Abstract
Millennials are individuals born between the 1980s and early 2000s. They are considered more ‘technologically savvy’ than any other generation (Johnson, 2015:23-25 & Dilotsotlhe, 2021:3). Children's YouTube channels grew internationally for education and entertainment purposes during the COVID-19 pandemic (Lozano-Blasco, Quilez-Robres, Delgado-Bujedo & Latorre-Martínez, 2021). Some of the objectives of this study looked at how millennial parents use YouTube to assist them with parenting, how YouTube gratifies children’s needs and what the possible implications are when millennial parents use YouTube to assist them to parent. Although numerous studies were conducted on these matters, most studies focus on the Global North and minimal to no studies focus on Johannesburg, particularly, Roodepoort. The researcher thus sought to close this gap and do an investigation in Roodepoort, Johannesburg, South Africa. A qualitative research approach was taken, with snowball sampling and semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. A total of twenty millennial parents who have children between the ages of two and ten were interviewed. The theoretical framework comprised of The Uses and Gratification Theory by Lazarsfeld and Stanton (1944) and Albert Bandura’s (1977) Social Learning Theory. The data was analysed using Thematic Analysis. From the interviews that were conducted, it was evident that one of the main ways parents use YouTube to assist them with parenting is by encouraging children to remain indoors and on their devices, thereby protecting their children from high crime taking place outdoors. YouTube also fills the role of a digital babysitter and assists parents with basic parenting duties. Furthermore, it was discovered that education and entertainment are the main gratification children experience through engaging with YouTube. In addition to this, YouTube provides children with emotional support that is critical to their development. Lastly, children need to be monitored as they engage with YouTube because there are various positive and negative implications associated with children engaging with YouTube. These findings emphasise the importance of YouTube to parents and children.