In honor of Safer Internet Day, the popular video platform YouTube has shared some golden advice with internet users and viewers, instructing us on how to use resources more mindfully and protect our privacy.
Who can deny that the internet has become an inseparable part of our lives? Without going online, our personal and professional lives are incomplete. We rely on our smart devices and internet connections to help us learn new things or stay in touch with loved ones.
With that, however, comes the concern about safety. This is because the younger generation, who is born into technology, seems to understand and operate the internet better than the parents. This makes it hard for families to understand each other and challenging for parents to regulate the content children view.
That is where YouTube steps in. The site has shared four ways in which it empowers users to experience safer internet.
Here is the most recent YouTube management advice, covering anything from controls and family-friendly resources to mindfulness modifications and data privacy measures.
1. Digital well-being tools
Since everyone is trying to be more mindful of how we spend our time online, YouTube said in its blog post that it has introduced a number of tools over the past few years to help users manage their time on YouTube, including sleep reminders, time viewed counters, and controls to customize autoplay settings.
According to YouTube, Safer Internet Day serves as a helpful reminder to check your settings and make sure they are still working.
2. Review & manage your data on a regular basis
You may have greater control over your viewing experience and help safeguard your privacy by frequently evaluating your YouTube data. You can easily view your data on YouTube by clicking the “Your Data in YouTube” tab. There are settings and controls for managing your data as well as information on how it is used to improve your experience, along with an overview of your content and activity data.
To assist YouTube and other Google services provide you with more pertinent recommendations, you may look up your watch and search history. Your YouTube activity, including the comments you’ve left on videos and the channels you’ve subscribed to, can also be viewed or deleted.
3. Protection for your kids
Every family has a unique connection with media and technology.
“For parents and caregivers, we offer options to help them decide what’s best for their kids and are investing in new ways to improve these experiences,” the blog post read.
A fast tip to make YouTube operate better for families is to sign in to YouTube Kids on compatible devices. This is why:
YouTube Kids gives logged-in parents the power to tailor the experience of their children. They may create a profile with unique settings for each child, restrict or approve particular channels and videos, and even choose to share YouTube material with their kids directly through YouTube Kids.
Secondly, families with tweens who own mobile devices or desire their own accounts might benefit from a supervised YouTube experience. The support for these supervised accounts has been expanded over the past year to allow tweens to log in on gaming consoles, smart TVs, the YouTube Music app, and other devices.
“This helps us respect a parent’s choice of content setting across devices in the home where their tween watches videos or listens to music.”
4. Talk to children about online safety
The safety and long-term success of today’s children depend on continual education because they will utilize technology for the rest of their lives.
You may see the “Build a Safer Internet” playlist when you open the YouTube Kids app which was published today. The playlist will include songs that promote the appropriate, healthy, and safe use of technology by families.
These movies are designed to assist parents and their families in navigating the digital world. They include kid-friendly online safety guidelines, songs, and tools to talk about responsible screen use.
