What YouTubers Tell Children
Volume 8 Issue 4 (October 2023)
Özkan Sapsağlam
Pages: 821-831 Download Count : 340 View Count: 553 DOI Number 10.24331/ijere.1262266 Facebook Twitter Share on Google+
Abstract:
Today's children are growing up in a digital world, surrounded by electronic devices and interacting with various media types and characters from a young age. When used conscientiously, technology and media can make many positive contributions to human life. However, if not used properly, they have the potential to lead to serious negative consequences. Learning through observation and imitation is crucial in children's learning processes. The quality of interaction with models and the models from which they learn play an important role. Today, media characters are the ones to which children are closest and interact with the most. Some children spend more time in front of screens and in media environments than they do with their parents and siblings. As a result, the content which media characters present to children and how they behave can significantly impact what children say and do. To examine the content of YouTuber videos produced for children conducted a qualitative research study using a case study design. The criterion sampling method was used to select study materials, which comprised content videos produced by ten different YouTubers. The research data were gathered using a YouTuber Video Review Form developed specifically by the researcher. To analyze the data, the thematic analysis technique was used, a type of content analysis method. The findings showed that the videos contained negative verbal expressions and visual content related to violence, aggression, slang, harmful habits, product advertisements and sexuality. Additionally, it was found that the YouTubers used verbal expressions which did not follow language rules, exhibited a unique form of expression, and used dialectal language.
Keywords
- Child
- media
- YouTube
- YouTuber