So, everything started with the heads-up of Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. She believes kids aren’t getting enough access to the right kind of content simply because it’s not being promoted enough. As a government official and a mom, she’s calling on YouTube to step up and work on children’s content to boost education. Let’s understand the root of this thought.
Govt Suggested YouTube To Promote ‘High-quality’ Children’s Content
Lisa Nandy is raising a valid point about the lack of visibility for quality kids’ content on platforms like YouTube and others, including Ofcom. She’s called on them to step up and make children’s content easier to find.
YouTube, of course, defended itself, saying they’ve been creating a safe space for kids with age-restricted videos and content recommendations to help them learn and grow. But Nandy isn’t convinced. As a mother to a 9-year-old, she worries about how limited content options impact her family and countless others.
She thinks online platforms are lacking in showcasing a “wider range” of material that kids can benefit from. However, in her conversation with Baroness Floella Benjamin, she did give a shoutout to UK-produced TV. She says it does a better job of educating and informing young minds than most online platforms.
Interestingly, the government has tried supporting UK children’s TV in the past, but the effort didn’t quite hit home since kids couldn’t even find the content. So now, they’re shifting gears and asking for platforms to voluntarily work with them to fix this visibility issue. However, she has given the signal that the government is likely to take action if the platform doesn’t meet expectations.
While writing to Ofcom, she urged them to prioritize kids’ TV in their public service broadcasting review. She did it to ensure kids get access to quality entertainment that helps them grow, even as they spend more time online than in front of a traditional TV.
Conclusion
According to statistics, almost a decade ago, children used to watch television for 2 hours a day. But now, they are leaning more towards platforms like YouTube and TikTok for content.
Nandy says countries like the UK are creating high-quality content for children that tells them more about the world and emotional well-being. However, since children are migrating to online platforms, they aren’t reaching the level of content they can with public services like broadcasters.
Prioritizing children’s content on YouTube ensures that kids can access appropriate entertainment, which becomes less likely due to online platforms. It would be worth following this news to understand how YouTube will take care of children-oriented content further.
