Notes

Senate Hearing on the Safety of Children

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



The recent controversy surrounding "Squid Game" that is rating 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 playing games featured in the gory and dark show.



After receiving reports that "young people are copying games and violence from the show," a council in Southern England sent an email to parents, asking parents to be "vigilant". Similar warnings were issued in Australia by educators from Western Australia and Sydney.



In "Squid Game," characters are competing for cash prizes by participating in challenges that complement the traditional Korean children's games, with the "losers" being killed at the end of each round. In addition to highlighting the show's bizarre approach to child's play, these games are staged in highly stylized arenas such as an adult scale playground for children. After each game, these traditional children's play spaces tend to be filled with blood and filled with corpses. This show is a huge success in children's digital culture.



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



This video game is loved by children. It lets users create games and share them with other players.



The Roblox game "Squid Game", which is a very popular theme, has been very popular. Many Roblox videos featuring "Squid Game" have hundreds of thousands, if not millions of views.



On both the main and children's version of YouTube, videos aimed at children feature users (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 a popular trend on TikTok and users are playing the game in a wide range of real-life settings and in videogames Roblox and Minecraft.



"Squid Game"'s most popular moment is "Red Light, Green Light". The meme-ified giant animatronic doll that acts like a motion sensor in this game has been widely re-memeified. This doll often features in video thumbnails for "Squid Game"-related children's YouTube content.



These YouTube videos featuring children are quite harmless. But, they illustrate how "Squid Game" has gotten into online content specifically targeting young children. However the lines between adult-oriented and child-oriented content online were always blurred.



YouTube has been the focus of numerous controversies regarding inappropriate content directed at children. TikTok has also been the subject of similar concerns about children's security and inappropriate content watched by children. TikTok provides full access to the app for children older than 13, but reports show children much younger are using it. In addition to YouTube, TikTok is currently facing an U.S. Senate hearing on kids' safety.



Following a record-breaking fine of $170 million handed down to YouTube by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in the year 2019, major changes were made to make the distinction between children's and adult content more clear on the platform. YouTube now requires creators to notify YouTube that their content is designed for children. Machine-learning is used to determine videos with young viewers.
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YouTube is a different platform from broadcast television. YouTube's content is extremely popular for children and can be quite different from the children's television.



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



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



The growing global concern over children's participation in "Squid Game" challenges is similar to the "Momo" phenomenon in 2018 and 2019. A picture of a demon-like figure went viral on the internet. The photo was actually a Japanese sculpture.



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



As is now occurring in relation to "Squid Game," official warnings were sent to parents about the "Momo Challenge," advising them to be aware. It was soon clear that the "Momo Challenge" was likely to be an online hoax.



Momo was an example of the worst fears parents have about the use of internet by children. The concern about "Squid Game"'s influence on children is of the same tone. These fears may not be a reaction to actual dangers, but an expression of our displeasure at the ease with which adult-oriented media can infiltrate the internet, especially for children.



The appeal of streaming media for all ages is a clear example of how streaming media challenges traditional notions of "child-appropriate content."



Adult concerns regarding "Squid Game"'s harmful influence on children are based on earlier concerns about this "mashup" however, there are also concerns about children's interactions with the internet in general.



This article was published by The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. The original article can be found here.



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


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