web of entertainment that has both appropriate and inappropriate content available in it. Parents of today’s age, too, don’t have the time to keep a tab on their kids’ activities but later pay a heavy price for this negligence. It is time that parents become more vigilant when it comes to their kids spending time on YouTube by monitoring their whereabouts in terms of what they are watching and what they should and shouldn’t be watching at their naďve age.
Why is YouTube Parental Controls crucial in today’s age?
YouTube seems like a fun place to visit every now and then unless one falls into a web form where coming out becomes a difficult task. Below are some reasons where the importance of YouTube Parental Controls could not be stressed enough:
Virality of videos
Most users log in to YouTube to check the viral videos that are in trend around the world. But, sometimes viral does not equate to being good or advisable to watch for people of all ages. This can be harmful and bring about a behavioral change amongst kids. The virality of a video is dependent on the number of likes and views it has garnered. So this could be a self-harm video that an individual has shared or of him/her performing a stunt that should not be on the viewing range for kids of an impressionable age.
Inappropriate Content
YouTube, as a video sharing platform, has a range of criteria that are reviewed before a video can be allowed to be posted on it. However, sometimes it easy to bypass these criteria and still upload videos that may be inappropriate. So, even though it does not violate any policy of the website, it can be harmful to view for a kid.
Addictive Behaviour
Watching YouTube regularly can get kids addicted to this platform. It is a single video sharing platform that pulls in a massive amount of crowd. This is because YouTube has a wide range of content that is a never-ending supply, which is both engaging and informative. However, as they say, too much of anything can be harmful. This is true in the case of YouTube as well. Parents need to control this addictive behavior before things go wayward.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is on a constant rise, with internet ruling practically every aspect of our lives. With kids, this is even more of a possibility, since there is no one to keep a tab on their behavior. Parental control is needed to supervise their online conduct and control as and where required.
How to put parental controls on YouTube?
With the rise in the number of kids surfing the internet and YouTube, in particular, most parents are Googling “how to put parental controls on YouTube?” There are three ways in which a parent can put parental control on YouTube.
Restricted Mode
YouTube is aware of the kind of content that is being put up on its website even when they are unable to ban some of them since they do not violate the website’s policies and terms. This is why they have incorporated with Google to bring about the ‘Restricted Mode.’
You can access this by clicking on the profile section that displays your profile picture. As you click it, it displays a variety of options, the last of which is the restricted mode, which is usually shown as “OFF.” Click this to switch “ON” the Restricted Mode that will filter the content being watched by your kids. However, it is important to know that the Restricted Mode is not entirely successful at filtering out inappropriate content.
Install Parental Control Software
Many a time, it so happens that you can keep making checks on what your child is watching and yet not be able to control on times that you aren’t around. There is software like FamiSafe out there that will do this task for you. FamiSafe is a parental control application that is used widely by parents to monitor their kids’ phone activity from afar.
When it comes to monitoring their online behavior, it not only checks on what your kids are watching but also manages their screen time, filter the content they are watching, and notifies you to incase some malicious content pops up on their phones. One can also block using the block feature of the app from their phones to manage the amount of time the kid spends on YouTube.
Download YouTube Kids
If your child is small enough that they only watch YouTube on your screen, then you can download YouTube Kids to ensure that nothing bad pops up during their screen time. It is even better than the Restricted Mode, for it will only provide you with family-friendly content. Once it is downloaded, you can customize the material that you want your child to watch through the Settings Tab on the website. You can also edit the settings to limit your child’s access to only a limited set of videos that you want them to watch.
CONCLUSION
Going forward, the internet is only going to get easier and accessible to the world than ever before. In such a situation, it is essential to make sure that your kids are safe and watch content that is informative and not destructive to them. Cyber-security is not just a topic that is in trend but is a serious issue that is a concern for many parents around the world. The above methods of controlling what your kid’s intake through YouTube is the first of the many steps to abolish cyberbullying and other internet related issues. The next time you want to Google how to put parental controls on YouTube? you know exactly what you should do!