APA video guidance for teens calls for education, limited exposure to certain content

Key takeaways:

• Guardians, content creators and distributors, policymakers and teenagers themselves are responsible for healthy video viewing.
• Certain videos can be harmful or helpful to teenagers’ well-being.

The American Psychological Association released its first ever set of recommendations regarding healthy video consumption by teenagers, who have greater access to a larger volume of video content than ever before, according to the report.

The report — authored by an expert advisory panel — details how certain videos can benefit teens, such as those that help them to develop their self-concept and identify, or that contain “joyful” content, whereas others that include depictions of violence or that invoke detrimental social comparisons can harm teens. The authors include recommendations geared for parents as well as policymakers and the technology industry on steps they can take to encourage and participate in the healthy viewing of this content by teens.

“It is the shared responsibility of video platforms, content creators, parents, caregivers, educators, policymakers and the technology industry to create an environment where youth can learn and express themselves safely online,” Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, CEO and executive vice president at the APA, said in a related association press release.

Helpful vs. harmful content

The authors note that video content can help teens socially, academically, culturally and psychologically. Videos can encourage a more stable sense of self and identity; help teenagers with their homework; teach them new hobbies and skills; introduce new cultures and experiences; and promote empathy, joy and stronger relationships.

On the contrary, teenagers may become desensitized to or mimic the behaviors demonstrated in videos that contain aggression, violence, substance use, self-harm or suicide, unrealistic body standards or negative racial or ethnic stereotypes.

Considering that parents cannot possibly monitor all the videos their children watch, the report authors instead recommend that caregivers limit exposure to videos that specifically include these types of harmful content. They also recommend supervising access to influencer content, which can have a strong influence over teen behavior and may encourage harmful beliefs and habits or persuade teens into purchasing advertised products.

In general, the report recommends curbing exposure to advertisements, which can contribute to materialism and unhealthy behaviors, and promote the use of ad-free content platforms.

Teenagers also should be taught video literacy in school to learn how to properly engage with this content, according to the recommendations. This may include learning how to detect misinformation, search for reliable information and express their feelings when engaging with content. The report also recommends that teens are taught about the dangers of AI-produced videos and AI’s ability to produce sensationalized, false and biased content.

Parents and caregivers can also support health video consumption by setting clear expectations and rules for their child, modeling healthy engagement behavior and encouraging open discussion about this content. Teens also should be encouraged to engage in actions necessary for development, such as sleep, exercise, hobbies and in-person social interaction, rather than dedicating all their time to video consumption.

Role of policymakers, tech

Further, the authors place responsibility on policymakers and regulators who should “institute regulations that safeguard adolescents from harmful content and negative impacts,” they wrote.

Similarly, video platforms should better moderate and label content based on age-appropriateness and implement effective and easy-to-use parental controls, the authors added. Online platforms could also limit built-in features that harm the development of teens, such as autoplay, which can lead to excessive screen time.

“We hope these recommendations will motivate regulators, policymakers and tech companies to take meaningful steps to safeguard adolescents from harmful content and platform features that promote overuse,” Evans said in the release.

The authors of the report note, however, that less research concerning video consumption has focused on teenagers in historically underrepresented racial, ethnic and gender groups, as well as teenagers with disabilities, mental health issues and neurodivergences. As research expands, more data concerning these groups will become available, according to the press release.

Reference:

• APA issues recommendations for teens viewing online videos. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2024/11/teens-viewing-online-videos. Published Nov. 20, 2024. Accessed Dec. 4, 2024.