Becoming a YouTuber - a dream job for kids

Like music and movie stars, YouTubers are also great role models for children and young people. It is therefore hardly surprising that many adolescents dream of becoming YouTubers themselves. They often only see the glamorous side: creating videos, pursuing their hobbies (such as computer games, traveling or make-up) and potentially earning a lot of money.

However, the reality also includes new features and challenges that are often overlooked. YouTube Shorts allows YouTubers to create and share short, vertical videos of up to 60 seconds in length to increase their reach. YouTube Premium offers additional benefits such as ad-free streaming, music streaming via YouTube Music and the ability to watch videos offline. In addition, YouTube is increasingly using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automatically moderate content and detect violations of community guidelines. This can affect the visibility of videos and is crucial for compliance with guidelines. It is important to talk to your child about the realistic aspects of this profession and correct any naïve ideas they may have.

Discuss with your child:

• Cost of technology and equipment: purchasing the necessary technology, such as a camera, microphone and editing software, can be expensive.
• Effort and know-how: Setting up a successful YouTube channel requires extensive knowledge of filming, editing and video production as well as a considerable investment of time.
• Workload: To remain successful on YouTube, YouTubers need to be continuously active. In addition to the YouTube presence, other platforms such as Instagram are also important to maintain reach. This hardly allows for any breaks, otherwise the reach will decrease and with it the advertising revenue.
• Privacy:YouTubers must be prepared to share a lot of personal information about their lives, which makes them vulnerable to criticism and cyberbullying.

Before your child publishes their own YouTube clips, they should note the following points:

• Google account: A Google account is required to create a YouTube channel. According to the GDPR, users must be at least 16 years old to fully understand the responsibility for handling personal data. For children and young people under the age of 18, parental consent is also required to create a YouTube channel.
• Maintain privacy: The YouTube username should not reveal any personal information such as real name, age or place of residence. When creating videos, it is important to avoid private areas such as the children's room and only show those aspects of your personal life that you feel comfortable with.
• Use privacy settings: Privacy settings should be adjusted for each video posted on YouTube. Videos can either be uploaded publicly, only for certain people or as "unlisted". The latter means that only people with the link have access, but the link can be shared by third parties.
• Observe copyright law: Strict copyright laws apply on YouTube. Users may not upload third-party videos without permission. Their consent should also be obtained for recordings of people in the video, especially for "embarrassing" scenes. If possible, music should be created by the user or used from sources licensed under Creative Commons to avoid legal problems.
• Comment function: Dealing with criticism is an important aspect. Prepare your child for the fact that not all comments will be positive. Explain how to report comments or switch off the comment function in the YouTube settings. Saferinternet.at offers detailed step-by-step instructions on how to manage and report comments.