Videos Online

What is online video?

Broadband internet access, mobile devices and video-sharing websites have changed the face of video.

As little as five years ago, you might have watched a film or recorded a TV programme on your VCR or you might have made your own home videos using a video camera.

Now, you can also watch video on the internet and on your mobile; enjoy video on demand via your set-top box; make your own films using a digital camera, webcam or camera phone and upload them on video-sharing sites like Dailymotion and YouTube so that others can enjoy them too. In fact, more than five billion videos were viewed online in the UK in 2009.

Watch this video about ‘thinking before you post’:

There’s lots of new terminology when it comes to digital video, such as:

  • Clips: These are short sections of video, usually taken from a longer piece (such as a film, music video or TV programme) or created by amateur film-makers (called user-generated content). There has been a boom in video clips online since 2005 thanks to websites like YouTube
  • Streaming: This is a way of delivering video footage to you live or on demand (after it has been broadcast) – BBC iPlayer is an example of video streaming
  • Vlogs: These are video blogs where someone might film experiences they have in real life and upload them on the Web for others to see

What do I need to know about videos online?

Your son or daughter might use the internet to watch videos of their favourite band, catch up on a TV programme they’ve missed or enjoy video clips produced by their friends; they might have fun making videos of themselves, their friends and family on their digital camera or mobile and posting them online.

Did you know?

According to Ofcom, nearly half of 12-15 year old internet users in the UK watch or download video content (eg music or video clips on YouTube) at least once a week

There’s no doubt that video is a great form of entertainment and encourages creativity but, as with other digital content, there are some things you should be aware of as a parent.

  • Some video content might not be appropriate for younger children to see – recognising this, many of the leading video-sharing websites have a minimum age limit of 13 and some offer filters so that you can limit the content your child sees
  • If your child makes and publishes videos on the internet, they need to understand that anyone can see them and that they could be available online forever
  • Your child’s privacy and safety could be compromised by something they reveal in a video about themselves – it could make them vulnerable to bullies, criminals or spammers, for example

Many of the leading video-sharing websites have Terms of Use and Community Guidelines, teams of staff reviewing videos, and family filters to help make their sites safer and more fun for children and adults. They encourage their users to report anything inappropriate to them so that they can investigate and take action, such as removing a video or terminating someone’s account.

What can I do about videos online?

If your child watches videos on the internet or on their mobile:

  • Explain why it’s important they adhere to the age limits on video-sharing sites like YouTube – it’s for their own good, to help protect them from seeing inappropriate or harmful videos. If you discover that your child is under the minimum age for a particular video-sharing website, you should be able to contact the site to cancel their registration
  • If you’re worried about the types of videos your son or daughter might be watching, consider supervising their use of TV, film and video-sharing sites and make the most of Parental Controls, PIN locks and Safe Search. For example, if they watch videos on YouTube, opt in to the website’s Safety Mode and, if your family has a YouTube password, lock it on your browser
  • Together, read through the Terms of Use or Community Guidelines on the video-sharing websites they use. If anyone in your family sees a video that you think contravenes them, you can report it for review (often called “flagging”). Look for the ‘Help’, ‘Safety’ or ‘Terms of Use’ sections on the website for details of how to report/flag something to them
  • If your son or daughter comes across a video containing inappropriate or potentially illegal content – like hate speech or child abuse images – encourage them to let you know immediately so that you can report it to the website that is hosting the video and the relevant internet hotline in your country – in the UK, report it to the Internet Watch Foundation
  • Read our articles about inappropriate & harmful content and illegal content

If your child makes videos and uploads them on the internet:

  • Teach them to ‘think before they post’. Ask them: Would they want their teacher/a future employer/a complete stranger to see their video? Could their video compromise their privacy or make them vulnerable to bullies or criminals? Would they want their video to be available on the internet for the rest of their lives?
  • Encourage them to use built-in tools on the video-sharing site so they can mark their video as ‘private’ – that way only their friends and other people they choose to share it with can see it
  • Explain how important it is to not include any personal information like their name, mobile number, school uniform and photos of their house in videos they make (ie anything that could help a stranger track them down)
  • Ensure that they get the permission of everyone in the video before they publish it – not everyone wants to be famous
  • If they receive a video from someone else (eg via email or text) that shows someone being bullied, encourage them to let you know and to not pass the video on to anyone else
  • Explain to them that they shouldn’t post videos showing gratuitous violence or reckless conduct, such as substance abuse and dangerous driving
  • Talk to them about copyright – they should only post videos that are completely their own work. If their video includes TV or music clips, for example, they might be in breach of copyright. For more information, read our article about downloading & copyright
  • Just as you teach them to show respect in the real world, encourage them to respect other people in the digital world (eg comments about a video they’ve made)
  • Let your son or daughter know they should come to you if anyone threatens or upsets them because of a video they’ve posted online so that you can help them take the right action
  • Read our articles about cyberbullying, exploring sexual identity, identity theft, managing reputation and online grooming

Where can I go for more information and support about online videos?

  • CBBC iPlayer, which is aimed at 6-12 year olds, provides a parental guidance lock to prevent your child from accessing inappropriate content
  • MSN Video provides safety tips about video sharing
  • Visit the Ofcom website for information about Parental Controls and interactive TV
  • YouTube’s Safety Centre offers lots of advice about privacy and safety and you can watch a demo of YouTube’s Safety Mode

FAQs related to this article

Find out more about Parental Controls

How old are your kids?

What you need to know to get started

  • 5-7 years old

    Technology is part of your child's life before they start primary school. They're probably using the computer, the internet and interactive TV for fun - watching programmes on the CBeebies channel and website or taking part in the Club Penguin chat rooms...but they still need adult guidance and supervision.

    Read more

  • 8-11 years old

    If you have 8-11 year old children, your house is probably full of technology - PlayStation, Nintendo, iPod...the list goes on. In fact, research shows that 8-11 year olds in the UK have an average of four media devices in their bedroom.

    This is a crucial age for young people to embrace new technologies and develop their ICT skills both at home and at school...and it's a crucial time for you to take control when they start exploring the digital world as well as the real world.

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  • 12-14 years old

    They're at secondary school and growing up fast. It's a time of change and their digital world might seem as important as the real world to them. They might spend their evenings on Bebo, Facebook or MySpace ; watching videos on YouTube and uploading their own for others to watch; or doing research for their homework.

    You want to encourage their technology and social skills, of course, so it's useful to understand what they're doing with technology and to get involved with it.

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  • 15+ years old

    Once your children are teenagers, it might be tempting to think that they're tech-savvy and dealing with everything the virtual world can throw at them. You probably watch in awe as they switch from chatting with friends on Facebook to updating their Twitter profile; playing against someone on the other side of the world on their games console to downloading music on their mobile.

    It's all great fun but, as they get older, the things you need to help them to cope with in their digital world are ever more challenging. Far from leaving them to it, you really need to keep communicating with them.

    Read more

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