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But why is YT necessary? Couldn’t you have given your kids access to a more curated and education-dedicated video platform instead? Heck, even Disney+ sounds be

But why is YT necessary? Couldn’t you have given your kids access to a more curated and education-dedicated video platform instead? Heck, even Disney+ sounds better here.

shawabawa3 4y ago
> despite not having a good mechanistic explanation for why YT is OK even at small dosages Do you have an explanation for YT is NOT ok even at small dosages?
- rTX5CMRXIfFG 4y ago
  Did we miss out on all of the HN articles and studies about how socmed consumption negatively impacts people’s levels of happiness, self-esteem, and ability to focus, and have we no experience of it?
  - watwut 4y ago
    The actual studies are way more nuanced then that. It is actually funny to compare what actual studies, whether sociological or psychological say and what gets written on HN.
  - TeMPOraL 4y ago
    We didn't, we just read and understood it - in particular, just because a site is classified "socmed", doesn't mean any kind of contact with it will instantly materialize those negative impacts you mention. Or that just because a site is classified "vod", it's substantially safer. YouTube is mostly just a video-on-demand site. The social aspects are immaterial to how kids use the platform.
    - rTX5CMRXIfFG 4y ago
      No, it’s not instant. As a matter of fact it starts with a click, then another, then another, and before you know it you’ve lost an hour just doom-scrolling low-intelligence content.
rich_sasha 4y ago
"Necessary" is a strong word. It's acceptable IMO, and my kids like it. If you want some more reasons: - I strongly feel my children have agency, within reason. They like it, more than Disney+, and it's not a strong detractor. - Frankly, most of the YT stuff they watch is, really, more appropriate. Bite-sized sciency or crafty things, with a silly song. Disney+ stuff I could find myself was genuinely either a bit boring, or a bit naff, or for older children. [EDIT] Timeless classics like Lion King are often too scary for them, and there's plenty of inappropriate stuff there too, just due to the passage of time. Let's just say, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves hasn't aged well. - There is a much wider selection. My younger daughter is fascinated by aeroplanes. She watches video after video of planes taking off and landing, helicopters hovering and so on. Where do I find it on Disney+? - Sometimes I see things I don't like on YT, it's a one-click ban for the creator. I have never seen anything wildly inappropriate. It's maybe an issue if your kids are watching it for hours on end, not so much if it's 20 mins after dinner, and I'm in the room. I was talking to my mum about this, who remembers the same laments about letting children listen to the radio (mindless entertainment, no parental control), and her mum remembers the same thing about children being allowed to read their own colorful children's books, as opposed to adults reading a boring small-print book. When my younger cousins were growing up, there was family lament that they meet up with friends and play video games - yet they didn't grow up to be antisocial psychos. IMO we tend to over-demonise the new.
- rTX5CMRXIfFG 4y ago
  I get the parallels with past generations but YT is different and you as a parent should be thinking about its specific properties as a platform. It might have some thought-provoking entertainment but it is too huge and assorted, and where I come from, it has been weaponized by corrupt political families to spread historical revisionism packaged as “educational content” which ultimately brought them back to power. Then there’s the flat-earthers, anti-vaxxers, climate change deniers, etc. It’s not worth the trouble as I’m not going to be able to watch my kids all the time. I’d rather they develop their critical thinking and hobbies through offline avenues before they are exposed to addictive apps that make it too easy to discover disinformation.
  - 4y ago

But why is YT necessary? Couldn’t you have given your kids access to a more curated and education-dedicated video platform instead? Heck, even Disney+ sounds better here.

shawabawa3 4y ago

> despite not having a good mechanistic explanation for why YT is OK even at small dosages Do you have an explanation for YT is NOT ok even at small dosages?

rTX5CMRXIfFG 4y ago
Did we miss out on all of the HN articles and studies about how socmed consumption negatively impacts people’s levels of happiness, self-esteem, and ability to focus, and have we no experience of it?
- watwut 4y ago
  The actual studies are way more nuanced then that. It is actually funny to compare what actual studies, whether sociological or psychological say and what gets written on HN.
- TeMPOraL 4y ago
  We didn't, we just read and understood it - in particular, just because a site is classified "socmed", doesn't mean any kind of contact with it will instantly materialize those negative impacts you mention. Or that just because a site is classified "vod", it's substantially safer. YouTube is mostly just a video-on-demand site. The social aspects are immaterial to how kids use the platform.
  - rTX5CMRXIfFG 4y ago
    No, it’s not instant. As a matter of fact it starts with a click, then another, then another, and before you know it you’ve lost an hour just doom-scrolling low-intelligence content.

rich_sasha 4y ago

"Necessary" is a strong word. It's acceptable IMO, and my kids like it. If you want some more reasons: - I strongly feel my children have agency, within reason. They like it, more than Disney+, and it's not a strong detractor. - Frankly, most of the YT stuff they watch is, really, more appropriate. Bite-sized sciency or crafty things, with a silly song. Disney+ stuff I could find myself was genuinely either a bit boring, or a bit naff, or for older children. [EDIT] Timeless classics like Lion King are often too scary for them, and there's plenty of inappropriate stuff there too, just due to the passage of time. Let's just say, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves hasn't aged well. - There is a much wider selection. My younger daughter is fascinated by aeroplanes. She watches video after video of planes taking off and landing, helicopters hovering and so on. Where do I find it on Disney+? - Sometimes I see things I don't like on YT, it's a one-click ban for the creator. I have never seen anything wildly inappropriate. It's maybe an issue if your kids are watching it for hours on end, not so much if it's 20 mins after dinner, and I'm in the room. I was talking to my mum about this, who remembers the same laments about letting children listen to the radio (mindless entertainment, no parental control), and her mum remembers the same thing about children being allowed to read their own colorful children's books, as opposed to adults reading a boring small-print book. When my younger cousins were growing up, there was family lament that they meet up with friends and play video games - yet they didn't grow up to be antisocial psychos. IMO we tend to over-demonise the new.

rTX5CMRXIfFG 4y ago
I get the parallels with past generations but YT is different and you as a parent should be thinking about its specific properties as a platform. It might have some thought-provoking entertainment but it is too huge and assorted, and where I come from, it has been weaponized by corrupt political families to spread historical revisionism packaged as “educational content” which ultimately brought them back to power. Then there’s the flat-earthers, anti-vaxxers, climate change deniers, etc. It’s not worth the trouble as I’m not going to be able to watch my kids all the time. I’d rather they develop their critical thinking and hobbies through offline avenues before they are exposed to addictive apps that make it too easy to discover disinformation.
- 4y ago