Did your child tell you that s/he wants to be a YouTuber yet? Is your child trying to emulate those How Tos, Minecraft Guided Tours, and self-interview videos which fill YouTube?
You may have a wannabe YouTuber. These are not the career dreams of our youth, so parents need to know how to support, nurture, or maybe redirect this career aspiration.
Wannabe YouTubers: The Good Things
There has never been a wider of variety of content; and not just on television, but on the Internet. And that is where YouTube comes in. YouTube is not only offers up content for viewing, but provides a platform for sharing. Today’s personal devices are portable video production labs. All of this adds up to the most democratic environment yet to create and consume content. What a wonderful model for our children that anyone with interesting content can draw an audience.
In this environment, influence in the market is measured by subscribers. They are no participation subscriptions on YouTube, this is honest feedback on the product available. Authentic work receives authentic likes or dislikes.
Wannabe YouTubers: The Not-So-Good Things
And about those subscribers, or non-subscribers, they leave comments. Some comments can go beyond criticism, straight past constructive, and park themselves in the obscene and/or mean. The comments section of a YouTube is not a place to constructively increase a vocabulary. Sure, criticism could be constructive, but much of the comment section is not aimed at improving the production future of the YouTuber.
Without a solid level of confidence, the critique could easily be more than a young person could take.
Your child, or the other children watching your child, are subject to a lot of advertising, that is how YouTube makes the money. So preview some of the advertisements on the channels you child wants to emulate. It is a good gauge of if you would want that advertising surrounding your child.
Wannabe YouTubers: The Technical Things
YouTube requires users to be 13. However, if you have created a gmail account for your child they may already have the capability to post to YouTube. Talk to your child about publishing unlisted YouTubes and share them out via other social media channels controlled by the parents/family. This constranes the content to family-friendly when child know the audience is not The World. This also allows parents to know everything published by the child. Private blogs, My Photos (Family Share), and messaging are all options to sharing videos before opening them up to the big world of YouTube.
Your child cannot use copyrighted video/music in the background even, YouTube has a Content ID system which eventually finds such content and alerts the owners; at that point you usually note that the music or such is taken down. A portion of the creative process can be creating visuals and sound, more than just recording their voice over someone else’s product. Encourage all parts of the creative process to make critiques as much about other elements as the YouTuber themself.
There are some awesome ways your child can already create videos. But consider investing in some other basics as well: a small light, a lapel mic, headset, small tripod can all enhance the production experience on most smartphones. Engage your child in the process of creation over the praise of an unknown audience as possible.
Be a YouTuber Later, Be a Kid for Now
Protect your child as long as you know they need to be protected from the wide open spaces of YouTube. You can give them experiences in creating content and a smaller, protected audience of admirers, who really have your child’ best interests at heart.
In the meanwhile, encourage their creations and contributions to an amazing new world where anyone can create and have access to the world. Maybe just don’t expose them to full on YouTube just yet though.
References:
Inside the ‘University of YouTube’ where children are transformed into YouTubers
The Kid YouTube Stars Your Kids Love
YouTube pulls ads on 2 million inappropriate children’s videos
YouTube’s Creepy Kid Problem Was Worse Than We Thought
2018-01-08 at 8:53 am
My kids used to watch a lot of you tube and then want me to video tape them for you tube. I didn’t know they had to be 13… now I know how to tell them no!
2018-01-14 at 9:32 am
I can tell you and I are kindred spirits Lisa because you used a phrase I still use “Video Tape.” Haha, but seriously kids are very driven to share in a certain way right now, aren’t they?
2018-01-08 at 9:22 am
You have no idea how timely it is for me. I have a 13y/o who wants to be a Youtuber and his little brother of cause, I will be sharing it with them tonight! Tx
2018-01-08 at 11:58 am
I totally agree with you and feel that Youtube should be put to limited use by any child rather every child should develop their creative skills in the initial years.
2018-01-08 at 2:20 pm
I’ve always been cautious of letting children become ‘youtubers’. Especially because of the comments they may receive. But it can also be a creative outlet for them too! x
2018-01-08 at 5:11 pm
Great tips as usual here, like one of your other comments this is very timely because my sister is just going through this with my niece. Thankfully she just make believes doing the videos or films them on her mum’s phone. I will be sharing this with her though xx
Kate Sinclair recently posted…Catheter update and a few crafty want to do’s for this year!!
2018-01-08 at 6:08 pm
Very good post. I don’t have kids but I would agree with these points.
2018-01-08 at 6:44 pm
It’s amazing how many child YouTubers there are out there. I do agree that parent’s need to be cautious as kid’s can’t take harsh internet spammer remarks.
2018-01-08 at 7:00 pm
My opinion is that like all internet usage, Youtube should be carefully monitored by the parents. All of your points are well taken!
2018-01-09 at 10:13 am
This is such a great post for those with wanna be YT’rs! I’m just starting a youtube channel and this was helpful for me!
2018-01-27 at 12:10 am
Such a helpful post for parents who might be in this situation!
2018-01-27 at 9:55 pm
My brother in law was a youtuber when he was little and actually made a little cash! I was so proud lol!
Lauren
https://www.basicbabe.com
2018-01-28 at 8:18 pm
Really good tips for anyone that wants to become a youtuber!
2018-01-28 at 8:41 pm
What a unique post!
2018-01-29 at 9:37 pm
I’m a teacher and so many of my kids want to be YouTubers when they grow up! It’s crazy all the jobs there are now that I never thought would exist just a few years ago.
2018-02-05 at 8:35 pm
My child loves all the kids shows they have now, she’s either watching it on tv or on phone/ tablet, and she always tells me to skip the ads lol.
2018-09-27 at 4:28 pm
Great tips and things to think about and discuss.
2018-09-28 at 10:51 am
Sometimes as a grown adult I can’t believe the types of comments that are on videos! And with the recent fiasco of videos being marked kid-friendly when they are clearly not, YouTube is definitely a space that needs to be monitored by the parent!
My nephew wants to be a YouTuber, but thankfully he’s almost in high school, so he would be able to handle this a little better than an elementary-aged child
-cassy
http://www.blissfullyher.com