3 scary ways YouTube hijacks our kids' brains
Making addictive YouTube content aimed at children uses the same science that’s behind the casino games you'll find in Vegas.
Just for clarity, I love YouTube. As a platform, I feel it offers so much, and I’ve personally developed in so many areas from amazing creators all over the world.
However, this post specifically discusses under-13s having uncontrolled access to the app. The aim here isn’t to shame YouTube, it’s to bring awareness and encourage parents to focus on moderation and consideration.
And if you’re looking for ways for you and your family to use YouTube healthily, stick around because I explore 12 ways you can use YouTube more healthily.
Before I dive in, let’s talk about dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that carries information between brain cells. It plays a role in how we feel pleasure. It's a big part of our unique human ability to think and plan. It helps us strive, focus, and find things interesting.
Let’s take an example, if you eat a bag of crisps and enjoy it, you're likely to feel a little dopamine boost, then you're probably going to go back for more. That's because the effects of dopamine are temporary, your dopamine levels get a quick spike before dropping back down, making you crave another spike. This is how dopamine feeds into addiction.
"It's not you versus your child, but rather it's you versus a hijacked neural pathway. It's the dopamine you're fighting. And that's not a fair fight."
Emily Cherkin, a screen time consultant
The main objective of YouTube is to keep users watching for longer, it’s continually learning about our viewing habits, so it can serve us an endless stream of videos to keep us engaged. You also have the YouTubers themselves, who know exactly how to film and edit their videos to keep our kids watching. If you’ve watched any YouTuber you’ll notice they’re loud, there’s rarely a breath taken, camera angles are cut every 3-5 seconds, b-roll footage is added, emojis, background sounds, and that’s before even talking about the content of the video itself. None of that is by accident.
3 ways YouTube hijacks our kids’ brains.
#1 - Continuous stimulation
YouTube has your child’s next video ready to watch before their current video is even finished. And the scary thing is, they know what your kid wants to watch before they do. They know how long your child spends watching a video, they know the optimal video length to serve your child, and they know the type of video that will keep them engaged. So this continuous stimulation will keep spiking that dopamine. Furthermore, the video itself is likely spiking that dopamine too, be it a video of someone opening Pokemon cards, someone playing video games, unwrapping presents, unboxing expensive gifts or pranking friends. Everything is optimized to keep our kids watching for longer.
#2 - Addictive content
Making addictive content aimed at children uses the same science that’s behind slot machines.
Bright colours, flashing lights, happy cartoon characters, the latest ‘trend’, constantly changing to something new every 3-5 seconds. Anything that’s proven to give a quick dopamine kick, a YouTuber will lean into again and again. The thing is, our kids’ brains are still developing - and that continuous dopamine kick is having a serious impact on their developing brains.
We need to remember, that the aim of a YouTuber is watch time. Whether it’s MrBeast or a 14yo who plays Minecraft, more watch time equals more views which equals more ad revenue. The biggest creators are making tens of millions of dollars every year. And to keep that money rolling in, they need to understand the science of creating addictive videos.
“It feels like this is engineered to keep kids watching an endless stream of videos one after another and have them never be over. When you combine that with the algorithm-driven recommendations, which show content that parents have not viewed and have not approved, you can very easily get into situations where kids are watching content meant for older kids, that an individual parent or family finds objectionable.”
Amanda Kloer, a campaign director with the child safety group ParentsTogether
#3 - Fear-inducing content
YouTubers heavily influence the youth of today, and could in turn, negatively affect the behaviour and actions of these young viewers. Fear-inducing videos are popular, they appear fun, but they’re addictive. Whether it’s prank videos, videos of strangers doing random acts for money, or videos of creators forcing others to do dangerous acts, if your kid has uncontrolled access to YouTube, they’ll likely stumble upon these videos.
“Children who repeatedly experience stressful and/or fearful emotions may underdevelop parts of their brain’s prefrontal cortex and frontal lobe, the parts of the brain responsible for executive functions, like making conscious choices and planning ahead. Watching fear-inducing videos causes the brain to receive a small amount of dopamine.”
Donna Volpitta, Ed.D., founder of The Center for Resilient Leadership
“YouTube is an ongoing conversation in my therapy practice, indicating a problem. Over the last five years, I’ve seen a rise in cases of children suffering from anxiety triggered by videos they have watched on YouTube.”
Natasha Daniels, LCSW, Founder of AnxiousToddlers.com, an educational website for parents.
Once I stumbled upon our oldest watching a video of a YouTuber (with 17,000,000 subscribers) breaking into his friend's house and smashing up everything in his living room “for a laugh”. His friend came home and they joked about it. Banter! I was confused. However, that video had over 20,000,000 views and likely generated $150,000 - $200,000 in ad revenue. Now I get it.
When I was a kid if I wanted to watch my favourite show, I’d wait patiently for Kenan and Kel to start, or I’d grab a VHS and kick back with a SqueezeIt whilst watching Home Alone for the 100th time. But times have changed, and that’s ok. Everything we’re surrounded with right now does bring so much good. Unfortunately, it makes our lives as parents even more difficult to navigate. So if your child is under the age of 13, take some time to think about this post, I’m not saying all parents should ban YouTube, but is uncontrolled access the best route?
So what’s the answer here? Well, some parents might choose to pass up on watching YouTube altogether, however, there are ways in which we can make watching YouTube safer for our little ones.
12 steps to help your family to use YouTube healthily.
Set Clear Boundaries
Establish weekly time limits for YouTube use.
Communicate these limits clearly and consistently enforce them.
Use Parental Controls
Enable YouTube Kids for younger children, which offers more age-appropriate content.
Set up the restricted mode to filter out inappropriate content on regular YouTube.
Snyc YouTube from your phone to the TV
Select a show with your child on your phone.
Sync your phone with the TV and put your phone out of reach, your child is then able to watch YouTube content without the need to skip to another show.
Turn off autoplay
You can turn off the autoplay feature.
This prevents the continuous stimulation and the app will stop once a show has finished.
Monitor Viewing History
Regularly check the watch history to understand what your child is watching.
Discuss any concerning content with your child to explain why it's inappropriate.
Create a Viewing Schedule
Allocate specific times of the day for watching YouTube, such as after homework or chores.
Stick to the schedule to prevent excessive use.
Encourage Alternative Activities
Promote hobbies and activities that do not involve screens, such as reading, sports, or arts and crafts.
Spend quality time together as a family engaging in these activities.
Set a Good Example
Be a role model by managing your own screen time effectively.
Show your child that you also engage in offline activities and limit your video watching.
Educate on Content Awareness
Teach your child about the nature of YouTube content, including the presence of ads and sponsors.
Help them to think critically about what they watch.
Create Screen-Free Zones
Designate certain areas of the home, such as the dining room and bedrooms, as screen-free zones.
Ensure these rules apply to everyone in the household.
Involve Children in Boundaries
Explain the importance of limits and involve your child in creating the rules.
This helps them understand and respect the boundaries.
Regularly Review and Adjust
Periodically review the effectiveness of your current rules and make adjustments as needed.
Stay informed about new features or changes in YouTube's policies that can help in managing your child's viewing experience.
I hope you’ve found this helpful. This isn’t about boycotting YouTube, it’s about awareness. When I shared this information on Instagram, I was overwhelmed by the response, and the amount of parents who said YouTube usage directly impacts their child’s behaviour. And when they reduced watch time or took access to YouTube away, their child’s behaviour improved.
It’s all about moderation, and through increased awareness, we can take steps to make positive change.
You can grab the steps above in a downloadable worksheet, that you can print out and stick on your fridge.
I appreciate you reading this post,
Tom Piccirilli, Founder of The Dad Vibes