Guided by uses and gratifications theory, the current project invited parents (N = 358) to submit YouTube videos (N = 973) recently viewed by their children aged 0 to 8. Parents rated each video for its perceived impact on their child, while coders evaluated each video for its content. Results indicated that in-depth educational lessons were rare in these videos, and potentially harmful depictions were common (e.g., physical aggression). Despite these issues, parents reported that these videos often evoked children's joy, fostered social bonding, and allowed children to explore niche interests. Some patterns varied by age, such that older (vs. younger) children viewed fewer educational videos, and they experienced fewer emotional gratifications from viewing. However, older children also viewed more videos with peers, and parents reported that those experiences facilitated peer bonding. Collectively, these findings replicate some concerning patterns found in previous research while also hinting at positive aspects of YouTube exposure that are neglected in discourse about children's experiences online.

中文翻译：

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You Do You[Tube]！在线视频观看在美国儿童生活中的多方面作用


在用途和满足理论的指导下，当前的项目邀请家长 （N = 358） 提交 0 至 8 岁孩子最近观看的 YouTube 视频 （N = 973）。家长根据每个视频对孩子的感知影响进行评分，而编码员则评估每个视频的内容。结果表明，在这些视频中，深入的教育课程很少见，并且可能有害的描述很常见（例如，身体攻击）。尽管存在这些问题，但家长们报告说，这些视频经常唤起孩子们的快乐，培养了社会纽带，并允许孩子们探索小众兴趣。一些模式因年龄而异，因此年龄较大（相对于年龄较小）的儿童观看的教育视频较少，并且他们从观看中获得的情感满足感较少。然而，年龄较大的孩子也与同龄人一起观看了更多视频，家长报告说这些经历促进了同龄人之间的联系。总的来说，这些发现复制了先前研究中发现的一些令人担忧的模式，同时也暗示了 YouTube 曝光的积极方面，这些方面在关于儿童在线体验的讨论中被忽视了。