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Many studies suggest that television watching has declined, while internet video watching and streaming has inclined greatly. With more mobile options and accessibility, we live in a world where any and everything is at our fingertips - literally - reach into your pocket to phone a friend, order food, send a pic or stream a show. Do you remember when we used to make reference an encyclopedia to obtain information, or take a trip to the library to sign out books to read in order to complete a school project or even to explore personal interests? Remember having to wait an entire week for a new episode (or rerun of your favourite) to be aired or replayed on television?!
How about setting up the DVD player to record an episode you couldn't miss or recording your favourite music videos in order tot slow down, rewind and learn some dance moves?
Youtube has been popular among adults and teens for a long time, and they this year they had created and released a kid-friendly app consisting of a collection of family-friendly videos, channels and educational clips for children . This application was solely based on and built with kids in mind, in order to allow them to discover and explore what they are interested. The app is categorized into four areas: shows, music, learning and exploring.
Youtube Kids app became available February 2015 for Android and iOS and is quick, safe and easy to use. The app consists of larger images and bolder icons, voice search, narrowed content and parental controls. Kids can watch series from Youtube channels or discover facts, allowing parents and children to explore together. Parents can set controls and restrictions (such as disabling the search function to prevent the possibility of inappropriate content appearing) to monitor accessibility on their child's device or account.
Youtube Kids has content filtering features and doesn’t sacrifice privacy for business to profit. Its purpose is to offer educational and enjoyable content, that is fun and safe to use. The content doesn’t allow for comments, but does consist of ads that are kid friendly. Kids can enjoy curated videos, favourites like Thomas and Friends or explore other interests.
The parental control features include:
- timer (limit screen time to alert when session is over)
- sound settings (turn off while still allowing them to view)
- search settings (can limit to videos and no searching)
- product feedback (space included for recommendations on approval)
