YouTube has recently unveiled an updated feature aimed at helping parents better manage their children’s online activities. This new tool provides parents with enhanced monitoring capabilities, allowing them to monitor their child’s YouTube activity, such as video uploads, channel subscriptions, and comments. Additionally, parents will receive email notifications for significant events, such as when their child uploads a new video or participates in a livestream.
The new feature operates through the Family Center, enabling parents and children to link their accounts. It is designed to uphold the principle of “trust but verify,” allowing teens to retain control over their participation in the supervised experience and the ability to unlink their accounts from their parents at any time.
YouTube collaborated with independent child development experts to create this feature, aiming to strike a balance between respecting teens’ autonomy and addressing parents’ online safety concerns. Dr. Ellen Selkie, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, underscores the importance of guided exploration for teenagers, acknowledging the need for both autonomy and adult guidance.
Overall, YouTube’s initiative is intended to foster a safer and more secure online environment for children and teens and to provide a healthier online experience for younger users.