Part 1 explained why children and young people want to become YouTubers or social media stars: With the famous influencers , it seems so easy to earn money and have fun at the same time by producing so-called content. If you want to support this desire, you should consider a few things.
Take your child’s wish seriously and talk to him about it. Children are not necessarily able to assess all the risks associated with publishing on the Internet. It’s hard for them to imagine how many people might watch such a video and the ways in which it can be redistributed. Children also cannot yet foresee that being the center of attention all the time can mean stress. You also have to deal with criticism about your own videos. Successful influencers are under pressure to keep producing new videos for their fans in order to stay in the conversation. Most children and young people who are active on YouTube, i.e. who publish their own videos there, are usually only known in their immediate environment. Her followers are mainly friends and joy.
Make your child aware of these things and discuss together the decision to produce their own content for social media. Think about what’s in favor and what’s against. Ask what is actually behind the desire and what is the goal of having your own YouTube channel. Should it start as a hobby? What should it be about? Which topics and contents should occur? What should the videos look like?
Talk to your child about the fact that success as a YouTuber also depends on luck. Maybe things don’t go as hoped at the beginning or the videos don’t meet your expectations. Especially the possibility of not making one’s own videos publicly available to everyone is well suited for trying out being a YouTuber and improving one’s filming skills in a protected setting. Still, your child can show off his latest work to friends in the schoolyard or grandma.
Frank’s daughter is constantly holding her smartphone because she’s afraid of missing something in the digital space. The phenomenon is called “Fear Of Missing Out”, or FOMO for short. Media educator Lidia de Reese explains why Messenger and Co. can also be overwhelming and what you can do about it.