According to a recent survey of American parents, the majority of 4-year-olds now have their own tablet device and one of the main things they do on those devices is watch videos. Youtube, TikTok, and other short-form video sites have become more popular with young children than traditional television. In fact, the most watched YouTube video of all time is the “Baby Shark Dance,” with over 16 BILLION views.
What the research found
Besides catchy songs about sealife, what are these videos teaching young children? To answer this question, a group of developmental scientists asked parents of 24- to 26-month-old toddlers to submit the links to the last 10 videos their child watched on YouTube. The researchers then categorized over 1000 of these videos based on their features and content. The good news is that most of the videos did not show violent, rude, or unsafe behaviors that children might imitate, but the bad news is that the videos rarely showed characters modelling positive behaviors, like caring for animals or brushing teeth, either. Perhaps most importantly, 50% of the videos had no educational value. When the videos did have some educational content, it tended to be shallow like reciting numbers and letters without any context. What this means is that a lot of “educational” YouTube videos are teaching children little or nothing at all.
Unfortunately, the researchers also found that, in general, things are getting worse. When they looked at the video upload dates, they found that the most recently uploaded videos used more bedazzling features and had more branded content than older videos did. And now that AI is being used to create content, there are even more low quality children’s videos out there.
How to help children get more out of online videos
Educational or not, online videos are entertaining for young children and it’s not realistic for many families to cut their children off from them entirely. A better approach is for parents, grandparents, and other caregivers to help the children in their lives get more out of watching videos online. Here’s some ways to do that:
- 1Look for genuinely educational content. To be educational, screen time should be active, engaging, and meaningful. It should connect the information children see on the screen to what they experience in their lives off screen and make them active participants in their learning. For example, instead of watching a person recite numbers, an educational video could prompt children to count objects along with the person on screen. Videos can also expose children to new ideas or concepts, like people from other cultures or words they have not heard before.
- 2Choose long and slow videos over short and fast ones. Although fast-paced videos that quickly jump from scene to scene can hold children’s attention, research shows that they have immediate negative effects on preschool children’s capacity for self-control. Instead, look for videos that have age-appropriate storylines and that last more than a few minutes, and avoid videos that use cheap tricks like images randomly popping up or unusual sound effects to keep children watching.
- 3Have children watch videos on streaming services instead of Youtube and other video platforms. Many services allow you to create child accounts that let adults monitor and control what children are watching. If possible, set up the service so that when a video or show ends, it does not automatically start the next one. If your child is going to use YouTube, subscribe to familiar and trustworthy channels, like Sesame Workshop and PBS Kids.
- 4Watch videos with children. Research consistently shows that one of the best things families can do to help young children learn from screen media is to “co-view” it with them. This doesn’t mean that you have to watch every episode of Bluey together, but even spending a few minutes watching a video together and talking about it can have a positive impact and it can help adults be aware of what children are seeing and doing online.
When a real person is available, choose them
When it’s an option, interacting with a live human, like a grandparent, should always take priority over watching videos. Even if the interaction is also taking place on a screen, live one-on-one interactions offer far more benefits for children’s learning than even the best online videos.