Iqaluit youth are learning what it takes to be a content creator

TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, you name it, you're probably on it and so are young people. That's why a new content creator course aimed at youth has turned out in Iqaluit. Kent Driscoll is helping run the program. If we can help Inuit get access to those sort of content creation models, people will be seeing authentic Inuit content. He says Starlink has opened up the territory and there's a boom happening in Inuit content creation. This two-hour course embeds IQ principles and covers everything from equipment to use to how to build your community to online safety. These kids are going to be content creating. Whether we want them to or not, we might as well teach them how to do it safely. But the relationship between kids and online platforms is controversial. Meta settled a lawsuit in the U.S. for $17 billion over social media addiction claims. Canada has proposed Bill C-34, which would ban social media accounts for youth under 16. Artist and music producer Ariyahoo admits he was on the internet way too young, but argues it's hard to enforce age bans and kids can always find a way to get around them. The goal is good-ish. Um, but I think that the application, it's dependent on the application of it. And I think that, like, it does stunt a lot of, um, like, cultural growth. Ariyahu says making online content is an art form, and youth should aim for authenticity when creating. Make everything as best as you can for yourself, and you make everything as best as you can for the people around you. And you will be rewarded infinitely more from helping others than you will from, like, being self-serving. This course is the first step in a larger project, the launch of Pinwawik, the Playroom platform, a platform that will house Inuit content creators and is set to launch later this month. For now, the last session of the course will run Thursday in the Makerspace. Bianca McEwen, CBC News, Iqaluit.