CALIFORNIA: YouTube has announced the launch of new actions to make the platform safer and more positive for the younger generation through the addition of parental controls.
The video-sharing platform owned by Google has indicated that parents will now have more influence over the duration of YouTube Shorts viewed by their teenage kids. The new functionalities grant parents the authority to establish time limitations for Shorts, with the choices of 15, 30, and 45 minutes, one hour, and two hours.
Besides that, parents will have the ability to shut down access to YouTube Shorts for one entire day.
The new controls also encourage the viewing of educational content by recommending videos from channels such as Khan Academy Kids, Crash Course Kids, and TED-Ed that are appropriate for the child’s age. YouTube expects these reforms to foster a more positive and educational viewing experience for the children.
In the designing of these new functionalities, there’s been a partnership with different advisory boards, among them the YouTube’s Youth Advisory Board, the UCLA Centre for Scholars and Storytellers, the American Psychological Association and the Boston Children’s Hospital.
Parents will no longer need to go through a long account creation process for their kids since it will be done automatically safe settings. Furthermore, the mobile application will give parents the privilege to switch accounts with just a few clicks.
According to YouTube, the modifications are aimed at giving more control to parents and making the digital space for the kids safe and positive.
YouTube introduces new feature to enhance user experience
On December 17, YouTube, the video-sharing site owned by Google has launched a new feature designed to enhance user interaction and support creators more effectively.
Foreign news sources report that the introduced feature aims to make the creation of Shorts easier and equip content creators with enhanced creative tools.
YouTube has launched a Create Mode, inside the app activated by tapping the plus (+) button. This mode allows users to instantly reach photos, video segments, green screen backgrounds, music selections and various creative features, simplifying the process of making Shorts like never before.
According to reports, the introduced Create Mode features AI-driven tools designed to support users during the creative workflow. Nonetheless, Google has yet to specify the scope of how these AI tools will aid in producing images or videos.
Users are anticipated to generate content through text instructions or prompts. Although Create Mode is not a novel idea since YouTube had earlier experimented with AI capabilities to produce videos and images, these features are probably now being implemented in a more polished and accessible way.
Currently, the novel Create Mode is open to a limited number of users as the company is still trying out different ways that are both creative and simple for making Shorts.
Analysts think that this step is a major part of YouTube’s plan to overpower the competition in the short-video market and at the same time grant content creators more comfort and artistic liberty.
