YouTube Shorts might be a hit with kids, but it’s a miss for parents trying to protect them

YouTube Shorts was Google’s answer to the addictive, short-form video craze pioneered by TikTok. But what’s a fun way to spend five minutes for adults can quickly turn into a screen-induced vortex for little ones. The problem? Despite years of outcry from parents, Google offers no way to disable Shorts in the YouTube Kids app or even through its much-touted Family Link parental controls.

It’s no secret that short-form video content is reshaping the way we consume media. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels have cornered the market on bite-sized dopamine hits. But perhaps no other platform demonstrates the unchecked reach of this trend quite like YouTube Shorts — a feature integrated into the YouTube app itself. For adults, these endlessly looping, algorithmically curated videos can be a delightful distraction or a time sink. For kids, however, they can pose a real problem.

The core of the issue lies in one glaring oversight by YouTube’s parent company, Google: despite offering tools like Family Link, supervised accounts and YouTube Kids, the ability for parents to block Shorts content remains nonexistent. And for years, concerned parents have been voicing their grievances, pleading for a feature that seems like an obvious win for everyone involved. Yet, their cries continue to go unanswered.

It’s not like parents haven’t made their concerns clear. A forum thread dating back to November 2022 sees a parent begging for the ability to disable Shorts on their child’s phone. “Without exaggerating, this function and the content shown is harmful for kids in multiple ways,” the post reads. Replies from parents and educators echo this sentiment, with many citing concerns about inappropriate content slipping through filters, harmful trends reminiscent of TikTok challenges, and even the negative impact on children’s attention spans. The frustration isn’t just limited to anecdotal grievances. Research backs these concerns. Studies have linked addiction to short-form videos like those found on YouTube Shorts with poor sleep patterns and increased social anxiety in adolescents. This isn’t just about kids wasting time — it’s about the developmental toll that this type of content can take.

Yet, Google’s silence on the matter is deafening. As a company that markets itself as family-friendly and touts tools like YouTube Kids as a haven for age-appropriate content, the lack of action on disabling Shorts raises serious questions about its priorities. Shorts, much like TikTok, thrives on engagement. The more kids swipe, the longer they stay on the platform. And the longer they stay, the more ads they watch. In other words, it’s good for business — even if it’s bad for kids.

One particularly telling comment from a parent encapsulates this frustration: “YouTube knows Shorts are incredibly easy to sink time into, and shows how little they care about their consumer base by not allowing us the option to turn them off for ourselves.” For many parents, the only viable solution has been to remove the YouTube app altogether from their child’s device — a nuclear option that deprives kids of the platform’s many educational and creative benefits simply to avoid the black hole of Shorts.

What makes this oversight even more baffling is that YouTube Kids, a platform specifically designed for children under 12, doesn’t include a way to filter out Shorts either. This app is supposedly built with young users in mind, yet it offers no recourse for parents trying to curb their child’s exposure to what many describe as “the worst content” the platform has to offer. Instead, parents are left with few options: ban the app entirely, hover over their child’s shoulder during every viewing session, or simply hope the algorithm doesn’t serve up something damaging.

And damaging it can be. From sexualized content slipping through filters to dangerous viral trends, the risks are undeniable. A recent comment details a parent’s horror upon discovering their 12-year-old consuming sexualized content through Shorts despite having parental controls set for ages 9-12. Stories like this aren’t isolated. The very structure of short-form content — designed to grab attention quickly, shock, and entertain — makes it a magnet for inappropriate material, even on platforms marketed as safe for kids.

The frustration isn’t just limited to the inappropriate content, either. Parents and educators alike worry about the addictive nature of these videos and their impact on attention spans. Teachers report seeing the fallout firsthand, with children increasingly struggling to focus on anything that doesn’t deliver immediate gratification. Studies reinforce these observations, linking short-form video addiction to difficulties with concentration and social interaction.

To their credit, Google has implemented some new features over the years aimed at improving the safety of its platforms for younger users. Supervised accounts, for instance, allow parents to set restrictions on content and features. But even these tools fall short — literally — when it comes to YouTube Shorts. No toggle exists to block or filter these videos, a glaring omission that undermines the entire purpose of supervised accounts.

This absence of functionality isn’t just a technical oversight; it feels like a deliberate choice. Shorts, after all, is a revenue driver. By integrating it directly into YouTube, Google ensures that this addictive format reaches the widest possible audience — including children. Removing or restricting Shorts for kids would likely hurt the bottom line, and for a company of Google’s size, the optics of prioritizing profits over child safety are troubling, to say the least.

What’s particularly disheartening is that the solution seems so simple. A toggle to disable Shorts, either in YouTube Kids, Family Link app or supervised accounts, would give parents the control they’re asking for without affecting the experience for other users. It’s a compromise that feels not only fair but necessary, given the stakes. And yet, despite years of feedback and growing evidence of the harm these videos can cause, Google has yet to act.

Parents shouldn’t have to choose between allowing their kids to access the educational benefits of YouTube and protecting them from the pitfalls of Shorts. By refusing to address this issue, Google is sending a clear message: profits come first. But as more parents remove YouTube from their homes entirely and turn to safer alternatives, it’s worth asking whether this strategy is sustainable. After all, a platform that refuses to listen to its users — especially those advocating for the safety of children — risks losing their trust altogether.

For now, the fight continues. Parents keep posting, commenting, sharing feedback, and pleading for change hoping that someone at Google is listening. YouTube Shorts might be a hit with kids, but it’s a miss for the parents trying to protect them.