Debate: Australia’s child YouTube ban is smart — and Canada should follow suit

Australia recently made headlines for announcing it will ban children under 16 from creating YouTube accounts this winter. Now, the big question is, should Canada follow suit?

When you think of YouTube, what comes to mind? Saved recipes for your favourite dishes, influencer vlogs, dog videos, or the channel that you swear you will watch just one video from … then suddenly, it’s 2:00 am.

Australia recently recognized this rabbit hole and made the bold decision to introduce this ban, treating it like other social media giants including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat.

But is YouTube even a social media platform? According to the company, no. It is just a “video library.” But let us be real, YouTube has influencers, trends, likes, comments, subscriptions, and an algorithm designed to keep you glued to the screen. So yes, it is social media. It’s where kids form communities, follow trends, and sometimes face pressures they are not ready for.

Endless scrolling and exposure to unrealistically good lifestyles deeply affect children’s mental health. Cutting off account creation for children under 16 would give them a little more breathing room and time to focus on other tasks. Besides, different content invokes different emotions in children, which further affects their emotional state.

The ban might also encourage children to decrease their screen time and see more of the real world. If they can’t create accounts and join communities, they might spend less time obsessively scrolling or comparing themselves to others. With fewer distractions from likes and comments, maybe they’ll actually go outside to play soccer instead of endlessly watching highlights from their room.

Even after parental controls, children might stumble across inappropriate, misleading, or simply disturbing content. Remember those dangerous trending challenge videos, like the cinnamon challenge or Bird Box challenge, where people tried to do regular tasks with a blindfold on and ended up in the hospital instead of going viral. Yeah, that’s the content children try to recreate. 

Critics might argue that banning YouTube for kids under 16 would take away learning opportunities. After all, the platform does offer free lectures, tutorials, and skill-building videos. But here’s the catch — kids can still access content on the platform. What they can’t do is sign up, create an account, comment on other videos, or interact with strangers. 

In other words, no one’s stopping a 15 year old from watching algebra videos. They just can’t comment “this sucks” under it and interact with other teenagers who might have similar thoughts.

Like children around the world, Canadian kids are not magically immune to the dangers of the internet. If anything, they are just glued to the screens like their Australian friends — even more so, perhaps (thanks to winter boredom).

Social media addictions, cyberbullying, and exposure to harmful content can transcend geographical boundaries. By considering a similar ban, Canada would be taking a step towards protecting children’s mental health, promoting safe online spaces, and sparing parents the daily battle of “No, you can’t be a YouTuber at 12.”

Long story short, YouTube can survive without 13-year-old kids trying to become tomorrow’s influencers. Kids will survive without arguing with strangers in comment sections.

Australia’s move is bold but smart. Canada should seriously consider following suit.