Common Sense: 2022 Kids' Media Use Report

In 2022, Common Sense examines how children use media, analysing the latest insights into the rapidly evolving field of media and technology and how it impacts the growth and development of young people.

YouTube can take the lead in setting a new standard for diverse, representative media for children

Despite its power and influence among children and teens, YouTube isn’t doing enough to promote diversity and racial equality. Nearly one-third of kids aged 8 to 18 say YouTube is a site they “can’t live without.” However, many kids of color don’t see people who look like them in the videos they watch, and they often see stereotyped or biased content, which can negatively impact their identity development.

The industry should set standards now to protect children in the evolving virtual world

As virtual reality becomes more popular and children begin to enter the emerging virtual worlds, the low privacy scores of VR headsets have raised concerns about privacy issues. Virtual reality (VR) devices collect more data than any other digital device available and profit from users' sensitive data.

Our report found that all of the privacy policies for these VR headsets were either unclear or used data for commercial purposes. 57% of phones had no parental controls, and less than a third had security settings. Because of this, none of the VR headsets we tested on the market today received a Common Sense recommendation.

It's time to take a closer look at how social media is affecting kids' mental health

Media use among teens continues to grow at an even faster pace, and the landscape is changing rapidly. In addition to usage habits, Common Sense research looks at what media young people are exposed to, how they use it, and how they respond to it, with a particular focus on social media.