{"id":1142,"date":"2019-03-29T14:35:57","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T14:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/?p=1142"},"modified":"2023-03-08T14:07:04","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T13:07:04","slug":"youtubes-child-viewers-may-struggle-to-recognise-adverts-in-videos-from-virtual-play-dates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/business-school\/youtubes-child-viewers-may-struggle-to-recognise-adverts-in-videos-from-virtual-play-dates\/","title":{"rendered":"YouTube\u2019s child viewers may struggle to recognise adverts in videos from \u2018virtual play dates\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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As child vloggers have risen in fame and fortune, more and more content has been targeted at young viewers, and in 2015 YouTube released a specific children’s platform.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In our latest post, Dr Rebecca Mardon discusses the ethical dilemmas and regultory implications surrounding YouTube’s child audiences.<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

YouTube\u2019s highest\r\nearning star in 2018 was a seven-year-old boy named Ryan. That\u2019s right \u2013 a\r\nchild out-earned the likes of the infamous Logan Paul<\/a>, video game vlogger PewDiePie<\/a>, and even make-up mogul Jeffree Star. Between\r\nJune 2017 and June 2018, Ryan is estimated to have earned an impressive US$22m from the platform<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Guided by his parents,\r\nRyan presents his own YouTube channel, Ryan ToysReview<\/a>, where he unboxes and plays with the latest\r\ntoys. Since joining YouTube in 2015, Ryan has amassed more than 18.5m\r\nsubscribers, the majority of whom are, unsurprisingly, children. Discussing the\r\nappeal, Ryan\u2019s mother explained<\/a> that viewers feel like they\u2019re \u201con a play\r\ndate with him and going on fun, pretend play adventures\u201d.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As child vloggers have risen in fame and fortune, more and more content has been targeted at young viewers, and in 2015 YouTube released a specific children\u2019s platform<\/a>. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cLittle consideration has been given to the impact of these kinds of videos on child fans, and in particular how they perceive the embedded advertising often included in them.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Advertising literacy<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Research shows that children have lower advertising literacy than adult viewers. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Ryan\u2019s channel has\r\nbecome a lucrative business, complete with 25 employees<\/a>, including video editors, writers and\r\nproduction assistants. It achieved initial commercial success by allowing more\r\ntraditional \u201cpre-roll\u201d adverts to appear before its videos, which mostly saw\r\nRyan playing with toys \u2013 which his parents say they buy<\/a>. The channel later began to embed advertising\r\ncontent for major brands, such as Walmart, within Ryan\u2019s own videos. More\r\nrecently, the business launched a range of Ryan\u2019s World toys<\/a> that often feature in his video content.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Ryan\u2019s videos do include what seem like clear, child-friendly disclosures<\/a> surrounding sponsored content. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cThe question is whether children actually recognise these disclosures and understand what advertising is, and whether all YouTube videos aimed at children adequately disclose marketing messages.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Research shows that\r\nchildren have lower advertising literacy than adult viewers. They struggle to\r\nrecognise adverts when they are embedded<\/a> in organic content, and may not recognise\r\nYouTube videos featuring paid advertising content, vloggers\u2019 own-brand\r\nmerchandise, or free products \u201cgifted\u201d by brands as marketing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Children are particularly likely to struggle to identify advertising messages by their favourite vloggers. Viewers often come to feel personal attachments to YouTube stars. Fans of beauty vlogger Zoella, for instance, see her as a sister or best friend<\/a>, and my own research has found that fans often defend and excuse vlogger actions<\/a> that might otherwise be seen as problematic or unethical as a result of this relationship. Based on this, we can reasonably predict that children may be more likely to perceive their favourite YouTube star as a friend or play date, as opposed to a celebrity endorser or marketer. <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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