A collaborative approach to teen supervision on YouTube

Beginning to roll out to families globally this week, the first iteration of this experience builds on our existing supervised experience for pre-teens. Soon, parents and teens will be able to link their YouTube accounts in our new Family Center hub. In Family Center, parents can see shared insights into their teens’ channel activity on YouTube including the number of uploads, subscriptions and comments. Parents (and teens) will also receive proactive email notifications at key events, like when teens upload a video or start a livestream, providing an opportunity to offer advice on responsible creation supported by resources created with Common Sense Networks, an affiliate of Common Sense Media.

Our products for youth, YouTube Kids and supervised experiences for pre-teens, reach more than 100 million active logged-in and logged-out viewers every month and the development of these products is guided by independent experts in child development, digital learning, and children’s media who hail from academic, nonprofit, and clinical backgrounds. In partnership with these experts and in accordance with our youth principles, we’ve created this new experience that respects teens’ autonomy by giving parents and teens mutual control and new resources that empower teens to become informed and responsible digital citizens. We’ll continue engaging with experts and parents as we expand and evolve this experience.

“It’s so important for teens to have space to make their own choices, express themselves, and explore their identity and values. It’s also important to have the wisdom of trusted adults in their lives if they need them. That’s why when I talk with teens and their parents about online activities, I encourage the idea of ‘trust, but verify.’ YouTube’s supervised experience for teens holds these developmental principles by having teens and their parents share decisions about supervision with continued open, two-way communication.” – Ellen Selkie, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin-Madison