14th Nov 2018
How might we...
...…provide parents with a way of reviewing what their children post online without getting in the way of their freedom to express themselves.
Providing parents with controls to keep their child safe online while encouraging self-expression
Help parents manage their child's privacy online while still giving them freedom to express themselves.
Product Context
Vidi is a video sharing app allowing users to upload, view, share, live-stream, rate and comment on movies they’ve created. Vidi gathers additional metadata about videos people share to provide better recommendations based on people’s sharing and viewing habits as well as their location.
In order to provide the service, Vidi stores some of the following data:
- Videos themselves
- Personal data, to create & verify accounts
- People’s connections to other people (in the case of child-parent or guardian relationship)
- A history of viewed videos
- A history of the user's locations to recommend videos nearby
Problem & Opportunity
Parents are unsure how to manage their child's privacy online without without restricting them. Children want the freedom to express themselves without parents controlling every single decision they make.
Design Features
Give children control over what they post and how involved the parent is.
Although parents/guardians are always allowed to review their underaged child's posted content, the child can decide whether to also give them the right to remove it. This allows for freedom of expression and encourages discussion.
Design Features
Highlight questionable content before parents step in.
Using the intelligently set “Magical Bad Stuff Algorithm”, Vidi can let children know (and understand) when it detects content that might not be approved by the parent. This happens before content is posted, giving the child the ability to change their mind without consequences.
Design Features
Encourage conversation between parent and child.
If the child posts a video that the “Magical Bad Stuff Algorithm” deems as requiring approval, it will notify the parent. Should the parent decide to request the video to be removed, they need to provide a video explanation. This encourages conversation between parent and child rather than simply banning content.
Next steps
How might we build on Vidi’s ideas to…
- Explore parent and child relationships around social media and content sharing.
- Evaluate the practical viability of the “Magical Bad Stuff Algorithm”.
- Explore people’s attitudes and interactions at the point of content posting, review, and removing.
