YouTube’s CEO is latest tech boss limiting his kids’ social media use
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan speaks during the Democracy Summit panel on March 30, 2023 in Washington, DC.
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YouTube CEO Neal Mohan is the latest in a series of tech moguls to admit they are limiting their children’s social media use as the harms of being online for young people become more apparent.
Mohan, who took over the leadership of YouTube in 2023, was named Time’s 2025 CEO of the Year. He said interview with magazine that their children’s use of media platforms is controlled and restricted.
“We limit the time they spend on YouTube, other platforms, and other forms of media. We tend to be more strict on weekdays, less so on weekends. We’re not perfect by any means,” Mohan said in an interview. TikTok video It was published by Time Magazine on Thursday.
He emphasized that what worked best for him and his wife was “everything in moderation,” and this is reflected in other online services and platforms. Mohan has three children: two sons and a daughter.
Experts continue to raise alarms about how excessive smartphone and social media use harms children and teenagers. Jonathan Haidt, NYU professor and author of “The Anxious Generation,” advocated that children not have smartphones before age 14 and access social media before age 16.
“Let them have a flip phone, but remember, a smartphone isn’t actually a phone. They can make phone calls on it, but it’s a multi-purpose device that the world can reach your kids on,” Haidt said in an interview with CNBC’s Tania Bryer earlier this year.
This week, Australia became the first country to officially ban users under the age of 16 from accessing major social media platforms. Before the law was passed last year, YouGov poll It found 77% of Australians support a social media ban on under-16s. Still, its rollout has met with some resistance since it became law.
Mohan said more Extensive interview with Time He said Wednesday he feels a “very important responsibility” to young people and gives parents more control over how their children use the platform. YouTube Kids was launched in 2015 as a kid-friendly version of the Google-owned platform.
He said his goal is to “make it easier for all parents to manage their children’s YouTube use in a way that suits their own home,” especially since each parent has a different approach.
Bill Gates, Mark Cuban
“I allow my younger children to use YouTube Kids, but I limit the time they spend in that area,” Wojcicki told CNBC in 2019. “I think too much of anything is not a good thing.”
Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates is among the technology giants who oppose young people spending too much time in front of the screen. Gates, who has three children who are now adults, has spoken openly about not giving them cell phones until they were teenagers.
Gates said years ago: “We didn’t have cell phones at the table while eating, we didn’t give our children cell phones until they were 14, and they complained that other kids were getting cell phones earlier.”
Meanwhile, billionaire Mark Cuban has even resorted to installing Cisco routers and using management software to monitor what apps his kids are using and shut down their phone activity.
