"Crack for Kids" or Educational App? An Ethnography of Three- to Four-Year-Olds Learning From YouTube

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: Technologies in Their Lives: Families and Media

Abstract

News media and child health professions warn of dramatic risks involved with children using YouTube, while parents often report that their children learn from YouTube. How do these opposing narratives play out in the ways young children use YouTube in daily life? We employ naturalistic inquiry and participant research in an eight-month multi-case ethnography with eleven diverse families including 13 children aged 3 or 4, as well as survey data and semi-structured interviews. Findings include rich description and analysis of 1) how YouTube is used for learning academic, social, and technical skills; 2) how other family members are involved in learning from YouTube; 3) how use differs demographically, and 4) the rarity of accessing inappropriate content.

Authors

• Robert Kalinowski, University of California - Irvine

• Branda Tian Sun, University of California - Irvine

• Tran Hoang, University of California, Irvine

• Rosemary Victoria Velasquez, University of California - Irvine

• Elizabeth Valencia-Castillo, University of California - Irvine

• Dorthy Schmidt, University of California - Irvine