YouTube Rolls Out New Parental Control Tool to Limit Teens' Endless Scrolling

About one in five teens say they are on platforms like YouTube and TikTok almost “constantly,” a Pew Research Center Survey found last month, with YouTube standing out as something used by nearly all teens.  

This week, the platform rolled out new parental controls for supervised accounts, including one that will allow parents to limit the amount of time they spend scrolling Shorts, its short-form video feature.

The news should come as a relief to anyone who’s ever witnessed their teen lying in bed and scrolling endlessly on social media.

“Parents can now help teens be even more intentional about how they watch, with a control to set the amount of time spent scrolling Shorts,” YouTube announced on its blog.  “And soon, parents will see the option to set the timer to zero. This is an industry-first feature that puts parents firmly in control of the amount of short-form content their kids watch.”

It also allows for flexibility, the announcement notes, letting parents set the limit to zero when they want their teen to do chores or homework, but then change it to an hour or so during a long car trip.

Researchers have warned about constant scrolling and “brain rot” among adolescents, which a recent review warns leads to “emotional desensitization, cognitive overload, and negative self-image” while also being associated with doomscrolling and social media addiction, leading to anxiety and depression. “The pervasive nature of digital media, driven by dopamine-driven feedback loops, exacerbates these effects,” it noted.

YouTube will also update its guidelines for the types of content recommended and accessible to teens, prioritizing videos based on positive concepts such as “curiosity and inspiration,” “building life skills and experiences” and “credible information that supports wellbeing,” YouTube said.