YouTube has been a controversial topic of late, with stars including the likes of Logan Paul and Pewdiepie coming under fire for exposing their young audience to inappropriate and offensive content, causing advertisers and brand partners to flee from the platform.
With concerns amongst parents now on the rise, SuperAwesome has stepped in, introducing a new way for creators to label their content as safe for kids to consume, making the parent’s task of moderating their children’s consumption more manageable.
Announced at Kidscreen Summit 2018, the SafeFam initiative creates a set of standards and best practices for YouTubers who create content viewed by audiences under the age of 13.
Several top ‘kidfluencers’ have already been confirmed to be on board with the program, including DenisDaily and the rest of The Pals, SuperHeroKids, Gabe and Garrett, Grace’s World, Annie Rose, Hope Marie, The Daya Daily, The Fizz Family, The Crafty Girls, Millie and Chloe, Daniela Golubeva, BananaJamana and many more.
SafeFam comprises three elements:
● Training on what it means to be brand-safe, kid-safe and the repercussions of not adhering to these principles.
● Content is reviewed for brand safety and appropriateness, as well as kid safety, employment laws and parental control.
● Access to SafeFam Support to help with any additional questions and updates for additional guidelines and best practices as they emerge.
“Being the parent of influencers is stressful,” said the mother of Marie Hope and SuperHeroKids. “There’s hardly any guidance on what they should be doing, or what might be seen badly by others. The guidance from SafeFam makes me confident that they are going to be safe producing content for YouTube, and not going to end up as the subject of a crazy scandal. It gives me peace of mind.”
If the content creators are under 16, SafeFam also educates their parents on best practices, such as filming time guidelines (maximum session time, no night-time recording etc). SafeFam is as much about protecting the influencers themselves as it is about setting a standard for the content they produce for their young audiences.
“I’ve always strived to make my channel kid-friendly because I want to ensure my content is responsible and can be viewed by all ages,” commented Jamie Jo. “I’m very happy that SafeFam recognises my channel as a safe place parents and brands can trust. I will always put the safety of my younger audience first.”
Led by serial tech investor and entrepreneur CEO Dylan Collins, SuperAwesome was recently named the 8th fastest growing private technology company in Britain.