Will YouTube Meme Edits affect my autistic 5-year-old brother?

[zeepeejee]

Hello all! I'd first like to claim that I am NOT a parent, but a concerned older half-sibling to this lovely little boy we can call Y.

He's been diagnosed with Autism almost a year ago, and has been improving in his therapy classes. He can ask for things like "milk please" and the like. He has all the help from the rest of his immediate family, and technically me, his older half-sibling.

Y's family has all the high-tech stuff nowadays, from iPads to an actual Apple TV console to connect to their flat-screen, enabling them to watch Netflix and YouTube any time of the day. Y constantly asks to use the small iPad they own, and watches YouTube videos of toy unboxing, animated films, whatnot.

Y's practice seemed harmless at first, until I noticed a recurring theme in what he was watching. Somehow from animations of little people doing kiddie dances, it turned into these... YouTube edits.

If you're in with the "times", these kinds of videos I'm talking about are those really laggy and epileptic videos of the "SuicideMouse Sparta" meme. I have no idea where in the hell he found those kinds of videos, but YouTube suggestions are really a wild gem.

If you're not in with the "times", my sir or madam, I suggest you turn your laptop settings to greyscale mode (make the whole screen go black and white in color), turn off the volume (or lower it to the lowest setting if you want to see what I mean), and search up "SuicideMouse Sparta" on YouTube to see what's up. I recommend you do that process to avoid any epilepsy attacks and any harm to your hearing, as this meme contains distorted video slowly descending into chaos of distorted sounds, originating from an internet "creepypasta" (read: scary story) called SuicideMouse.avi (DO NOT ATTEMPT TO READ THIS STORY, PLEASE. IT'S NOT WORTH THE TIME.)

Y has been finding videos just like it, in his suggestions. I've been worried for quite some time now, as how his guardians seem to treat it as normal and treating his iPad time as a "way to pacify him". I don't think that's a good idea, still.

As someone born in 2000 and has gone through internet hell, this is one thing I've feared to see in younger kiddos; to do the same thing, but the only difference is that they're younger, and possibly less knowledgeable than I was when I first saw how the internet acted. I don't think Y has registered these kinds of videos as not a fact of life but only for the ones with a mind that reaches "beyond", to put it in softer terms.

I thought to myself, "hey, calm down. i guess it's just something kids like him do a lot, and that's why his guardians are so lax about it." and called it a day once. But then I tried changing what he was watching to the good old animations he used to watch, but forced my hands away and cried, throwing a temper tantrum. He tried so hard to look for the videos of that horrible kind, and continued watching them, keeping distance between me and him. It's gotten to the point if it's addictive in my view.

So uh...

1. Will this affect him horribly in the coming years, no matter how much his guardians limit his iPad time?
2. If yes, how so?
3. If yes, how do I stop him?
4. If no, should I let him and his guardians handle this all by himself?
5. SEND HELP. HE TERRIFIES ME SOMETIMES, GIGGLING AT NIGHT LIKE A DEMON. IS THIS NORMAL?

Thank you for reading this very long disquisition. If anything is still confusing to you, you may ask me questions about this situation.

[specialmom]

Actually, I don't see anything wrong with this.  He may be observing expressions and movement.  I would guarantee that since he has been officially diagnosed, the parents of the boy are quite in tune with helping him and I would allow them to do their job.  And things like saying he laughs like a demon are disheartening.  I understand you are just being honest, but this  is a little child impacted with a neurological delay.  I have a son with sensory integration disorder which many kids with autism also have and he has a methodical and at times different kind of laugh.  He's been bullied for it.  It's cruel.  He is what he is and his laugh is not demon like.  And my son laughs and talks to himself in his room at night.  Probably a lot of kids do it but they just do it out loud more.  

I can say quite clearly that you should stay out of it and allow his parents to love and parent him.  good luck