Are you a parent? If so, is your child old enough to use the Internet? If you have a child in high school or middle school, there's a good chance you're just as concerned with Internet security as you should be. There are a plethora of websites online, including YouTube, that appeal to your kids. The only problem with these websites is that they can be dangerous if not used properly. It is therefore advised that you discuss popular internet sites like YouTube with your kids.
When it comes to discussing YouTube with their kids, many parents wonder what YouTube really is. If you've never heard of or watched YouTube before, it's recommended that you do so before talking to your kids about it. Once you visit the YouTube website, you will see that it is a video sharing website. Those who are thirteen years of age and older can register for a free YouTube account. Once an account is registered, those with the account can watch, rate, or discuss YouTube videos with other YouTube members, as well as share their own videos online.
With YouTube security, most of the focus should be on uploading and sharing videos, but it's also important that you touch on watching videos as well. There are many YouTube videos that contain adult content. While YouTube makes an effort to ensure that each of these videos is marked in some way, not all are. You might want to remind your child that they are the same, a child. You can also put limits on the type of videos they can watch. For example, it is possible to find educational videos on YouTube, such as how-to guides. It might be a good idea for your kids to watch these types of videos, as they are likely to be getting a little education at the same time.
As stated earlier, most of the focus should be on uploading videos to YouTube. In the past, a large numerous, of YouTube members posted videos that contained clips from their favorite movies, television shows, or music videos. Due to copyright issues, YouTube is trying to reduce these types of videos, as they are actually illegal without the proper permission. You may want to explain this to your children, as they may not be familiar with copyrights and how they work. In most cases, if your kids post a video on YouTube that they aren't allowed to do, the video will be removed, but as more and more companies get fed up with displaying their work on the Internet, More serious action can be taken.
It's also important that you talk to your kids about safety, even when sharing videos on YouTube or making videos for the sole purpose of putting them on the YouTube website. A popular type of video that many young adults, including high school students, are making, are video blogs. Video blogs are like traditional blogs, where they outline events in people's lives, but they are in video format. The only problem with video blogs is that many YouTube members are sitting right in front of the camera, exposing their faces to everyone. While this may be considered safe, giving too much information while showing your face is not. You may want to tell your children that they should not, under any circumstances, give their full name, their address, or their phone numbers, even cell phone numbers.
Although YouTube members are able to talk to each other, the risk of meeting predators online is not as high as on traditional social networking sites like MySpace, but the threat still exists. Tell your kids that you don't want them to talk to other YouTube members, because they never really know who's behind the computer.
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