Q&A: My 10-year-old wants a YouTube channel

Hi! I’m Jacqueline Nesi, a psychologist and professor at Brown University, co-founder of Tech Without Stress, and mom of two young kids.

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My 10-year-old wants to create his own YouTube channel, and I’m torn! I worry about the risks, but I also think it could be a fun way for him to learn about how to use the platform. What do you think?

I’ve gotten a few questions like this recently, and I’d like to start my answer with a quick story. In 2019, LEGO partnered with Harris Poll to survey 3,000 kids across the U.S., U.K., and China to learn about kids’ interest in space. The idea, it seems, was to kick-off a plan to “Inspire The Next Generation Of Space Explorers” as NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

As part of the survey, kids ages 8-12 were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. One of the choices, of course, was “astronaut.” But there was a problem.