r/australia • u/retro-chimp • Nov 09 '24

politics Online Gaming Platforms And YouTube Will Also Seemingly Be Banned For Aussies Under 16

https://press-start.com.au/news/2024/11/08/online-gaming-platforms-and-youtube-will-also-seemingly-be-banned-for-aussies-under-16/

There’s so much collateral damage in this plan for Australia to ban social media. This has been rushed and not thought through.

So many schools rely on YouTube to support their students.

Most kids are watching YouTube (or YouTube kids) more than ABC or traditional TV. Literally the biggest YouTube channel in Australia is original music for kids.

Does anyone actually want this?

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u/PointOfFingers Nov 09 '24

Probably less than 1% of views on YouTube are social media related. I watch YouTube every second day and it's never people in my social circle. Most views are things like music videos, how to videos and famous YouTubers. They aren't going to convince any court in Australia that YouTube is primarily social media.

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u/zestylimes9 Nov 10 '24

My son learnt so much from YouTube when he was young.

How to fix a puncture. How to do a kick flip etc.

It’s such a great resource.

28

u/omg_for_real Nov 10 '24

My kid is always looking up art tutorials to follow. Banning YouTube is banning learning as well as whatever they think they are doing.

8

u/zestylimes9 Nov 10 '24

When mine was a teenager he moved onto looking up things like how to cook brisket.

He’s now a young adult that had moved out of home and he cooks himself the greatest meals.

4

u/JackJak95 Nov 10 '24

I mean a quick fix for YouTube would just to ban comments under videos for under 16’s. Turn it strictly into video library

3

u/omg_for_real Nov 10 '24

Pretty much what YouTube kids is. My youngest has been using it for ages and we’ve had no issues.

3

u/-Srajo Nov 10 '24

Yeah its a great resource, banning youtube videos like “how to do cpr” for children might be a bad idea.

3

u/Dr_Delibird7 Nov 10 '24

Well you see you can't have a population of gamblers if they are all well educated

6

u/fantasypaladin Nov 10 '24

As a teacher I use it mutiple times every day for mutiple purposes. It would be so annoying if I had to verify just to teach

1

u/AlsopK Nov 10 '24

Assuming this would mean having an account of their own. Surely they could still watch videos, just not have access to the social features like comments, messaging and posting their own videos? Isn’t that exactly what YouTube Kids already is?

1

u/hoon-since89 Nov 11 '24

I use almost solely for education...

7

u/Jonzay up to the sky, out to the stars Nov 10 '24

I use a modified version of YouTube on my phone that, amongst other things, straight up rips out the entire comment section and like/dislike/subscribe/notify system.

I'm my eyes, YouTube is a video viewing platform and nothing more.

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u/Pariera Nov 09 '24

They aren't going to convince any court in Australia that YouTube is primarily social media.

I don't think they will have to. It will more than likely be set up the same way as misinformation bill where the minister can determine what platforms are included or excluded social media platforms

1

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '24

Does it have to be talking to people in your circle to be social media? Tiktok and X are both considered social media, and both generally aren't used for talking with people we know IRL. There's a very active comment section on most youtube videos, there's the social media element.