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This is great for creating a media-garden for your children! Kid content on YouTube and TikTok can be extremly disturbing, even for an adult. Until they turn 1

This is great for creating a media-garden for your children! Kid content on YouTube and TikTok can be extremly disturbing, even for an adult. Until they turn 16 I intend to vet most media myself on a self-hosted server.

komali2 2y ago
I thought things had changed after ElsaGate but I peeked into the airbnb room at a friend's party the other day and the kids were watching youtube, and it seems that type of content still has a hold. The kids were watching some really long video of this guy that kept making an AI-esque youtube-thumbnail style open mouth face after some 5 second event occured. E.g: Man runs into door, makes youtube face. Man tries to sit on toilet, but the toilet lid is down. He lifts it, and finds the toilet's full of colored balls, youtube face. Driving, shot of a speed bump, shot of him bouncing in his seat and hitting his head on the ceiling of the car, youtube face. The kids were utterly enthralled. I wish I could find a link to the video but it was just some autoplay on a smart tv and I never managed to grab it before leaving the party.
- dbspin 2y ago
  Slight tangent, but it's my intuition that some version of this is the end game for media. Completely compelling, AI created, individually attuned videos generated in or near real time that appeal so well to the individual (adult) viewer they overwhelm our learned resistance. Infinite Jest, but rather than dying laughing you orient your entire life around engaging with the content.
  - jareklupinski 2y ago
    if we can fit that power into a box that can fly with me to alpha centauri, i think we'll be ok once we figure out feeding and waste management, entertainment over a low-bandwidth link will be tricky
    - dbspin 2y ago
      Picture a two curves of technical progress. One is the process toward creating a 'hot' media stimuli so addicting that it shifts your utility function. The other is the route to interstellar travel. Now imagine the relative resources that are being expended to push technology along each curve.
      - jareklupinski 2y ago
        an intersection of the two curves must exist, at some point when two roads diverge in a yellowed wood, blaze down the middle
paulcole 2y ago
> Until they turn 16 I intend to vet most media myself on a self-hosted server. Are you going to use the same methods your parents used to do this for you/
- arnaudsm 2y ago
  Yes. Before the internet, my parents looked at the PG rating of every movie we rented at Blockbuster. Many parents did.
  - mewpmewp2 2y ago
    Would you consider that good? I grew up with the Internet and people sharing shock horror sites with some very questionable content. It seems we all mostly still grew up fine.
    - arnaudsm 2y ago
      There's a difference between accidentally stumbling on shocking TikTok content and willingly browsing a gore site. If my kid really wants to check it, it might be acceptable, but I'm not ok with an algorithm showing it by surprise.
      - mewpmewp2 2y ago
        I wouldn't want my kid browsing TikTok or anything with addictive recommendation system either, but I was mainly talking about explicitly taking effort to keep teenagers away from questionable content. But actually I'm not sure exactly how much policing the OP intended. It seems to me like a way to get your kid to not tell you anything in fear of censorship.
      - kjkjadksj 2y ago
        Thats basically how it worked back then too. Instead of an algorithm showing you this stuff by surprise it was your buddy in the computer lab saying “hey check this out.”
    - 2y ago
spookie 2y ago
My parents never restricted me access, but talked with me openly about movies, games, or websites they saw me using/playing when they came to my room. I didn't take any precautions, or fear their reactions... because they were open about things with me. Some discussions went pretty deep, others not really. Moreover, they usually would spend time with us late evening watching interesting stuff. Given how open they were, me and siblings would ask about it too. They weren't the type that watched the most banal thing either. I did end up visiting many strange websites. But the way they educated me never came second. I did start concerning myself with what I consumed. Honestly it's better to open up, talk, keep up with what they watch but in a way that can be educative for them (i.e. question, discuss). This is mostly things above 10 yo, granted. Before that I didn't have internet. But my friends did, and I did spend lots of time with friends. My point is, it's better to confront with real life things sooner and have the time to talk. After 16 no one has time :)
- j45 2y ago
  Not all (or a big majority) of parents will be like this. Until they are, screentime and internet access should be regulated for young people. Parents think their kids are safe at home but the whole world is coming into it.
- anon7000 2y ago
  I definitely like this approach, but a big problem is how social media captivates your attention, gets you addicted, and then you’re watching whatever the algorithm wants. At that point, it gets very, very hard to have a meaningful conversation about what the algorithm chooses to show you. So I’m not so sure any more. It’s clearly not healthy for kids to be addicted to social media, and how do you avoid that except by restricting use of those apps?
- notachatbot123 2y ago
  How long ago was this? Modern apps are different from the websites of the past. They are designed to addict and driven by attention-steered algorithms, not curated by humans. It's a vastly different exposure and requires rethinking.
kjkjadksj 2y ago
16 is so old to be doing that still. If I were your teenager I would have hated that and would have been extremely embarrassed if my friends ever found out.
- arnaudsm 2y ago
  My 16 yo cousins already use it and love it. They even showed their friends because the curation makes it a compelling entertainment source. And they request me specific stuff all the time, which makes me discover their culture too.

komali2 2y ago

I thought things had changed after ElsaGate but I peeked into the airbnb room at a friend's party the other day and the kids were watching youtube, and it seems that type of content still has a hold. The kids were watching some really long video of this guy that kept making an AI-esque youtube-thumbnail style open mouth face after some 5 second event occured. E.g: Man runs into door, makes youtube face. Man tries to sit on toilet, but the toilet lid is down. He lifts it, and finds the toilet's full of colored balls, youtube face. Driving, shot of a speed bump, shot of him bouncing in his seat and hitting his head on the ceiling of the car, youtube face. The kids were utterly enthralled. I wish I could find a link to the video but it was just some autoplay on a smart tv and I never managed to grab it before leaving the party.

dbspin 2y ago
Slight tangent, but it's my intuition that some version of this is the end game for media. Completely compelling, AI created, individually attuned videos generated in or near real time that appeal so well to the individual (adult) viewer they overwhelm our learned resistance. Infinite Jest, but rather than dying laughing you orient your entire life around engaging with the content.
- jareklupinski 2y ago
  if we can fit that power into a box that can fly with me to alpha centauri, i think we'll be ok once we figure out feeding and waste management, entertainment over a low-bandwidth link will be tricky
  - dbspin 2y ago
    Picture a two curves of technical progress. One is the process toward creating a 'hot' media stimuli so addicting that it shifts your utility function. The other is the route to interstellar travel. Now imagine the relative resources that are being expended to push technology along each curve.
    - jareklupinski 2y ago
      an intersection of the two curves must exist, at some point when two roads diverge in a yellowed wood, blaze down the middle

paulcole 2y ago

> Until they turn 16 I intend to vet most media myself on a self-hosted server. Are you going to use the same methods your parents used to do this for you/

arnaudsm 2y ago
Yes. Before the internet, my parents looked at the PG rating of every movie we rented at Blockbuster. Many parents did.
- mewpmewp2 2y ago
  Would you consider that good? I grew up with the Internet and people sharing shock horror sites with some very questionable content. It seems we all mostly still grew up fine.
  - arnaudsm 2y ago
    There's a difference between accidentally stumbling on shocking TikTok content and willingly browsing a gore site. If my kid really wants to check it, it might be acceptable, but I'm not ok with an algorithm showing it by surprise.
    - mewpmewp2 2y ago
      I wouldn't want my kid browsing TikTok or anything with addictive recommendation system either, but I was mainly talking about explicitly taking effort to keep teenagers away from questionable content. But actually I'm not sure exactly how much policing the OP intended. It seems to me like a way to get your kid to not tell you anything in fear of censorship.
    - kjkjadksj 2y ago
      Thats basically how it worked back then too. Instead of an algorithm showing you this stuff by surprise it was your buddy in the computer lab saying “hey check this out.”
  - 2y ago

spookie 2y ago

My parents never restricted me access, but talked with me openly about movies, games, or websites they saw me using/playing when they came to my room. I didn't take any precautions, or fear their reactions... because they were open about things with me. Some discussions went pretty deep, others not really. Moreover, they usually would spend time with us late evening watching interesting stuff. Given how open they were, me and siblings would ask about it too. They weren't the type that watched the most banal thing either. I did end up visiting many strange websites. But the way they educated me never came second. I did start concerning myself with what I consumed. Honestly it's better to open up, talk, keep up with what they watch but in a way that can be educative for them (i.e. question, discuss). This is mostly things above 10 yo, granted. Before that I didn't have internet. But my friends did, and I did spend lots of time with friends. My point is, it's better to confront with real life things sooner and have the time to talk. After 16 no one has time :)

j45 2y ago
Not all (or a big majority) of parents will be like this. Until they are, screentime and internet access should be regulated for young people. Parents think their kids are safe at home but the whole world is coming into it.
anon7000 2y ago
I definitely like this approach, but a big problem is how social media captivates your attention, gets you addicted, and then you’re watching whatever the algorithm wants. At that point, it gets very, very hard to have a meaningful conversation about what the algorithm chooses to show you. So I’m not so sure any more. It’s clearly not healthy for kids to be addicted to social media, and how do you avoid that except by restricting use of those apps?
notachatbot123 2y ago
How long ago was this? Modern apps are different from the websites of the past. They are designed to addict and driven by attention-steered algorithms, not curated by humans. It's a vastly different exposure and requires rethinking.

kjkjadksj 2y ago

16 is so old to be doing that still. If I were your teenager I would have hated that and would have been extremely embarrassed if my friends ever found out.

arnaudsm 2y ago
My 16 yo cousins already use it and love it. They even showed their friends because the curation makes it a compelling entertainment source. And they request me specific stuff all the time, which makes me discover their culture too.