Notes

Senate Hearing on the Safety of Children

The dystopian South Korean horror series "Squid Game" has become the most watched Netflix television show however, it is fast becoming as controversial as it is popular.



The latest controversy to surface about "Squid Game" which is classified as TV-MA in the United States, relates to the interest it has sparked among children. A school in the Australian school has warned that children as young 6 years old are playing the same games that were featured in the gory and dark series.



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 compete for a cash prize by taking part in challenges that augment the traditional Korean children's games, with "losers" being killed at the end of each round. These games, which emphasise the show's unique take on child's playing, are held in highly stylized arenas, such as an adult-sized playground. After each challenge the traditional play spaces tend to be covered in blood and filled with corpses. The show is definitely a craze within children's digital worldviews.



YouTube Kids has many successful channels that benefit from the "Squid Game" trend. These channels are geared towards viewers under the age of 12. This YouTube content includes How to Draw "Squid Game" characters, videos of characters, and gameplay videos with "Squid Game" themes from Roblox.



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



"Squid Game" has become a very common theme in these user programmed Roblox games. Many "Squid Game" Roblox videos have hundreds of thousands or even millions of views.



On both the main and children's version of YouTube videos targeted at children showcase users (often children) playing these "Squid Game" inspired games in Roblox and Minecraft, with the "Red Light, Green Light" challenge emerging as a particularly popular trend. This challenge is also a trend on TikTok, with people emulating the game in a vast variety of real-life settings as well as in videogames like Roblox and Minecraft.



The "Red Light, Green Light" scene has been named one of "Squid Game's" most widely shared moments: The giant animatronic doll that acts as a dangerous motion sensor in the game has been extensively meme-ified. The doll is often featured in video thumbnails for "Squid Game"-related YouTube content for children.



Most of these kids' YouTube videos are pretty harmless by themselves. But, they illustrate how "Squid Game" has gotten into digital content explicitly targeting young children. However, the distinction between adult-oriented and child-oriented content online were always blurred.



YouTube has been the focus of many controversies over inappropriate content targeted at children. TikTok is also subject to similar concerns regarding children's security and inappropriate content seen by children. TikTok allows children over 13 years old to have full access to the app but reports indicate 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 issued to YouTube by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in the year 2019, major changes were introduced to make the distinction between children's and adult content easier to spot on the platform. For instance, creators must now declare to YouTube that their content is intended for children, and machine-learning is employed to identify videos that clearly target young audiences.



Despite these modifications, YouTube remains a very different beast to broadcast television, and content enjoyed by children on both the main and children's versions of the platform often differs significantly from children's TV.



Children's YouTube content that riffs off "Squid Game" characters and scenes continues a longstanding trend of "mashup" content for children on the platform.



Similar to "Squid Game" content, "mashup" videos harness the latest trends in themes, search terms and characters, often featuring characters from popular movies in thumbnail images and video titles.



The "Squid Game" fear echoes with the "Momo” phenomenon of 2018 and 2019. A picture of a spooky-looking figure went viral on the internet. The image was actually an actual Japanese sculpture.



International news media covered "Momo," which claimed that the creature was featured in videos of children's on YouTube in order to encourage children to play dangerous games and challenges.



As is now occurring with regard to "Squid Game," official warnings were issued to parents about the "Momo Challenge," advising them to be aware. It was soon clear that the "Momo Challenge" was most likely a viral hoax.



Momo was a perfect example of parents' most naive fears regarding the dangers children face through internet usage. The worry about "Squid Game"'s influence on children is of a similar tenor. These fears might not be a response to actual dangers but a manifestation our discomfort with the ease that adult-oriented media can seep in to the internet, especially for children.



The inter-generational appeal of streaming media illustrates how streaming media challenge the traditional notions of "child-appropriate content."



Adult concerns about "Squid Game"'s malign influence on children are based on earlier concerns about this "mashup" as well as about children's interactions with the internet in general.



This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. The original article can be found here.
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Jessica Balanzategui, a senior lecturer in cinema and screen studies at Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn (Victoria, Australia) is Jessica Balanzategui. She receives financial support from the Australian Children's Television Foundation.


Homepage: https://thinkofdeath.co.uk/