Dark Trend Emerges as Teens Post ‘Am I Pretty or Ugly?’ Videos to YouTube

I think it would be far more useful to teach kids not to divulge too much information about themselves online than to fully restrict their usage until they're an adult. Why? Because a 10 year old who doesn't know the first thing about "online safety" and a 20 year old who STILL doesn't know the first thing about "online safety" b/c nobody taught them anything both have the same potential to land themselves in hot water, so to speak.

You know what two things my Dad told me when I was 8 years old before getting on the internet? "Don't do anything that will make you wind up in jail! And don't divulge your personal information to strangers over the internet lest you want them stealing your identity and or coming to our house and murdering us!" Yes it was very blunt but it got the point across. It's far better to have an explanation of WHY you can't or shouldn't do something rather than a nebulous reason such as "because I said so" with no further guidance from there... So when I read all these comments about parents upset with their kid's online activity and how they need to better control their kids, I can only shake my head because I enjoyed total and absolute freedom on the internet since I was 10 years old and I haven't looked back since.

It's not YouTube's responsibility to block these videos. Meredith, here's an idea: Challenge the parents to know what their kids are doing online, and have them do the blocking.

Seems craz to aks a question that begs for negative input from mean-spirited people. why set yourself up for such unfavorable commenting? Beauty is so subjective that you really have to just be the judge of yourself. I guess one question we could ask ourselves is if we are making the most of what we have been given? Certain things you will NEVER be able to change, like the natural shape of your face or height, etc. It is what it is and honor yourself by being thankful and doing what you can (without extreme cosmetic surgery, skin bleaching or aenorexia or any other extreme idea) with what you have, for now. Being comfortable with yourself in our beauty-obsessed world is the most important lesson you will learn.

if you have to ask, then you are just an attention starved kid. live inside out, not outside in.

this is pathetic

It's the sort of thing I expect, given an ever worsening downward spiral in education added to a ludicrous excess in the electronic world vs. the real one with hobbies, sport and real living friends. Very sad.

Strong is the new beautiful. With makeup, anyone can be pretty. With liposuction, anyone can be skinny. But strong? You have to work for that. Everyone does.

Man, this is so stupid. In my opinion, no matter what weight, no matter how tall you are, everybody is pretty in their own way. We shouldn't have to ask other people. THAT'S insecurity.

This is going out of hand, and just blocking YouTube for anyone under age blahblah is not a solution. It won't change those girls' minds. People have to tell those girls that if all you are is pretty, you won't get by. You can be pretty, but it's worth nothing if that's all you are. Pretty has to go with something else. And, average-looking people who have other strengths will live better than only-pretty people. PLEASE GIRLS, GET THAT.

Does anyone proofread these articles before they're posted? Just look at the first paragraph.

I'm insecure too but posting a video of myself on youtube would be taking it too far. Desperation comes to mind.

Lady, people don't "need" attention, they WANT it. It's not a NEED, it's a weak, vain, pathetic WANT to constantly seek attention.

We are throwing our kids into the toilet! This is indicative of just what we don't need- more kids being trained to be superficial in their approach to life, and to others. What ever happened to inculcating kids with virtue rather than basing so much on their appearance? It is possible to be so open-minded that you actually loose your minds. I think that is what's happening here. Too many kids are committing suicide because of the feeling that they do not measure up to these false standards. It's sad, folks. My mother used to say; "Beauty is as beauty does." It's true!

I love how everybody is surprised by this... This is just kids being kids and now that they have an outlet to express their innermost needs, everybody is up in arms and shocked that their kids could possibly be looking for confirmation of their beliefs at a larger audience. Women have done the "does this make me look fat, or Am I pretty" for ages and continue to do it so why be surprised that this need extends out onto Youtube? Parents who are upset at this behavior should look to themselves and ask themselves if they would do the same when they were their kids age and I'm sure, if they were totally honest with themselves, the answer would be a resounding "yes".

We as a society are failing our kids shamefully!
When are we going to take responsibility and make sure that our youth will get the right signals again?
It can be old school but qualities as inner pride, self respect and gratefulness for who we are and what we have been given makes happy, healthy people and at the end a society that's not completely screwed up.

I think peopel forget what it's like to be a tween. The middleschool years are the hardest, and kids are the cruellest at this age. It really is sad when adults don't have enough time to, or don't care enough to, monitor their children. No child should be allowed to post videos of themselves. They are not strong enough to handle personal criticism(more like personal attacks) at that age. Strength is gained through experience. What experience does an 11 year old have? What experiences does an 11 year old have if they feel they have to ask the internet if they're pretty? Not really good ones seriously.

Do not ask! Ppl are gonna hate!

PARENTS!!!!!!!!

pretty

So sad. As a teenage girl, I hate that so many of my peers are bullied into hating their bodies. I try to ignore the hate and love myself just the way I am.