New Delhi: Last year, owned by Google Youtube announced partnerships and product updates to support well-being and mental health of teenagers on the platform. It is now rolling out those features, which include limiting the recommendation of videos that could be negative if viewed repeatedly, in more countries.
James Beser, director of product management, recently talked about how teens can navigate their growing individual interests. He emphasized that YouTube’s updates will help teens prioritize their safety, privacy and well-being.
Additional Safety Measures for Teen Content Recommendations
Beser explained how YouTube is limiting repeat content recommendations for teens from videos that feature aggression and social comparison. The company worked with an advisory committee to identify “categories of content that may be harmless as a single video, but could be problematic for some teens if viewed repeatedly.”
“These categories include content that compares physical characteristics and idealizes some types over others, idealizes specific fitness levels or body weights, or displays social aggression in the form of non-contact fighting and bullying,” the company said in a blog post when it announced features in november
Reminders to take a break
To help teens manage their screen time, YouTube notifies them with “reminders to take a break.” These reminders will help teens set limits to manage their time online and disconnect when necessary. The feature has been available since 2018 and is activated by default for teen users (every 60 minutes), but will now be visually highlighted in viewers’ feeds in long and short formats. Beser also said that these reminders will now appear more frequently.
Crisis Resource Panels
YouTube is also expanding crisis resource panels to a new full-page experience. When teens search for sensitive topics like suicide, self-harm and eating disorders on YouTube, a new full-page experience will help viewers pause for a moment and explore health topics.
“Viewers will more prominently see resources for third-party crisis hotlines, as well as suggested prompts to direct search queries toward topics like ‘self-compassion’ or ‘grounding exercises,’ the company said. This feature will also be has implemented for viewers around the world. ages in which crisis resource panels are available.
