YouTube's New Parental Controls Make Monitoring Teen Creators Easier

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Parents are likely well aware of YouTube’s controls to better manage what young children can watch on the video giant. But YouTube just rolled out a better way for parents to better understand what their teen creators are doing on the platform.




Collaboration between adolescents and parents

Youtube channel activity
YouTube

To use the features rolling out this week, parents and teens will first need to link their accounts in the YouTube Family Center. Once that’s done, parents will be able to see information about their teen’s YouTube channel activity. This will include the number of uploads, subscriptions, and comments — even on unlisted videos. Both parents and teens will also receive an email notification for certain events, including a video upload or live stream.

In a blog post, YouTube said this is the “first version” of the experiment. It will also include tips for both parents and teens on creating responsible content from Common Sense Networks, a subsidiary of Common Sense Media.


With an emphasis on mutual control, teens and parents can choose to unlink their accounts at any time if they don't want to share information.

Today, YouTube Kids and supervised experiences for pre-teens reach over 100 million viewers each month, both registered and unregistered. If you have a young child, be sure to check out what you need to know about YouTube Kids.

In late 2023, YouTube restricted recommendations for videos that could be problematic if watched repeatedly by teens.

It’s great to see YouTube come up with a well-designed tool for parents to better monitor what their teens who create content on the service are doing. Instead of treating teens like little kids, this feature helps bring parents and teens together to communicate about what’s being posted. It should give parents more peace of mind about how their teens are using YouTube.


While parents might first think about how their teens use social media like Snapchat or Instagram, YouTube is a popular way for kids to express themselves and has a number of social features. My teen isn’t a YouTube creator, but if she ever expressed an interest in starting her own channel, a tool like this would make me feel a lot better about trying it out.

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