Once she's up and running, continue to support her. Start with strict privacy settings and a limited audience of trusted friends and family, and ask for constructive feedback on what's working (and not working).Ĭheck in. Now's a good time to discuss what's OK to post, what should remain private, and other basics of digital citizenship.ĭo a "beta launch." Take a page from the book of many tech start-ups and start small to work out the kinks. Ask her to create a proposal for her channel that describes what she wants to offer, who the audience is, how often she'll post, whether she'll take advertising, and other considerations. Here are some tips to set up teens for YouTube success:
YouTube is the most popular video site, but other good options offer built-in safety measures for kids.
MR CHILDREN STARING OVER ANDROID
If you have an Android device, you can use Google's Family Link app that lets you create supervised account for kids under 13. If you use your account, you'll do all the uploading, but your kid can still have lots of creative control in the design of the channel, the descriptions, and, of course, the videos.Ĭreate a Family Link account. Pay special attention to the upload defaults (where you can make your videos private) and the comments, which you can approve before they go live or turn off altogether. Simply go to YouTube, log in with your Gmail address, and go to the account settings. If you have Gmail, you have a YouTube log-in. ( Learn five ways to keep kids safe on YouTube.)Ĭhoose one of these options if your kid is under 13: It's not illegal for kids under 13 to create social media profiles on sites that collect user data so long as the parent is aware of the account, knows user data is being collected, and has approved the kid's account. But, as we all know, plenty of kids have YouTube channels. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ( COPPA) exempts kids from data collection. YouTube is supposed to be for users over the age of 13, due to the fact that the parent company, Google, collects and markets user data.
MR CHILDREN STARING OVER HOW TO
Your kid's age will determine how to proceed.
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YouTube even offers free educational content for creators who are serious about their work. In fact, more and more kids are using their online channels - whether it's a Tumblr blog, an Instagram photo collection, or a Snapchat story - as digital portfolios to showcase their work to employers, colleges, and potential collaborators. With your guidance and support, she can do it safely, and it might be a fun project that may be useful down the road. It's a good sign that she asked your permission. It's important to balance your concerns with the benefits she can reap.
So even though you may have concerns about the risks of broadcasting on the Web - and they are legitimate - your kid may see it as a way of expressing herself, learning digital video skills, sharing with friends, and experimenting creatively. All the coolest apps - Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, Messenger - let users share video clips. It may seem foreign to parents, but for kids, video is a fun way to communicate.