Opinion: ‘Kid-friendly’ videos? More like ‘kid trash’
Some popular children’s channels on YouTube promote consumerism and bad behavior; also, they’re plain annoying.
Editor’s note: This story is part of the annual Mosaic Journalism Workshop for Bay Area high school students, a two-week intensive course in journalism. Students in the program report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.
It’s been a long day. The dishes are piled high in the sink, there are bills to be paid, and the kids are rolling across the carpet. You gather your lovable little gremlins to the couch, grab the remote, and put on something from YouTube Kids.
Don’t let the bright colors and smiley faces distract you from how brainwashing “kid-friendly” content on these platforms can be, especially those aimed at preschoolers.
Let’s take a look at “Ryan’s World,” one of the top 10 most popular children-themed YouTube channels as of 2023. It features Ryan, a young boy who went from unboxing toys to being the star in multiple channels revolving around role play, science experiments, music videos, etc. And now you can see his merchandise everywhere.
This kid opens a different toy in every single video, and they’re used as advertising for those brands. And Ryan himself is always playing with his parents or bothering them when they work. What message does that spread? That children can constantly buy new toys? That parents can always be at a child’s beck and call? Basically, Ryan’s a terrible influence on his target audience, children who can’t tell that “Ryan’s World” is nothing but role play and advertising.
Ten times more annoying than “Ryan’s World” is the Russian TV show “Masha and the Bear.” It’s available on Netflix as well as YouTube, where it holds third place in the aforementioned list of popular kids’ channels. It tells the adventures of a little girl named Masha, described by the channel to be a friendly child who interacts with a “paternal bear.” Apparently, their relationship “enlightens children about real friendship, care, freedom of creativity and basic skills in a funny and smart manner.”
Boy, let me assure you, that’s far from the truth.
Masha will make your child, no matter how naughty or noisy they may be, seem like an angel. She’s always chasing after poor Bear, wrecking his home, causing trouble she never takes responsibility for, and spending her entire days ruining the lives of the animals around her. And again, kids could follow her example, seeing it as normal to be as demonically clingy, needy and unruly.
And while there’s a long list of other kids’ channels to be criticized, I’ll always hold a special place on my hate list for “CocoMelon,” the third most streamed show in 2022 and the second most subscribed YouTube channel as of 2023.
Its videos follow a toddler and his loving family as he plays games with his siblings and goes to preschool. The channel uses nursery rhymes and original songs, and the terrifying thing about them is that they can worm their way into people’s heads and get stuck in there. Combine that with animated children in a vibrant world and you’ve got the perfect recipe for hypnosis and insanity.
“CocoMelon” has been criticized by child development experts: Jennifer Sannes, who has a bachelor’s in family and child development, claims “CocoMelon” is over-stimulating and addictive, to the point where kids experience withdrawal symptoms when the screen is off.
But they’re also just awfully annoying. There’s something disturbing about watching my younger relatives get super excited to watch these videos and then collectively sing and dance along to the songs on repeat.
Don’t even bother bringing up the educational aspect; their target audiences are preschoolers and babies who usually can’t understand the language, and lessons like recycling or eating your greens are completely overtaken by the melodies and movements. They’re broken records, turning both kids and parents completely mindless.
In short, kids’ channels like these are drugs for kids. But you can’t possibly sue every kids’ channel and stop them from profiting off of tired parents who have no other way to get their child to sit still for an hour. You also can’t expect kids to make the right choices themselves or adhere to any restrictions. And anyway, what kind of restrictions can you put on channels meant for kids?
The solution can be simple. Like avoiding the donut shop on the way home or opting for an apple instead of cake, it takes adaptation and alternatives. Most of these shows slap on a ton of wacky effects and exaggerated expressions to grab the attention of preschoolers, but a family movie, for example, has to try a bit harder to appeal to a wider audience. Or they’ll have some sort of moral lesson that parents can teach their kids.
At the very least, they won’t include brain-numbing nursery rhymes.
Shannon Ma is a student at Yerba Buena High School in San Jose.