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The nightmare videos of childrens' YouTube — and what's wrong with the internet today | James Bridle

TED · 6M views · 2018-07-13 · 16:33

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Overview

Writer and artist James Bridle shows how strange and disturbing children's videos on YouTube, from surprise eggs to algorithmic mashups, are produced for ad revenue. He argues they reveal problems in a data-driven internet.

On Hacker News

Cited to explain how YouTube's algorithms produce appalling content aimed at children, and as a reason to keep kids off the platform.

Recommended by 1 HN people across 1 months · HN mentions 2018–2025

Topics

Internet culture & memesFuturism & technology and societyMedia, journalism & propaganda
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youtubechildrenalgorithmsted talkadvertisinginternet culture

What people said

truebosko · 2018-10 · Recommendation

Everytime I think of YouTube and kids I think of those bizarre videos featuring Elsa and Spiderman that are oddly disturbing and borderline erotic. This TED talk sums up why I'll never allow my child to go on YouTube. What a mess they've allowed. [VIDEO]

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lm28469 · 2025-07 · Criticism

> YouTube is such an invaluable learning resource that I would have serious qualms about denying a school-age child access to it. Give a 5 years old unlimited access to youtube and witness the cesspool it is. Nobody is saying youtube is 100% bad, but people who don't know better (kids for example) are easily manipulated in watching the most brain rot content you can imagine, for hours and hours. It's an ocean of shit within which you might find a few gems if you know what you want or if you get extremely lucky. [VIDEO]

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tb303 · 2019-06 · Criticism

Yeah, there's youtube kids! [LINK] [VIDEO] [LINK] 2018 you say? surely they've fixed things by now? nope [LINK] etc. and that's why none of my kids' devices have youtube on them anymore

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Sources

Video by TED, played through YouTube.

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