There once was a naive 14 almost 15 year old girl who got sucked into the never ending vortex that is the world of YouTube and hasn’t managed to escape its clutches yet. Yes, said girl is none other than yours truly and today I will be dedicating this post to one of my dearest obsessions.
First I find any form of internet access , go to http://www.YouTube.com and the next thing I know I am watching book hauls , make-up tutorials ( I wear make up maybe once in two months maybe?) , PewDiePie play some random game I have never heard off , the occasional prank here and there, stalking YouTube power couples, Lily’s “parents” react to things and A LOT OF DANISNOTONFIRE. YouTube is huge and diverse online community that is not specific to the beauty gurus and gamers but home to pretty much every form of entertainment. So here are few things everyone should know about this beautiful labyrinth.
IT IS GROWING EXPONENTIALLY
Forget the notion that YouTube is filled with viral videos and music videos only , because over the years it has become home to the aptly named YouTubers and as mentioned before they are a very diverse and somewhat strange but I think there’s one for every type of viewer. In the yee’ old days it was mainly a few people just blurting out random things to a camera in their rooms and gaining about a 1000 subscribers ( life goals achieved) , yet now most of the old timers have about more than a million subscribers with PewDiePie coming out on top with an insane 4o million subscribers. More people (usually 12 and 13 year old girls) are watching and engaging with YouTubers and as a result there’s a huge market , bigger than ever before and lead to the development of creation of vidcon and playlist live , events where fans can come face to face in real life with their favourite YouTubers. YouTube itself is venturing into Netflix territory by launching YouTube Red , a place where exclusive content will be released , ads are non -existent and videos can be saved. It will require a subscription fee of course.
YOUTUBERS CAN BE SUCCESSFUL
Growing up in a relatively conservative home I would never have guessed that ordinary people would one day be making money talking to a camera , but now they have made actual careers from it. Time and effort goes into editing videos and writing potential scripts but this is how they make a living and a pretty good one at that due to the ads displayed before videos , the more views you have , the more money you make as more ads have been viewed. But it doesn’t end there YouTube created a platform for people to express their creativity and comedic talents , so many got deals in the entertainment business and the beauty gurus launched their very own make-up and beauty products which arguably is marketed at 12 year olds but is still rather lucrative.
Side Note : Zoe Sugg and Alfie Deyes are actually so popluar they now have their own wax statues at Madame Tussaud’s (yes this was voted upon by 12 year olds yet again)
APPARENTLY MOST YOUTUBERS THINK THEY’RE AUTHORS NOW
Due to their increasing popularity and need to make bank while this supposed ‘fad’ is still very much in fashion , they have capitalised on their viewers and created books , fictional and non-fictional . Some are mementos for fans with more pictures than words , some are recipe books and general lifestyle tips and others are cheesy YA fiction written partly by a ghost-writer that breaks sale records . I personally believe that not all should be publishing books but do admire their entrepreneurial mindset.
These are just a few of the books released
THE OLDER GENERATION DOES NOT UNDERSTAND
I know this is a stereotype and if there are some grandmother’s out there watching YouTube , I salute you but I fear most don’t quite grasp the concept , not even my own parents do. I doubt my parents would be pleased knowing I spent all day watching videos , heck they wouldn’t know why I was so intrigued by listening to strangers complain about their lives or give me advice . Also since the online community is growing so vastly and branching out , the YouTubers tend to be interviewed by older people who are clearly not good at coming to terms with the fact that a teenager with a computer and a camera became more famous then they will ever be. Sometimes I wonder if as a grandparent I will be watching someone do a chubby bunny challenge (google this) with my grand-kids someday and have them call me “old fashioned”
some old guy’s irrelevant opinion about PewDiePie
MY TASTE HAS CHANGED OVER THREE YEARS
Okay, this is more about my personal experience with YouTube.I started off predominantly with JacksGap and from there onwards I discovered MY PASTY BRITISH LOVE DAN HOWELL , and a bunch of other Brits who I have outgrown like Marcus Butler , Alfie Deyes , Zoella , a fellow South African Caspar Lee . Now I mainly watch cinema sins , Superwoman , all Dan and Phil’s videos imaginable , lots of trailers , KickThePJ , poods , thevlogbrothers , thefinebros and a bunch of other random ones.
It’s quite obvious why Jack and Finn(@JacksGap) (pictured below) are the reason I stuck around on YouTube
CAN ANYONE BE A YOUTUBER?
I don’t think so actually . You have better chances at succeeding if you’re fairly attractive (because 12 year olds really do reign supreme) , really funny and are not from the Southern Hemisphere (excluding Australia) . But hey , who am I to decide , you do you boo (YES I ACTUALLY TYPED THAT OUT)
As my final ode to YouTube , I want to to thank you for simultaneously enriching and ruining my life and I am fairly sure our love-hate relationship won’t be ending anytime soon. Oh and a huge thank you to Crashcourse , my biology marks are forever indebted to you.
Disclaimer: I accept no responsibility of your mental health state or how you choose to spend your day if you now choose to go on to YouTube and form a possible addiction . This is all on you
Caffeinated & Opinionated 