• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 10, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 10.

• Is it any good?

  5.0

• Common Sense says

  Free site's top-notch how-to videos include sex tutorials.

Why We Rated This for Ages 10–14

The good stuff

• Educational value:

  There are hundreds of hours of helpful instructional how-tos and wiki text guides in 25 categories ranging from pets to technology to crafts. Although mostly aimed at an adult audience, most videos are easy enough for kids to understand and use, too. In addition, tweens and teens have their own well-stocked sections that teach games (“How to Draw a Maze") and social skills ("How to Find Someone to Sit With in the Cafeteria").

  Registered users (who must be over 13) can try submitting their own how-to videos or  text wikis with photos. If the topic is deemed interesting enough, the site will create a slideshow or shoot its own video version. Pretty cool.

• User-created content:

  Though visitors to the site are encouraged to send in their own videos, it's obvious that most of the outside stuff so far is coming from serious videographers, budding filmmakers and business partners like Yahoo and AOL. The videos labeled user-created are almost indistinguishable from the site’s own high-quality videos made in its professional studios in San Francisco and New York. 
• Messages:

  We’re not born experts. Most life skills, whether building a bookshelf or learning how to kiss, require practice and, ideally, a how-to video. Not every video on the site models behavior suitable for children but overall its message, that learning can be easy and fun, is a positive one.

What to watch out for

• Violence:

  Nothing too objectionable unless you're a parent concerned about kids imitating the moves in self-defense and martial arts instructional videos, of which there are many. Some cartoonish violence, too; for instance, a claymation bear repeatedly rips the head off a hapless claymation man, and a remarkably realistic stop-action T-Rex munches a live-action victim. 
• Sex:

  Amply covered with several hundred how-tos available in the Sex & Relationships section of the site. These videos, many of which can be funny, teach how to flirt, kiss, have sex in a car and fake an orgasm, among other romantic skills. A series called Ask Dan and Jennifer features a winsome therapist couple answering common questions about sex. Nudity is only hinted at, and of the dozen or so videos aimed at teens, only one ("How to Seduce your Professor") offers irresponsible advice about sex. Still, the adult sex how-tos are pretty, well, adult, and most parents will not want tweens watching these parts of the site without supervision.
• Language:

  Mostly tame. A video on how to tell ghost stories begins with, "It was a dark and stormy night and you wanted to scare the crap out of your campfire friends."
• Consumerism:

  Pretty commercial. Ads appear on top of videos, next to videos and occasionally mixed in with video thumbnail search results. The banners and Google ads are often tie-ins, which makes them especially effective; for instance, a video on how to tame frizzy hair might be accompanied by an ad for a hair-straightening product. Most of the products are G-rated mainstream stuff like automobiles, network TV shows and beauty products.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  Drinking isn't exactly glorified, but neither is it treated very seriously, unlike the smoking-related how-tos, which are generally about quitting. The tongue-in-cheek alcohol-related videos include "How to Fake Being Sober." The drug-related videos are mostly about the effects of various medications.

How safe is it?

• Personal privacy:

  Anyone over the age of 13 can join the site and start uploading videos or text wikis immediately. The only guideline is that content must be how-to or instructional and not "obscene." The only personal information required to join is an email address, which can be seen by others on the user's profile page. If kids comment on videos or create a playlist of their favorite videos, these will be visible, too, until they close the account. But more intimate information, such as photos, gender, hometown, and school, is optional.
• Online interaction:

  Leaving comments after videos is the only means of interacting on the site. Most of the comments sections were empty when we visited -- except for the sex videos, which drew some predictably suggestive remarks.
• Parental controls:

  Kids can watch any video on the site without registering or revealing their age. Parental consent is required only if a child under 18 wants to upload a how-to video.

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