How to make the youth model from usable to likable
Reporters investigate the use of the youth model on the Internet platform
● At present, most online platforms have enabled the youth model and achieved certain positive results. Many parents appreciate this
● The youth model of some online platforms has problems such as inconspicuous entrance, random switching, and the ability to browse bad content after opening, which needs to be solved urgently
● How to provide content that meets their mental development for young people of different ages, and how to set appropriate usage permissions, still need to continue to explore on various online platforms
□ Our reporter Han Dandong
□ Wei Yaoxu, an intern of our newspaper
During the summer vacation, it is the common wish of parents to prevent minors from indulging in the Internet.
More than two years ago, under the guidance of the National Internet Information Office, the "Youth Anti-addiction System" (ie, the "Youth Mode") was launched on the short video platform and live broadcast platform on a pilot basis. Adults are addicted to the "artifact" of the Internet.
How is the development and application of the youth model nowadays?
A recent investigation by a reporter from the "Rule of Law Daily" found that most of the current online platforms have enabled the youth model and achieved certain positive results. Many parents appreciate this; at the same time, there are also some online platforms that have inconspicuous entrance and random switching of the youth model. , After opening, you can still browse the bad content and other problems, which need to be solved urgently.
Strictly set the prohibition time
Insufficient restrictions on arbitrary switches
After trying out the youth mode of more than 20 applications, the reporter found that some adopt real-name authentication. If the user is a minor, the system will automatically enter the youth mode. For example, the game application King Glory and Peace Elite, many parents This is very supportive; some video applications and social applications need to independently set a 4-digit password or need to enter an account password to open or exit the youth mode. This autonomous opening method requires a higher level of self-discipline ability for teenagers, and at the same time It also requires close supervision by parents; some apps require resetting their passwords every time they turn on the youth mode, so the password repetition rate is low, the rules are difficult to follow, and the confidentiality is high.
After entering the teenager mode, most social applications do not set limits on the duration and time period of the teenager mode, but applications such as videos and short videos will automatically turn on the time lock. The general duration is 40 minutes, which is in line with the reasonable length of continuous eye use. .
The reporter found that if the single-day use time exceeds the trigger time, the password must be entered again to continue using it.
Every day from 22:00 to 6:00 the next day is the time period for teenagers to disable the App, which helps to ensure that teenagers get at least 8 hours of sleep a day.
Although some short video platforms default to open the time lock for 40 minutes, parents can choose to turn off the time lock after entering the password. At the same time, they can also modify the time lock time. The maximum time is 120 minutes.
The youth mode of game applications usually adopts specific analysis settings in time management. For example, the Peace Elite stipulates that the playing time of teenagers cannot exceed 1.5 hours per day, but during legal holidays, the requirement cannot exceed 3 hours.
Every day from 22:00 to 8:00 the next day is the time period when teenagers ban game apps.
On August 4, the King of Glory Health Upgrade announced that underage users are prohibited from playing from 22:00 to 8:00 the next day. National legal holidays are limited to two hours a day, and other times are limited to 1 hour a day.
Nevertheless, some people are still skeptical about whether the youth model can really work.
Beijing citizen Ms. Shen's child is about to enter the second year of high school. In the past two years, she has been fighting wits and courage with her children in order to prevent her children from using the Internet too much.
Ms. Shen said that the youth model of many online platforms can be chosen at will, there is no compulsion, and even just click "skip".
Some game time can choose to be extended, which does not play a restrictive role at all.
In late July this year, the Central Cyberspace Administration of China launched a special action called "Clearness · Summer Youth Network Environment Renovation". One of the key points of the rectification is the insufficiency of the anti-addiction system and the "youth mode".
Mode operation is complicated and easy to be different
Individual apps stump parents
Different applications have different degrees of difficulty in operating the youth mode.
Some video and social apps will automatically pop up a window to remind you whether to open the youth mode when the page is opened. After entering the password, you can directly turn on the youth mode. The operation is simple and convenient.
Among all the network applications that journalists tried, Douyin's youth mode was the most convenient.
When the user logs in for the first time every day, there is a pop-up prompt to choose to turn on the youth mode; from the second use of the youth mode, the user no longer needs to enter a password, just click on the upper left corner of the menu bar "I" to enable it. .
However, there are also relatively complicated settings for the youth mode of some social applications.
If users want to turn on the youth mode, they need to click "my", "settings", "youth mode", and "enter password complete" in turn.
At the same time, parents can set the allowed access range of video number, live broadcast, official account, applet, look, search, game, etc. according to their needs.
The complicated setting paths of these applications have caused problems for some parents who are not proficient in using smart devices.
“It’s too deep. It’s up to the child to tell me where to find the option to turn on the youth mode,” said Ms. Wu, a Beijing citizen whose son is in elementary school.
"It's not convenient at all. I thought it would be enough to open it, but there are still so many settings." Ms. Cai, a Tianjin citizen whose daughter is about to enter the third year of junior high, complained.
Not only that, the reporter also found that after turning on the youth mode, some apps, such as Momo App, will display the prompt "Turn off the youth mode" at the bottom of the page, and it will always be prominent during the use of the App, resulting in some user experience. Bad.
In this regard, some parents questioned whether the platform really wants users to enable the youth mode.
Disable common consumption features
Excessive restriction and lack of content
Recently, the news that an underage boy gave a reward of 1.58 million yuan for a female anchor for 70 days caused an uproar in the public opinion.
In fact, the management of the consumption function of the adolescent model is also an important content that parents pay attention to.
According to the reporter's investigation, basically all the app's youth model have closed common consumption channels.
In the youth mode, in addition to the three functions of mobile phone recharge, city service and epidemic prevention and health code, other functions of life services, transportation, shopping and consumption in WeChat Pay are all disabled, while financial management functions are directly hidden.
Short video apps Kuaishou and Douyin prohibit teenagers from watching live broadcasts, fundamentally preventing the risk of teenagers recharging and rewarding. Douyin also closed the Douyin store.
Video platforms iQiyi, Tencent, Youku, and Mango TV have closed all other consumer channels such as membership centers, financial benefits, and games.
Station B also closed consumer operations such as member purchases and recharges.
In terms of content permissions, after the video apps iQiyi, Mango TV, Tencent and Youku turn on the youth mode, they will close the search function and entertainment functions such as live broadcast, comics, novels and cloud games.
The film and television library is dominated by cartoons, including children's content such as children's songs, puzzles, adventures, and funny, and educational content such as preschool education, science popularization, interest, and practicality.
In addition to the above restrictions, B also prohibits viewing personal dynamics, followers, fans, and barrage interaction.
The short video apps Douyin and Kuaishou no longer distinguish whether videos come from attention or recommendation, but instead provide young people with content that is beneficial to their physical and mental health, such as handicrafts, art, popular science, food, education, animation, etc.
At the same time, functions such as viewing the homepage and messages, commenting, forwarding, following, and posting videos are all disabled.
In addition, Kuaishou has also disabled the search function. Although Douyin has not completely disabled this function, the system will automatically filter the search results.
On the whole, the content management of the youth model prevents minors from imitating or forming distorted values due to exposure to bad content.
However, some teenagers interviewed complained to reporters that the content under the youth model was too monotonous and naive. Xiao Zhang, a senior high school student from Beijing, said: "Most of the content inside is for five or six-year-old children. I am 15 years old. I can’t find anything that interests me.”
A number of interviewed experts also pointed out that if the excessive setting and the monotonous lack of content cause the majority of young people to resist, it will lose the meaning of setting up a youth model.
Therefore, how to provide content that meets their mental development for young people of different ages, and how to set appropriate permissions for use, still require continuous exploration by various online platforms.
Cartography/Li Xiaojun