The impact that YouTube has had on the world is quite significant, but people often fail to realize just how massive this influence can often be. Recent research has indicated that the influence of YouTube on young children is particularly significant. This study was conducted a year ago and it involved children between the ages of 3 and 8. The children were shown three videos. One was from a TV show, the second was a YouTube video and the third was a video specifically made by the researchers as a control.
On average, the kids seemed to prefer YouTube quite a bit. They seemed to relate more to the YouTube videos that they were shown, and they were also readily accepting of the validity of the YouTube video as opposed to skepticism surrounding the other two videos. This has important implications on the field of education. The research indicated that kids generally find YouTube videos to be educational and information. They were also more willing to engage with educational content as long as it was coming from YouTube.
We are living in a time where kids are consuming far more video content than ever before. This is partly due to the lockdowns that have been imposed due to the pandemic. Parents need to take this into account when they are showing videos to their kids. Encouraging the use of YouTube over more traditional, or rather old school, forms of media might lead to these kids learning a thing or two.
The fact that children that are so young have such strong opinions about YouTube is a prime example of how this video streaming service has ended up permeating our consciousness to a really large extent. It will be interesting to see how this affects kids as they grow older.
Read next: The 'Terms And Conditions' of 13 Most Popular Apps Would Take 17 Hours to Read
On average, the kids seemed to prefer YouTube quite a bit. They seemed to relate more to the YouTube videos that they were shown, and they were also readily accepting of the validity of the YouTube video as opposed to skepticism surrounding the other two videos. This has important implications on the field of education. The research indicated that kids generally find YouTube videos to be educational and information. They were also more willing to engage with educational content as long as it was coming from YouTube.
We are living in a time where kids are consuming far more video content than ever before. This is partly due to the lockdowns that have been imposed due to the pandemic. Parents need to take this into account when they are showing videos to their kids. Encouraging the use of YouTube over more traditional, or rather old school, forms of media might lead to these kids learning a thing or two.
The fact that children that are so young have such strong opinions about YouTube is a prime example of how this video streaming service has ended up permeating our consciousness to a really large extent. It will be interesting to see how this affects kids as they grow older.
Read next: The 'Terms And Conditions' of 13 Most Popular Apps Would Take 17 Hours to Read
