YouTube sits at the intersection of youth culture and learning. Whether it's exploring a new anime series, getting help with algebra homework or listening to tracks from a favourite artist, young users come to YouTube to find information and communities that reflect their unique interests.
Protecting teens has always been core to our work, which is why we continue to invest in providing young people with high-quality and age-appropriate content that meets their individual interests and needs, while continuing to put their safety and wellbeing first.
The unique developmental needs of YouTube's younger users deserve an even greater level of care. Creators whose audience includes teens play a key role in shaping a safer and more meaningful experience for them. Recognising that not all teens are exactly alike, this article introduces general concepts for developing responsible and fun content for teens. Discover how to create high-quality, inspiring, informative and uplifting videos that foster growth and entertainment for teens.
As part of these ongoing efforts, we've developed a set of quality principles below to help guide YouTube's children's and family content creators. These principles were developed with child development specialists and are based on extensive research.
The list below is meant to give you a better idea of what may be considered low- or high-quality content and is not exhaustive.
High-quality content principles
These principles were developed in partnership with our Youth and Families Advisory Committee and a team of experts at the forefront of digital literacy and teen mental health. You can find a detailed version here.
- Joy, fun and entertainment: Authentic content that captures humorous moments that make people laugh, celebrations, shared experiences and positive relationships that teens can relate to.
- Curiosity and inspiration: Inspire teens to explore new topics and try new things – building curiosity and inspiring budding interests.
- Deepening interests and perspectives: Fuel existing interests with deep-dive content – driving passion, rounding out knowledge and building hobbies.
- Building life skills and experiences: Show teens how to build skills and navigate common experiences through real-life, relatable content that gives them the confidence to try.
- Credible information that supports wellbeing: Conversations about mental health should support teens, lean on expert sources and be inclusive in a responsible way.
Low-quality content principles
For categories of low-quality content that may be innocuous as a single video but could be problematic for some teens if viewed in repetition, we've partnered with our Youth and Families Advisory Committee, a team of independent experts to identify the following themes:
- Narrow body standards and comparisons: Help protect teen self-esteem by avoiding idealistic physical comparisons and fostering a healthy self-image in your content.
- Dangerous acts and negative behaviours: Don't depict or normalise dangerous, unethical or risky behaviour – even if potential consequences are shown.
- Bullying, hate and disrespect: Avoid content that mocks, disrespects or promotes hostility towards others based on individual attributes, group dynamics or communities.
- Wealth obsession and misconceptions: Stay away from glorifying or sensationalising wealth, or promoting 'get rich quick' content.
- Aggressive and intimidating behaviour: Teens see you as a role model, so be mindful of the aggressive behaviour that you show in your videos.
Effect on channel performance
The quality principles for teens may affect your channel's performance among teen viewers. High-quality content is raised in recommendations for teen viewers. We reduce repeated recommendations of low-quality content for teens.
We'll continue to re-evaluate and update the principles on this page. We look to each of you to help create enriching and inspiring content for teens and families on YouTube.