Notes

Senate Hearing on Children's Safety

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



The latest controversy to surface about "Squid Game," which is rated TV-MA in United States, relates to the interest it has sparked in children. A school in the Australian school warned that children aged 6 and under are creating the same games as in the hit show's violent and dark episodes. In Australia similar warnings have been issued by educators in Sydney and Western Australia.



The "Squid Game" is a show where characters compete for cash prizes by participating in challenges that enhance classic Korean children's games. The "losers," however, are killed at the end every round. These games, which emphasize the show's bizarre take on child's playing, are held in highly stylized arenas, such as an adult-sized playground. These traditional children's play areas are often left covered in blood and littered by corpses after each game. The show is definitely a craze within children's digital cultures.



A variety of popular channels on YouTube Kids (designed for users younger than 12) have benefited from the "Squid Game" trend. This YouTube content includes How to Draw "Squid Game" character videos, as well as "Squid Game" games that are themed for the Roblox, an online video game Roblox.



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



On both the kids' and main version of YouTube videos that are targeted at children showcase users (often children) playing these "Squid Game" inspired games in Roblox and Minecraft, with the "Red Light, Green Light" challenge becoming a wildly popular trend. This challenge is also a popular trend on TikTok, with people emulating the game in a wide variety of real-world settings and videogames Roblox and Minecraft.



The "Red Light, Green Light" scene has become one of "Squid Game's" most shared moments: The gigantic animatronic doll that functions as a deadly motion sensor in this game has been extensively meme-ified. This doll is often included in thumbnails of YouTube videos for "Squid Game", related children's content.



These YouTube videos featuring children are quite harmless. However, they demonstrate how "Squid Game" has crept into online content specifically targeting children in the early years. However, the boundaries between content for children and adults online have always been unclear.



YouTube has been at the forefront of a number of controversies about inappropriate content targeted at children. TikTok has also been subject to similar concerns regarding children's security and inappropriate content watched by children. TikTok provides access to the app to children older than 13, but reports show children much younger are using it: Alongside YouTube, TikTok is currently facing a U.S. Senate hearing on kids' safety.S. Federal Trade Commission, in 2019 made some significant changes to make clear the distinction between adult and children's content available on the platform. For instance, creators are now required to declare on YouTube if their content is intended for children, and machine-learning is used to determine videos that clearly target young audiences.



YouTube is a different platform from broadcast television. YouTube's content is popular with children , and is often different from children's TV.



Children's YouTube content that is a riff on "Squid Game" characters and scenes continue a long-running trend of "mashup" content for children on the platform.



Similar to "Squid Game" content "mashups" videos harness popular themes such as search terms, themes, and characters - often featuring famous characters in thumbnail imagery or video titles.



The "Momo phenomenon of 2018 and 2019 echoes the increasing global fear of children taking part in "Squid Game” challenges. A photo of a sinister-looking figure went viral on the internet. The image was actually an authentic Japanese sculpture.



A global news story broke about "Momo," claiming the creature was appearing in children's content on YouTube and urging children to play deadly games and challenges.



Similar to "Squid Game" Official warnings were issued to parents regarding "Momo Challenge" and advised them to be vigilant. It was soon clear that the "Momo Challenge" was the viral hoax, was most likely an elaborate hoax.



Momo was a perfect example of parents' most naive fears about the dangers that children's internet usage. The concern about "Squid Game"'s influence on children has a similar tenor. These fears might not be a reaction to actual dangers but an expression of our displeasure at the ease that adult-oriented media can be incorporated into the internet, especially for young kids.



The unruly tentacles of "Squid Game's" inter-generational appeal demonstrate how streaming media challenges the existing notions of "child-appropriate" content.



Adult anxieties regarding "Squid Game's" negative influence on children build on earlier concerns about this "mashup" content as well as about children's interactions with the internet more generally.



This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. You can find the original article here.



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

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