The APA guideline for parents aims at the selection of video content carefully

Translated decades of psychological research to develop teenagers into practical advice

WASHINGTONPresent March 4, 2025 / Prnewswire/ youth often spend hours a day to watch videos online, but parents should consider how the content affects their well-being as the platform or the time they spend online, according to a new parental manual that was developed by the American Psychological Association.

“Young people are at a critical stage of development in which they may react particularly sensitively towards content with violence, self -harm or unrealistic body standards, which could form long -term effects on their mental health, their relationships and their identity” Arthur C. Evans Jr.Phd. “Parents can help their teenagers make thoughtful decisions for the videos they see and create a healthy balance between online times and activities that are of essential importance for their well-being, e.g. sleep and personal connection.”

Healthy video observation: A guideline for parents of teenagers translates decades of psychological research into the development of young people into practical advice that parents can use in order to understand the effects of different types of content and to start discussions with their teenagers about their video segments. The guideline also deals with the way parents can help teenagers control influencer content, videos with AI-generated advertising and integrated in video platforms.

The development of the parents' manual was supported by financing from YouTube.

“YouTube shares the commitment of the APA to support the healthy development and well -being of the teenagers if they control today's digital world” Garth GrahamMD, Global Director for YouTube Health. “We hope that this guide will help the parents to cut the sound and to include evidence -based tips for the management of the screen time and the structure of healthy digital habits with their teenagers.”

Studies show that it is important to avoid excessive screen time, the development of each individual is unique and there is no uniform rule for the entire rule for how much time teenagers should spend online. The guide recommends that the parents encourage their teenagers to experiment with short breaks from viewing video content and then discuss how they feel after the breaks. This can help the teenager switch to content that promotes social relationships, e.g. B. cooking videos in creating recipes with friends.

The most important recommendations for parents include:

• To start discussions of a place of curiosity and not of criticism and to position teenagers as experts about their digital experiences;

• Discussion of the discussion, such as algorithms, artificial intelligence and processing techniques, shape the videos and how important the review is;

• Young people help to understand and recognize content that triggers emotional reactions; And

• Modeling healthy digital habits at home.

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The guide also recommends that parents do not ask questions about the videos that look at their teenagers, and at the same time recognize that young people probably know more about certain platforms or creators than they young people are more receptive to the instructions in other areas. This also shows teenagers that you can think critically about content while you know that you can contact your parents to get instructions.

“It is never too late to start these talks,” said Evans. “Studies show that even older teenagers benefit from their parents show real curiosity about their lives.”

The parent manual is an expansion of APA's recommendations for healthy teen video ads, published in November 2024.

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Source American Psychological Association