Creepy videos on YouTube, how to protect children

Discovered videos for adults that mimic some of the most popular cartoons for children and that unfortunately are also seen by children

Children are known to be easily impressionable. An image seen on television, particularly gory, can give rise to problems of a psychological nature. And with the now massive diffusion of tablets and smartphones, children are likely to encounter even more dangerous content. As demonstrated by the latest case discovered involving YouTube.

Some disturbing videos have been discovered on Google's streaming platform. Nothing new, if it weren't for the fact that this content has as its subject some of the most popular and beloved cartoons among young children. Including, for example, Peppa Pig. So children, convinced they are watching one of the episodes of the cute little pig, find themselves instead in front of videos in which the characters of a cartoon are inserted in violent and gruesome contexts. Images that, therefore, are not suitable for viewing by a child. Unfortunately, the phenomenon is not isolated to Peppa Pig alone. From what we can guess, many other cartoons have been targeted, including even Frozen and the Thomas train.

Violent and obscene content

The situation is particularly serious especially because children, even very young ones, are often allowed to use their parents' smartphones and tablets. Thinking of entrusting children with a device without controlling them is not only wrong but potentially dangerous. As we have seen, these seemingly innocuous videos can contain obscene content. For example, one of YouTube's most popular children's channels features cartoons suitable only for adults. And a child isn't equipped to understand that.

How to Protect Kids on YouTube

In addition to never leaving children alone when they're surfing the web, one way to prevent young children from accessing age-inappropriate videos on YouTube is to turn on "restricted mode," located at the bottom of the page. The filter prevents the viewing of videos that have been flagged by users as inappropriate.