YouTube has once again found itself surrounded by controversies. Recently, many people have started bringing up how the heavy presence of child predators in the comment section of videos (featuring minors) is creepy.
Now, it should be well understood that YouTube aims to become the biggest digital hub for content creators and viewers alike. For this, they obviously depend on advertisers. Over the past few years, the video-sharing company is doing everything in its power to get the attention of advertisers, even if it meant upsetting their own creators at some point.
However, with issues surfacing like child predators expressing their lust in the comment sections, the well-reputed companies are most likely to pull-out their ads from the platform (Disney and many other companies have already backed out).
However, YouTube isn’t ready to quit yet but their approach in handling this situation is a little questionable. So, YouTube disabled the comment sections of almost all the videos with kids in it. Only a considerate amount of such videos weren’t affected but at the cost of having their comments moderated by someone regularly.
So, YouTube, a company with claims of having algorithms to sort out everything has finally realized that Human Moderation is the best way currently to tackle this situation. So, everything should go back to normal, right? Well, there’s more to it than it seems. Moderating comments and even the content has got to be one of the toughest jobs in the world.
The first hurdle any moderator will face (not only on YouTube or Facebook but almost every platform) is determining which type of content or comment goes against the community guidelines or the generally set norms. There are several aspects that should be taken into account before determining what should be banned and what should be left as it is. Then, the acceptable behavior should also be considered. The norms and acceptable behaviors change with time. It can be that what was accepted and deemed harmless 5 years ago may be considered as seriously offensive now. So, staying up to date with the norms is a must.
The next setback is that the pay is criminally low. The pay reportedly revolves around $28,000 a year. Meanwhile, the pay in developing countries like India can be as low as $1,400 per year. This is due to the fact that many people still believe that moderation is a job best suited for machines. Thus, the hired moderators are often contractors.
Also, spamming should be brought up while discussing major hurdles. It is possible that the comment section gets spammed with inappropriate content, courtesy of someone who wants to give the creator a tough time.
Then comes the most difficult part. The psychological trauma that can leave the moderators disturbed for a long time. Watching all kinds of disturbing, hateful and conspiracy-based comments and content all day everyday can really take a toll on anyone and shake them to their cores.
Thus, it can be said that a job as effort-taking and time-consuming as moderating comments require appreciation and a decent salary. Though, it would be better if the “taking out trash” process can be assigned to machines. Of course the time for it isn’t now but the sooner it happens, the better.
As for human moderation, it is, without a doubt, one of the toughest jobs in the world right now and requires way too many variables to take into account at the same time. However, it has been shown in the past that it can be done with the help of well-defined rules and guidelines.
Photo: Facebook
Read Next: Social Media is now being used by 'Support' scammers for conning people and nearly every tech savvy person is at risk!
Now, it should be well understood that YouTube aims to become the biggest digital hub for content creators and viewers alike. For this, they obviously depend on advertisers. Over the past few years, the video-sharing company is doing everything in its power to get the attention of advertisers, even if it meant upsetting their own creators at some point.
However, with issues surfacing like child predators expressing their lust in the comment sections, the well-reputed companies are most likely to pull-out their ads from the platform (Disney and many other companies have already backed out).
However, YouTube isn’t ready to quit yet but their approach in handling this situation is a little questionable. So, YouTube disabled the comment sections of almost all the videos with kids in it. Only a considerate amount of such videos weren’t affected but at the cost of having their comments moderated by someone regularly.
So, YouTube, a company with claims of having algorithms to sort out everything has finally realized that Human Moderation is the best way currently to tackle this situation. So, everything should go back to normal, right? Well, there’s more to it than it seems. Moderating comments and even the content has got to be one of the toughest jobs in the world.
The first hurdle any moderator will face (not only on YouTube or Facebook but almost every platform) is determining which type of content or comment goes against the community guidelines or the generally set norms. There are several aspects that should be taken into account before determining what should be banned and what should be left as it is. Then, the acceptable behavior should also be considered. The norms and acceptable behaviors change with time. It can be that what was accepted and deemed harmless 5 years ago may be considered as seriously offensive now. So, staying up to date with the norms is a must.
The next setback is that the pay is criminally low. The pay reportedly revolves around $28,000 a year. Meanwhile, the pay in developing countries like India can be as low as $1,400 per year. This is due to the fact that many people still believe that moderation is a job best suited for machines. Thus, the hired moderators are often contractors.
Also, spamming should be brought up while discussing major hurdles. It is possible that the comment section gets spammed with inappropriate content, courtesy of someone who wants to give the creator a tough time.
Then comes the most difficult part. The psychological trauma that can leave the moderators disturbed for a long time. Watching all kinds of disturbing, hateful and conspiracy-based comments and content all day everyday can really take a toll on anyone and shake them to their cores.
Thus, it can be said that a job as effort-taking and time-consuming as moderating comments require appreciation and a decent salary. Though, it would be better if the “taking out trash” process can be assigned to machines. Of course the time for it isn’t now but the sooner it happens, the better.
As for human moderation, it is, without a doubt, one of the toughest jobs in the world right now and requires way too many variables to take into account at the same time. However, it has been shown in the past that it can be done with the help of well-defined rules and guidelines.
Photo: Facebook
Read Next: Social Media is now being used by 'Support' scammers for conning people and nearly every tech savvy person is at risk!
