YouTube's new teen safeguards to limit triggering suggestions

YouTube has announced additional protective measures for its content recommendations geared towards teenagers. Specifically, the company has announced plans to reduce the repetitive suggestions of videos related to subjects that could provoke body image concerns, such as those that compare physical attributes or promote specific body types, weights, or fitness levels.

Additionally, the platform will limit the recurring display of videos featuring "social aggression," including non-contact fights or intimidation.

According to the video-sharing platform, while some of these videos may appear harmless individually, they can become problematic when teenagers are exposed to such content repeatedly. These changes are necessary because YouTube's recommendations are influenced by user engagement with content. 

In addition to these recommendation adjustments, it will also enhance its "take a break" and "bedtime" reminders, initially introduced in 2018. These features will now be more visually prominent and appear more frequently for viewers under 18. They will be activated by default in account settings and will be presented as full-screen reminders on YouTube Shorts and long-form videos, with a default "take a break" reminder set for every 60 minutes. 

YouTube is expanding its crisis resource panels to provide full-page experiences when users explore topics related to suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders. These expanded panels will offer resources such as third-party crisis hotlines and recommended prompts to guide users towards other topics like "self-compassion" or "grounding exercises," the company has revealed.

To establish these new guidelines, it has collaborated with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Common Sense Networks, an affiliate of Common Sense Media. The latter will assist YouTube in developing new educational materials for parents and teenagers, offering guidance on fostering intentional and safe online habits, creating content with empathy and awareness, and adopting best practices for handling comments, shares, and other online interactions.