Comments on YouTube videos as a source of advice for supporting child autonomy: Interpreting autonomy as independence, reflexivity, nature/nurture, and nostalgia for the USSR

YouTube represents a vast resource that parents may consult for advice; however, little is known about the information available to parents seeking advice on supporting their children’s autonomy. This study aimed to analyze the comments (of parents) responding Russian-language YouTube videos focused on advice for child autonomy support. Following a descriptive cross-sectional design, YouTube was searched using the phrase “child autonomy.” Qualitative content analysis was used to assess comments from videos that met the inclusion criteria. The analysis revealed that viewers interacted with the content of videos about parental autonomy support in children. Specifically, they expressed reflexivity toward the advice given. However, their discussions focused on only one type of autonomy—independence—while almost completely neglecting tactics that would support volitional functioning. Additionally, the commenters tended to shift the responsibility for parenting to external entities, arguing that raising autonomous children had been easier in the USSR of the past. While this may be attributed to nostalgia—it was also apparent that they shifted the locus of blame also to include the educational system (4), fathers that gave a bad example (2), and the current economic conditions that permitted the child to be financially independent (1) although it was not clear how they viewed these as constraints. Recommendations based on the findings include encouraging professionals involved in child development to film and release more qualified content on YouTube for Peer Review, supporting autonomy in children on YouTube by raising the quality of the contents and suggesting that this could be done by working with professionals as well as government agencies participating in making helpful videos.