Content Kids Crave: Mapping the Genre of Children's Videos on YouTube

The development of communication technology does not necessarily bring positive effects to children. New media, such as YouTube, has different affordances than traditional media, like television, which leads children to adapt to different media consumption patterns. This study examines how the typology of children's content genres on YouTube, which is user-generated, has evolved. By using a purposive method to select videos based on YouTube’s algorithmic recommendations to mimic the journey of actually using the apps to reveal the type of children's content available on YouTube and visual content analysis to see the visual elements, this study intends to unveil the genre in children content on Youtube. The study finds that the development of children's content on YouTube, based on its genre typology, is divided into three most popular genres of content: education videos, entertainment nursery rhymes, and roleplay videos. Furthermore, the nature of media enables emerging genres that are unique solely on YouTube, such as toy unboxing and algorithmics-anomalies content. The results of this study can serve as recommendations for YouTube children's content creators in creating appropriate children's content based on its genre and offer some insight into the related groups regarding children's content regulations on YouTube.