YouTube Stops Recommending Videos About Weight, Physical Appearance to Teens; Adds New Supervision Feature

YouTube said the decision to restrict the recommendations of such videos after consulting an advisory committee.

Written by Akash Dutta, Edited by David Delima | Updated: 5 September 2024 19:19 IST

YouTube Stops Recommending Videos About Weight, Physical Appearance to Teens; Adds New Supervision Feature

Photo Credit: Unsplash/Alexander Shatov

YouTube will also restrict makeup tutorials for changing the appearance of someone’s nose or eyes

Highlights

YouTube is also making crisis support resource panels available in Europe
The recommendation safeguards are being introduced globally
YouTube can also inform parents about their teens' channel activity

YouTube is improving the safeguards of its platform to make it a better experience for minor users. On Thursday, the video-streaming giant announced that it will restrict video recommendations about body weight, fitness, and physical appearance to teenagers. The company said that the decision was made based on suggestions provided by an advisory committee which also revealed that teenagers are more likely than adults to form negative beliefs about themselves — the company says that this is reason for the new restrictions on the platform.

YouTube Improves Safeguards for Teenagers

In a blog post, the video-streaming giant detailed the categories of videos that will no longer be recommended to teenagers. It includes videos that compare physical features or idealise one type of feature over others, idealise specific fitness levels or body weights, or emphasise social aggression as non-contact fights and intimidation. This change is being rolled out to users globally.

YouTube said that the decision came after an advisory committee shared important insights about the impact of the platform on the developmental stages of teens. “One insight is that teens are more likely than adults to form negative beliefs about themselves when seeing repeated messages about ideal standards in the content they consume online,” it added.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

The company highlighted that while watching a single video of the abovementioned categories could be harmless, repetitive suggestions can have a harmful impact on teenagers. YouTube is also improving its Community Guidelines to remove content and prevent minors from seeing videos that breach its policies.

Apart from this, the platform is also making crisis support resource panels available in several countries in Europe. These panels are designed to help people connect with support from suicide and self-harm. Users suffering from these can be redirected to third-party crisis hotlines if they search for certain queries related to these topics.

To further make the platform safer for minors, YouTube is also introducing a new supervised experience. With this, parents and teenagers have the option to link their accounts. Once linked, parents can see their teens' channel activity on YouTube. The company says it will help parents offer encouragement and advice on responsible content creation. This feature is currently under development, but soon parents will be able to link accounts by visiting a new section dubbed Family Centre hub.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: YouTube, Apps

Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen supporting his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing passionate opinions on food. More