UNDERSTANDING THE DANGERS OF YOUTUBE: THE DARK SIDE OF UNLIMITED CONTENT

Following in the footsteps of Myspace on the list of the hottest websites for teens is YouTube, a free online video hosting community which allows you to upload, view, and share video clips with others. Their slogan, “Broadcast Yourself,” has struck a chord with their internet audience, resulting in over 6.1 million videos uploaded - with a growth rate of 20% per month. As of the beginning of September there was a recorded 1.73 billion viewings of the YouTube website. If we were to calculate the total time of YouTube watched, humanity would have spent over an estimated 9,205 years watching videos.

A wide variety of videos are uploaded onto YouTube every day. With the click of a mouse, teenagers can access music videos, home movies, movie clips and more. Many of the videos on YouTube are harmless fun, or may even have good or impactful messages. It’s a great place for people to share their creativity and has the potential to be used to bless, inspire, and amuse. Unfortunately, some of the content that can be viewed through YouTube is questionable, and we shouldn’t be oblivious to its dangerous side. Although YouTube outlines its user submission policy on their website and does not allow obscenity, threatening or violent images, pornographic images, or criminal conduct to be uploaded, a large amount of that very content is uploaded nevertheless. If you continue to read through the terms of use portion of the website you will see that YouTube warns viewers that they will be exposed to the very things that are prohibited from being uploaded.

Searching using the word “violence” on the site brings up 8,320 results. Granted that seems like a small number and many of those videos are “anti-violence” pitches, but if you do a more detailed search using the words “gore,” or “blood,” you will get a much different result with the ability to view horrendous images. There have also been instances of teenagers filming school fights on their mobile phones, and later uploading the videos onto YouTube. You can watch people light themselves on fire, see violent car accidents, view stupid stunts gone wrong, and more. Of course, many explicit videos can only be viewed if you have an account - but there have been many instances where this was not a requirement. In addition, an account is easy to create, and information given out on the internet is notoriously easy to forge.

But violence isn’t the only thing that YouTube has let pass under the radar. Pornographic pictures and videos are uploaded onto the website and often get ignored, likely due to the sheer number of videos being uploaded to the website every month. With the ability to create profiles (not unlike Myspace), users can upload pictures of their choosing. In an article entitled “How YouTube became hot property in online video” Greg Kostello, the chief executive of another online video site, says "I can't imagine my kids coming to a site and seeing some of the porn...that shows up on YouTube on an almost daily basis, And if you are an advertiser, you aren't going to be happy if porn shows up by one of your ads."

As a concerned parent, you are probably wondering what you can do to protect your children or teenagers from viewing objectionable material on the websites that they routinely visit. There are many steps you can take that can dramatically reduce the risk of violence and pornography being accessed. One of the most basic steps that can be taken to ensure your teen’s safety is to express the importance of having a biblical view when it comes to what they put into their minds. Be vocal with your teens about the dangers that await them on the internet. Don’t shy away from holding them accountable for what they watch. One of the simplest and most effective things you can do is to set the computer up in a family room so your teen can be easily monitored. Make sure to be aware of how much time your teen is spending in front of a computer screen.

In order to help prevent accidental viewing, there are several software programs on the market that could be of help to you. Purchasing software such as “Cybersitter” allows you to monitor your home computer wherever internet access is available. “Netnanny” claims that their software will stop online pornography and protect your children from potential internet predators. These two software programs are a good investment to protect your children as they use the internet.

The rising epidemic of the sexualization of our culture is a concern to many Christians and non-Christians alike. We must do what we can to raise our battle cry and say “enough is enough.” There is no more room for compromise. If we truly want to see America changed for Christ, we have to start living like we mean what we say.

Sources: http://online.wsj.com, www.theage.com.au, www.associatedcontent.com

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