YouTube Thumbnails Accessible to Elementary Students and Others
Many Contain Sexual and Violent Images
Seoul YWCA Investigates Gender Discrimination in YouTube Thumbnails
Emphasis on Women's Bodies and Specific Parts to Boost Views
Organization Warns of Increased Gender Bias Awareness... Calls for Ongoing Attention and Issues Raising
Some YouTubers are causing controversy by highlighting women's body parts or creating overtly sexist video content. Their thumbnails are also made with provocative and violent images, becoming a social issue. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] # A teenage female student, Lee, recently expressed reluctance to access YouTube. Lee said, "It is nothing new that YouTube thumbnails are provocative and sensational, but recently it has gone too far." She added, "There are also many sexist images and content. In the case of girl group videos, they are even edited separately in a provocative way," expressing her frustration. She raised her voice, saying, "How is this different from pornography?"
Amid ongoing criticism that YouTube video thumbnails?the first images viewers see?are provocative, sensational, and violent, a recent survey revealed that issues such as sexual objectification are serious.
YouTube adult content requires separate procedures such as age verification to watch, but thumbnails do not require login, so anyone, including elementary school students, can see provocative thumbnails. As a result, some YouTubers competitively create provocative thumbnails to stimulate curiosity and encourage clicks.
A 20-something university student, Kim, who recently felt discomfort after seeing a YouTube thumbnail, said, "There are many videos titled like 'OO girl leaked photos' or 'Is this girl group real?'" He pointed out, "Most of these videos are illegally obtained footage edited provocatively." He criticized, "The reason for this is to increase views and make money."
A 30-something office worker, Park, said, "The problem is that anyone can see thumbnails without logging in," and lamented, "How bad can this be for children's education? I hope they don't edit YouTube thumbnails in a strange way that even elementary school students can see just to make money."
Some YouTubers create provocative and sensational thumbnails to attract clicks. With the perception that views equal money, they produce not only sexist video content but also videos that highlight specific parts of women's bodies. [Image source=Yonhap News]
According to a survey by a civic group, some YouTubers are producing thumbnails with sexist, provocative, and violent images.
Seoul YWCA announced the results of monitoring 6,000 thumbnails and titles from the top 200 domestic YouTube channels by views (based on July views), checking 30 thumbnails each in order of the latest videos from August 6 to September 6, commissioned by the Korea Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education.
The survey found that △64 thumbnails and titles showed sexism, △52 cases involved sexual objectification, which accounted for the largest proportion. This was followed by △7 cases of discrimination based on appearance and △3 cases promoting sexist stereotypes.
Among the 31 thumbnails pointed out as sexist cases, the actual videos briefly showed parts emphasizing women's bodies, but those scenes were often set as thumbnails. Summarizing the cases, the reason for editing YouTube thumbnails provocatively and sensationally is interpreted as an attempt to increase views.
In other cases, specific female body parts were emphasized, or arrow images were placed on female performers' chests. There were also many cases where men’s faces looking at specific female body parts were marked with blush or embarrassment icons, blatantly sexualizing women.
A 30-something office worker, Kim, who said he watches a lot of YouTube, pointed out, "In girl group videos, there are many cases where only specific body parts are closely zoomed in and compiled," adding, "Besides copyright infringement, isn't the purpose of uploading videos simply to make money?"
Given this situation, a female idol group expressed discomfort. In December last year, April member Jin Sol posted on her Instagram, "I wish people would stop making and uploading clips where they slow down the dance, walking, or running when I wear short or tight clothes. When you search my name, a few come up sometimes, and I really hate that."
One provocatively edited video has over 1 million views. Another girl group video with a provocative title like "OO close-up body ㄷㄷ" and thumbnail was viewed by about 200,000 people. This is why provocative thumbnails are being criticized as virtually sexual harassment.
Experts expressed concern that continuous exposure to provocative thumbnails could solidify sexist perceptions. There are also opinions that responsibility for these should be strengthened.
Seoul YWCA emphasized, "Considering that the exposure of recommended images and thumbnails appearing in searches is as frequent as watching actual videos in the YouTube environment, YouTube has greater influence than any other media in reinforcing stereotypes about women, so continuous attention and raising issues are necessary."
The National Assembly Legislative Research Office suggested in 'Problems and Improvement Measures of Internet Personal Broadcasting' that "for small internet personal broadcasters thriving by promoting provocative adult broadcasts, designating them as harmful media for youth to block minors' access or, furthermore, strengthening business responsibility for operators designated as harmful media for youth could be considered."
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