ARDEP 1001

The Sales of Consumer Culture to Preschoolers (Ages 4-6) Through Child YouTubers

The generation known as "digitods" (digital children) aged 0-8, who are still in their infancy, scrolling through smart screens to watch videos, has made understanding the relationship preschool children have with YouTube even more important today. International organizations such as the Common Sense Group and OFCOM have been seen to periodically conduct research on technology usage, especially in this age range (0-8). However, in Turkey, there hasn't been a study specifically examining YouTube usage within this age group, nor has there been a critical examination of the relationship between YouTube, consumption, and children. The main goal of the project is to raise awareness among parents about the relationship between YouTube, which is perceived as innocent for children and often entrusted to care them, and consumer culture. This will be achieved by analyzing videos from child YouTubers where products and narratives are marketed, understanding the relationship between preschool children and parents who consume and experience products on YouTube, and finally proposing solutions to protect children from the influence of consumer culture on YouTube. In the first part of the project, 1,200 videos were analyzed using content analysis, selected through a purposive sampling technique from the most popular 100 videos from each of the 12 child YouTuber channels identified through preliminary research. In the second part, the target audience, preschool children, and their parents who consume and experience products were approached. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 340 people, including children and parents aged 4-6, in preschools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in central districts of Kayseri. In addition to the semi-structured interviews, a drawing activity related to YouTube was conducted with the participating children. At the end of the research, solutions were proposed to protect children from the consumer culture propagated through YouTube, based on the exposure to consumer culture identified in video content and parent-child interviews. These proposed solutions aim to increase awareness through education sessions provided to parents in selected preschools at the end of the project and by sharing relevant content on the "childandmedia" website created within the scope of the project.

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