One new YouTube feature has caught the attention of one of the platform’s biggest tech creators.
Linus, the creator behind one of YouTube’s biggest tech channels, LinusTechTips, has publicly praised a new feature on the platform that gives families more control over how their kids use YouTube, especially when it comes to short-form video content.
Welcome Change To Parental Controls
On a recent episode of the WAN Show, Linus spoke about YouTube’s evolving safety tools and singled out a new parental control option as particularly important. He explained that the updated controls let parents block or limit access to YouTube Shorts without restricting the rest of the app, which he sees as a big step forward.
“I think the biggest one for me was actually the parental controls.”
He said, adding that he doesn’t mind his own kids using YouTube.
“But I mind a lot them doom-scrolling Shorts.”
Short-form videos can be addictive for everyone, no matter the age (everyone who found themselves doom-scrolling before, let us know in the comments so we don't feel so alone). Shorts can be especially addicting and hard to manage for kids, though, as multiple studies already suggest.
Linus also compared the different "moral panics" of the generations:
“Yeah, I do feel a little bit as every generation goes through this. Books were once the devil and an idol pastime that rotted your brain, and then it was radio, and then it was TV, and then it was video games and then and then and then and then and so, you know, I’m sitting here going, ‘Well, you know, I grew up with YouTube and I turned out okay.’ But these shorts, these shorts are bad. They’ll rot your brain.”
YouTube has been expanding its family-focused features in recent years, including supervised accounts, content filters, and screen time tools. The newest additions give parents a more nuanced way to manage what their kids see, they just have to use it.
Linus´s Take Resonates With Viewers
His community responded positively to the discussion, with many agreeing that better parental controls have been needed for a long time. Some fans even joked that they want to use the new feature for themselves, saying it might finally help them cut down on how much time they spend scrolling through Shorts.
"Can I turn off shorts for my own account via parental controls too?"
If you wanna check out the video yourself, check it out right here; the segment starts at 6:47.
Do you plan to use the new Shorts control options on YouTube? Let us know what you think in the comments.