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YouTube to restrict teenagers’ exposure to videos about weight and fitness
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2024
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I'm sorry what. What is wrong about weight and fitness videos for youth? Watching those types of videos is what has lead me to lose 100 pounds in real life? Out of everything they have the option to restrict not that I want anything restricted to be honest.
They think being bombarded by them can cause body shame issues, and that teenagers are particularly vulnerable.
They're not removing access, just limiting the volume of recommendations.
Yeah, I think we had enough anorexia cases.
There a lot of fatties out there that think they are healthy and that someone who got visible ribs in anorexic. Heard quite a few stories if people going to the doctors and finding out they are obese when they thought they were a healthy weight.
People need more education on this matter not less.
FTA: YouTube’s global head of health, Dr Garth Graham, said: “As a teen is developing thoughts about who they are and their own standards for themselves, repeated consumption of content featuring idealised standards that starts to shape an unrealistic internal standard could lead some to form negative beliefs about themselves.”
And while I'm sure this is true, this is a minority of people, and they should seek help for their problem. There are far more who benefit from hearing about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and how to achieve it.
They should already be hearing that stuff from their parents and teachers, but I have my doubts. And they're much more likely to listen to influencers than authority figures at certain ages.
But the whole thing is even more pointless. They're mostly influenced by seeing these beautiful people constantly on TV, movies, and Youtube, and thinking that they don't measure up to them. Simply stopping some health care videos is going to do nothing for the problem and only prevent videos with the information they need.
I'm going to push back and say this is actually still a good move. You're assuming the weight and fitness videos are created equal, and I can assure you, they are not.
Most aren't qualified to be sharing exercise or diet information, many are little more than to show off the person's physique or sell a product, and some offer potentially dangerous or pseudoscientific advice that could sabotage a person's progress.
Knowing how to spot those problematic videos comes with experience, and I don't believe teens (in general; there's obviously exceptions) have a well-developed skillset for spotting bullshit.
So while I agree this is probably a PR move, I think it will still be a positive outcome.
We definitely don't need more Andrew Tates in the world.
Yep.
Something tells me that Google won't be turning down fast food companies that want to advertise with them, or reducing recommendations of channels that show off/review fast food a lot.
Maybe I'm being cynical, but this seems more like a "let's get some good headlines" ploy than something that will seriously help anybody.
I don't know what the best course is, but screwing over channels that promote exercise and healthy living doesn't sound like a good option to me. Even if they can exacerbate some people's perceived body issues.
hi, what does FTA mean? google shows a lot of different answers, thanks
"From The Article"
thank you :)
Weightlifting at certain young ages can be harmful. I'm not sure if that's part of the motivation as I'm not certain what the ages are, but that's something else to consider.
EDIT: Typo
Not more harmful than being obese. Or damage caused by body image issues.
https://ourworldindata.org/obesity
I didn't say that it is.
But to your second point, as others have mentioned, body image issues are likely the biggest reason for the change discussed in the OP.
This is a great idea, we don't need more Gymcel videos targeted towards the youth