Should autoplay be switched off?

17471

5-11 votes

55853

11-16+ votes

73324

Total votes

For this VoteTopic, young people discussed the power of autoplay and whether it should be permanently switched off on platforms such as iPlayer, Netflix and YouTube. Although it might seem like a useful feature when watching our favourite shows, there have also been reports that it can have damaging consequences. For example, recent stories have suggested that it is fuelling issues with body image and fitness amongst young people.

Primary 7-11, Secondary, 16+ & College voters were asked: “Should autoplay be switched off?”, while Primary 5-7 voters discussed: “Does autoplay make you watch too much TV?”

73,324 young people in the UK have taken part in this vote.

Age 5-11 voter

"We should turn autoplay off because it is distracting us from things to do and somethings auto play plays inappropriate things. I want to make the choice for myself. away from screens.”

Age 11-16 voter

"You have the option to turn autoplay off manually. Turning it off for everyone is extreme and controlling what we see and do too much."

Age 16+ voter

"[I] would primarily only wish to turn auto-play off for apps like Netflix but not apps like YouTube. [We] discussed that the auto-play function encourages lazy and sedentary behaviour which can impact the health of people including young people."

52% of 7-11-year olds voted to switch autoplay off on apps such as YouTube and Netflix.

5-7-year old Primary pupils were discussing whether autoplay makes them watch too much TV. 64% voted 'Yes'.
52% of 7-11-year olds voted 'Yes' to, "Should autoplay be switched off?"

79% of Secondary and College students disagreed, arguing that they should keep control over the autoplay feature.

Secondary, College and older students were discussing whether autoplay should be switched off.
In direct contrast to the Primary 7-11 result, around 4 out of 5 students voted 'No'.

Many 'No' voters argued that autoplay already has a turn off feature for those who want it.

Secondary students pointed out that many of these apps already have an option to turn off autoplay, which they thought was preferable to switching the feature off for everyone.
Some voters, particularly at the Primary level, argued that the negative consequences autoplay can have (on productivity, self-esteem and activity levels) is reason enough of a reason to switch it off.