YouTube Amazing Array of Videos

Dear Dr. Dave and Dr. Dee,

My 8 year old son and his friends watch videos on Youtube. Is YouTube safe for children?

Signed,

Wondering

Dear Wondering,

Children should always be monitored when they are on the computer. Restricting use of YouTube for your child should be similar to limiting television and video games.

YouTube does not allow videos with nudity, graphic violence, hate, abuse, or harassment. YouTube works closely with law enforcement and will report child exploitation. In addition, some videos can only be accessed by viewers age 18 or older.

YouTube is a video sharing community website where you can upload and watch an amazing array of creative videos. Although there are many silly videos on YouTube, there are also videos that provide clips of educational information, movies, music, news, politics, sports, and television, all without commercials.

The popularity of YouTube is remarkable. Yi-Wyn Yen reported in Fortune Magazine that "In January [2008], nearly 79 million viewers, or a third of all online viewers in the U.S., watched more than three billion user-posted videos on YouTube" (http://techland.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/03/25/youtube-looks-for-the-money-clip/)

Today, Youtube simply reports that, "We have hundreds of millions of users from around the world" (http://www.youtube.com/t/faq).

For more information, go to www.youtube.com