Notes

Senate Hearing on the Safety of Children

"Squid Game,"" a dystopian South Korean horror series, has been the most watched TV show on Netflix. However, it is quickly becoming controversial.



The recent controversy surrounding "Squid Game", which is graded TV MA in the United States, concerns the increasing interest of children. This includes warnings from an Australian school that children as young as 6 are re-creating games featured in the gory and dark show.



A council in Southern England recently sent an email to parents, urging parents to "be vigilant" after receiving reports that "young people are copying games and violent behavior" from the show. Similar warnings were issued in Australia by teachers from Western Australia and Sydney.



The "Squid Game" features characters competing for cash prizes while participating in challenges that complement classic Korean children's games. The "losers," however, are killed at the conclusion of every round. In addition to highlighting the show's bizarre approach to child's play, the games are played out in highly stylized arenas, such as an adult scale children's playground. These traditional playgrounds for children are often left covered in blood and littered with corpses after every challenge. The show is definitely an instant hit in children's digital cultures.



A variety of popular channels on YouTube Kids (designed for users under 12) have capitalized on the "Squid Game" trend. This YouTube content includes How To Draw "Squid Game" characters, videos of characters and gameplay videos featuring "Squid Game” themes from Roblox.



This video game, which is very popular with children, allows players to program games and share them with other users.



The Roblox game "Squid Game" is a very popular theme, has become extremely popular. Many "Squid Game" Roblox videos have hundreds of thousands or even millions of views.



On both the main and kids' version of YouTube, videos aimed at children feature children (often children) playing these "Squid Game" inspired games in Roblox and Minecraft, with the "Red Light, Green Light" challenge being a popular trend. This challenge is also trending on TikTok, with people emulating the game in a vast variety of real life settings and in videogames Roblox and Minecraft.



The "Red Light, Green Light" scene has become one of "Squid Game's" most widely shared moments: The massive animatronic doll acting as a deadly motion sensor in the game has been extensively made into a meme. The doll is often featured in thumbnails of YouTube videos of "Squid Game", related children's content.



These YouTube videos featuring children are pretty innocuous. However, they demonstrate how "Squid Game" has crept into digital content specifically aimed at young children. However, the lines between child-oriented and adult-oriented content online were always blurred.



YouTube has been the subject of numerous debates over inappropriate content directed at children. TikTok has also faced controversy related to children's safety on the app, as well as problematic content being watched by children including anti-vaccine videos. TikTok gives children who are 13 years old to have full access to the app, however, reports suggest that children younger than 13 are using it. TikTok is currently being questioned by the U.S. Senate about children's safety.



After a record fine of $170 million was handed down to YouTube by the U.S. acesasoft.com Federal Trade Commission in 2019, radical changes were introduced to make the distinction between children's and adult content more clear on the platform. For instance, creators must now declare to YouTube that their content is for children, and machine-learning is employed to determine videos that clearly target young viewers.



Despite these modifications, YouTube remains a very different beast to broadcast television. The content enjoyed by children on both the main and children's version of the platform can differ substantially from the TV that kids watch.



YouTube content for children that riffs on "Squid Game" characters and scenes continues a long-standing trend of "mashups" content for children.



Like "Squid Game" content, "mashup" videos harness trending themes, search terms and characters, often featuring characters from popular movies in thumbnails and video titles.



The "Squid Game" anxiety is echoed by the "Momo” phenomenon of 2018 and 2019. A picture of a sinister looking figure became viral online. The image was actually an actual Japanese sculpture.



A global news story broke about "Momo," claiming the creature was appearing in children's content on YouTube and encouraging children to take part in dangerous games and challenges.



Like "Squid Game" official warnings were sent out to parents about "Momo Challenge" and advised them to be on guard. It soon became clear the "Momo Challenge" was likely to be an online hoax.



Momo was a symbol of parents' most feared fears regarding children's use of the internet. Concerns about "Squid Game's" influence on children share the same tenor: These fears might not be a response to actual dangers, but a manifestation of our discomfort with the ease with which adult-oriented media can seep into online content targeted at young children.



The streaming media's inter-generational appeal shows how streaming media challenge traditional notions of "child-appropriate content."



Adult anxieties concerning "Squid Game's" negative influence on children are based on earlier concerns about this "mashup" content but also concern children's interaction with the web more generally.



This article was republished by The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. The original article here.



Jessica Balanzategui is a senior lecturer in cinema and screen studies at Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn (Victoria, Australia) is Jessica Balanzategui. She receives funding from the Australian Children's Television Foundation.


Website: https://acesasoft.com/