What’s in this guide?
- What to consider first
- Are there any benefits?
- How to talk with children about vlogging
- 10 tips for live streaming and vlogging safely
What to consider first
Before letting your child live stream or vlog, Dr Tamasine Preece shares the following advice.
Consider the long-term impact of exposure
There are a number of key motivators for the young vlogger. Some young people like the possibility of a financial reward for engaging in activities that they already enjoy such as gaming, producing music, socialising with friends or sharing their opinion.
If successful in generating an income, children and teens, as with all financial decisions, will need direction to make sound decisions relating to investment and purchases.
As adults who have watched the rise and fall of child actors will know, fame can be fickle. Yet, the impact on a young person’s education, reputation and financial sense will last a great deal longer.
Complying with community rules
The sheer number of site users means that vloggers often feel compelled to produce controversial or shocking content to ensure maximum visibility.
Adults need to support children to ensure that they comply with policy and laws relating to copyright, fair use, slander, libel and harassment.
Some children will feel a sense of release and acceptance from the publication of a confessional style video, during which they talk about their mental health or an issue that they are facing. Additionally, they will likely garner positive feedback from others within the community. However, parents and carers should discuss with their children the potential impacts on their wellbeing and reputation in both the present and future.
Obsession with likes, shares and views
The popularity of video-sharing platforms like YouTube and the prevalence of young people who produce and view the content clearly indicate that vlogging is a highly rewarding activity. However, as in the case of texting, sharing and interacting online, evidence suggests that some young people become obsessed with chasing likes, views, shares and comments. If they don’t receive that feedback, they might feel unhappy or even depressed.
Therefore, a teen might want to create more content, perhaps at the cost of sleep, their school work or personal relationships.
Are there any benefits?
For many young people, vlogging offers an opportunity to achieve a desirable level of notoriety. This is usually only achieved by peers whom they perceive to be more popular and successful than themselves. So, for some children who might have felt socially isolated due to a special interest, personal characteristic or due to a life experience, they might find a wider community of those who share their interests. Some see a YouTube channel as an opportunity to gain visibility, credibility or a sense of connectedness with peers.
How to talk with children about vlogging
A number of young children develop content in the full knowledge that they will provoke a negative reaction in others. In some cases, this could be categorised as digital self-harm. This is when someone deliberately provokes others in order to elicit a response from others that they feel that they deserve.
Discussing these issues and feelings, then, is important to support young people’s wellbeing. Dialogue between parents, carers and children should address the motivations and the expectations of the young person. This can help ensure that there is the opportunity to identify underlying issues that would benefit from exploration in a more private setting.
Identity play, experimenting with new ideas and opinions and attempting to seek out and align with a peer group is a fundamental aspect of adolescence. It is regrettable, says Dr Preece, that this stage of a child’s development has become, in the case of some teenagers, a public performance.
Teenagers are renowned for their misjudged and ill-thought out comments. However, they are entitled to the opportunity for a caring adult to hold them to account in a supportive way, helping to learn and develop them the social skills that will enable to live successfully as an independent adult.