The Google-owned video streaming service revealed on Thursday that it has created extra protections for teen content recommendations. These protections will target content that compares and idealises certain physical attributes over others, idealises particular body weights or fitness levels, or shows social aggression through intimidation and non-contact fights.
Such content can be harmless as a single video, but it could be problematic if teens watched them repeatedly, according to the company's Youth and Families Advisory Committee, a group of independent experts in child development, digital learning, children's media, and more from academic, nonprofit, and clinical backgrounds, Indian Express reported.
“A higher frequency of content that idealises unhealthy standards or behaviours can emphasise potentially problematic messages—and those messages can impact how some teens see themselves. Guardrails can help teens maintain healthy patterns as they naturally compare themselves to others and size up how they want to show up in the world,” said Allison Briscoe-Smith, a clinician, researcher and member of the Committee, in a press statement.
For American teens, YouTube has already started to restrict repetitive recommendations on specific topics. The company released a statement stating that this will be extended to additional nations in the upcoming year.
The announcement of YouTube's new security measures comes with increased scrutiny of the practices of social media corporations about their impact on the mental health of children.
Numerous US states filed lawsuits against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, in October, alleging that the platform's addictive qualities were a factor in the teenage mental health crisis.
Attorneys general from 33 states in the US, including California and New York, have accused Meta of deliberately pushing young children and teenagers towards addiction to social media and of deceiving the public about the risks associated with its platform on multiple occasions.