Characterizing videos, audience and advertising in Youtube channels for kids

Online video services, messaging systems, games and social media services are tremendously popular among young people and children in many countries. Most of the digital services offered on the internet are advertising funded, which makes advertising ubiquitous in children's everyday life. To understand the impact of advertising-based digital services on children, we study the collective behavior of users of YouTube for kids channels and present the demographics of a large number of users. We collected data from 12,848 videos from 17 channels in US and UK and 24 channels in Brazil. The channels in English have been viewed more than 37 billion times. We also collected more than 14 million comments made by users. Based on a combination of text-analysis and face recognition tools, we show the presence of racial and gender biases in our large sample of users. We also identify children actively using YouTube, although the minimum age for using the service is 13 years in most countries. We provide comparisons of user behavior among the three countries, which represent large user populations in the global North and the global South

Did your child get disturbed by an inappropriate advertisement on YouTube?

YouTube is a popular video platform for sharing creative content and ideas, targeting different demographics. Adults, older children, and young children are all avid viewers of YouTube videos. Meanwhile, countless young-kid-oriented channels have produced numerous instructional and age appropriate videos for young children. However, inappropriate content for young children, such as violent or sexually suggestive content, still exists. And children lack the ability to decide whether a video is appropriate for them or not, which then causes a huge risk to children's mental health. Prior works have focused on identifying YouTube videos that are inappropriate for children. However, these works ignore that not only the actual video content influences children, but also the advertisements that are shown with those videos. In this paper, we quantify the influence of inappropriate advertisements on YouTube videos that are appropriate for young children to watch. We analyze the advertising patterns of 24.6 K diverse YouTube videos appropriate for young children. We find that 9.9% of the 4.6 K unique advertisements shown on these 24.6 K videos contain inappropriate content for young children. Moreover, we observe that 26.9% of all the 24.6 K appropriate videos include at least one ad that is inappropriate for young children. Additionally, we publicly release our datasets and provide recommendations about how to address this issue.Comment: In Proceedings of KDD Undergraduate Consortium (KDD-UC 2022

THE ANALYSIS OF CHILD YOUTUBERS’ VIDEOS IN THAILAND TO DEVELOP APPROPRIATE YOUTUBE ADVERTISING

YouTube is a popular entertainment website among Thai users, especially young children and youths. The objective of this study is to analyze child YouTubers’ videos in Thailand to develop appropriate YouTube advertising. The research method applied was the analysis of 108 videos by Thai child YouTubers with an age under 14 years old to analyze the videos’ content presenting products. The selected videos were based on subscribers on YouTube as shown on Social Blade’s ranking under the entertainment category in 2019. This study analyzed child YouTubers’ videos based on a previous study by Pastor, Ongkrutraksa and Vizcaíno-Laorga (2020) in five categories; 1. Frequency or number of times brand names and products appear; 2. Types of products; 3. Formats of advertising; 4. Marketing resources used in the videos that are associated with the products; 5. Appearance of brand names in the names of the videos. The results demonstrate that child YouTubers usually feature brand names only once in their videos but show the product throughout the videos. The most popular product is food & drink. The advertising format mostly used is the use of a product for entertainment. In addition, the marketing information sources mostly shown is subscription. The use of brand names in a video’s name was found to be unpopular. The results suggest that these child YouTubers’ videos are not always identified as an advertisement, and this can be harmful to vulnerable children. Thus, to develop appropriate YouTube advertising, it is vital to focus on promoting ethical conduct, policies and regulations for child YouTubers’ videos

Kid Youtubers in Spain and Their Practices as Toy Marketing Influencers on YouTube

This paper analyses the audio-visual content of the channels of Spanish child YouTubers in which the children interact with toys within a certain narrative to promote them and raise brand awareness without their audience identifying that content as advertising. The paper compares the data on the videos analysed during and outside the Christmas period, focusing on channels with the highest numbers of followers. The Spanish case is significant as it involves top influencers in the world in the toy sector, surpassing even the pioneering channels such as EvanTubeHD (USA). The authors viewed 250 channels and 3,633 minutes of content produced by the YouTubers most followed in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The paper lists the names of presented brands, the type of products advertised and the advertising formats used, as well as the marketing resources and potential breaches of advertising legislation by the content (in 97 % of cases). The conclusion is that this communication practice requires an in-depth review and analysis by various stakeholders who participate in it, including regulatory and legislative bodies. Besides, the authors have identified a need for further research that would contribute to describing the structure of those practices in a manner similar to this research. In addition, they highlight the importance of considering and identifying this content from the perspective of its persuasive nature, as the majority of the content analysed offered no visible or audible signs identifying it as such, thus contributing to adults and children perceiving it as the content of an informational or entertaining nature, rather than advertising

YouTube videos for young children: an exploratory study

The consumption of videos on the Internet by young children is increasing, and therefore, when they start school, a great part of their knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes, will be influenced by the contents they have consumed in social networks such as YouTube, which is considered a third educational agent in childhood, together with families and school. It is thus interesting to know what types of contents they are consuming, the characteristics of these publications, and their interactions with these channels. The present research will try to provide answers to these questions, with an exploratory and descriptive study with a sample of five YouTube channels in Spanish and Portuguese aimed at early childhood, starting with the category “Made for Kids” from Social Blade. The results of the study allowed us to discover the characteristics of the contents which have an effect on informal learning, favoring the child’s creativity, the development of abilities and competences of children. The conclusions stress the continued existence of certain risks associated to the inadequate use of YouTube, inviting the reflection on the need to broaden research studies on this subject matter, and the promotion of media and literacy training, through the incorporation of adequate values and behavioral rules. Emphasis is placed on implementing true media literacy in schooling during early childhood to develop the children’s abilities

YouTube videos for young children: an exploratory study

The consumption of videos on the Internet by young children is increasing, and therefore, when they start school, a great part of their knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes will be influenced by the contents they have consumed in social networks such as YouTube, which is considered a third educational agent in childhood, together with families and school. It is thus appropriate to know what types of contents they are consuming, the characteristics of these publications, and their interactions with these channels. The present research will try to provide answers to these questions, with an exploratory and descriptive study with a sample of five YouTube channels in Spanish and Portuguese aimed at early childhood, starting with the category “Made for Kids” from Social Blade. The results of the study allowed us to discover the characteristics of the contents which have an effect on informal learning, favoring the child’s creativity and the development of abilities and competences of children. The conclusions stress the persistence of certain risks associated to the inadequate use of YouTube, inviting reflection on the need to broaden research studies on this subject matter, and the promotion of media and literacy training, through the incorporation of adequate values and behavioral rules. Emphasis is placed on implementing true media literacy in schooling during early childhood to develop the children’s abilitiesS

YouTube videos for young children: an exploratory study

The consumption of videos on the Internet by young children is increasing, and therefore, when they start school, a great part of their knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes will be influenced by the contents they have consumed in social networks such as YouTube, which is considered a third educational agent in childhood, together with families and school. It is thus appropriate to know what types of contents they are consuming, the characteristics of these publications, and their interactions with these channels. The present research will try to provide answers to these questions, with an exploratory and descriptive study with a sample of five YouTube channels in Spanish and Portuguese aimed at early childhood, starting with the category ?Made for Kids? from Social Blade. The results of the study allowed us to discover the characteristics of the contents which have an effect on informal learning, favoring the child?s creativity and the development of abilities and competences of children. The conclusions stress the persistence of certain risks associated to the inadequate use of YouTube, inviting reflection on the need to broaden research studies on this subject matter, and the promotion of media and literacy training, through the incorporation of adequate values and behavioral rules. Emphasis is placed on implementing true media literacy in schooling during early childhood to develop the childrens abilities

An approach to YouTubers´ children in Thailand. The case of minors as specialists in toys

Los canales de los niños Youtubers son una realidad que está presente en la vida de los menores. En este artículo se analiza la presencia de las marcas y productos en los vídeos de los Youtubers (menores de 14 años) y los formatos publicitarios utilizados en el caso de Tailandia, los indicios publicitarios y la identificación de la supuesta publicidad. La muestra han sido 6 canales de los que se analizaron 54 vídeos con 795 minutos de visionado aproximadamente durante los años 2017-2018. Se tomaron como criterios de selección de los vídeos los canales de YouTube de origen tailandés, de temática orientada a juguetes, con protagonista menor de 14 años a partir del ranking en Social Blade con mejor clasificación A (o B+ con ranking local no mayor de 100). Entre las principales conclusiones se ha constatado una relación de género entre los Youtubers y la tipología de juguetes mostrados, así como la presencia de indicios publicitarios pese a que no siempre se identifican los vídeos como publicidad y no siempre mantienen coherencia con el público objetivo. Ello sugiere un formato publicitario aún en proceso de profesionalización.YouTubers’ children’s channels are a current reality in children’s lives. This paper’s main objectives are, first, to analyse the presence of brands and products in YouTubers’ videos (youtubers under the age of fourteen); and, second, to examine the advertising formats used in Thailand, the advertising signs and identification of the alleged advertising. The survey sample comprised 6 channels with 54 videos, from which approximately 795 minutes from 2017-2018 were analysed. As regards the selection criteria, Thai YouTube channels devoted to toys and showing a child under 14-year old as the main figure, according to Social Blade ranking with the best A classification (or B + with local ranking no greater than 100) were considered. The key findings reveal a correlation between gender and the type of toy shown. In addition, the presence of advertising signs has been detected. However, these videos are not always identified as advertising and do not always cohere with the target. Thus, the study suggests an advertising format, currently in the process of professionalism

The 3 P\u27s: Pewdiepie, Popularity, and Profitability

This article takes an in-depth look at the most subscribed individual YouTube channel, Pewdiepie, as of 2019. Using the theoretical framework of Parasocial Interactions Theory, Hegemonic Masculinities Theory (HMT), and Inclusive Masculinities Theory (IMT), it is possible to better understand the factors of Pewdiepie’s popularity that have led to profitability. By surveying 50 Pewdiepie experts (via Instagram and YouTube), data about this particular relationship between popularity and profitability was obtained. This article puts forth the argument that factors such as Pewdiepie’s consistent uploading and sense of humor contribute to his immense popularity which only makes him more profitable. The more viewers that watch Pewdiepie’s videos, the more money he can make based on ad revenue and merchandise sales. This research contributes to a greater understanding of YouTube, consumer behavior, and Parasocial relationships. Pewdiepie’s ability to grow with the gaming industry and overcome controversy makes him a character of resilience

The Youtubers Phenomenon: What Makes Youtube Stars so Popular for Young People?

This paper aims to explore and to analyse the channels and the five most viewed videos published in May 2017 by two YouTubers – the Portuguese Wuant and the Swede PewDiePie. These YouTube stars were highlighted by a sample of Portuguese teenagers during the fieldwork of the European research project Transmedia Literacy. Based on these two cases, the article intends to identify the main distinctive traits of their productions, focusing on contents, performances and aesthetics, seeking to understand what characteristics make these YouTubers so popular among the young generation. The video analysis reveals complex, hybrid characters whose merit of attracting millions of fans cannot be denied. Their eccentric body language, the preference for easy jokes, the recurrence of slang, and a certain civic apathy are some of the very distinguishing features of these YouTubers.Este artículo tiene como objetivo explorar y analizar los canales y los cinco videos más vistos publicados en mayo de 2017 por dos YouTubers: el portugués Wuant y el sueco PewDiePie. Estas estrellas de YouTube fueron destacadas por una muestra de adolescentes portugueses durante el trabajo de campo del proyecto de investigación europeo Transmedia Literacy. Con base en estos dos casos, el artículo intenta identificar los principales rasgos distintivos de sus producciones, centrándose en los contenidos, la interpretación y la estética, buscando comprender qué características hacen que estos YouTubers sean tan populares entre los jóvenes. El análisis de los videos revela personajes complejos y híbridos, cuyo mérito de atraer a millones de fans no puede ser negado. Su excéntrico lenguaje corporal, la preferencia por los chistes fáciles, la recurrencia de la jerga y una cierta apatía cívica son algunas de sus características distintivas