I decided to
write this piece to accompany ‘Sometimes it’s ok to Binge’ because so many
adults in my world had no idea what I was talking about whenever I brought up ‘YouTubers,’
‘Tyler Oakley,’ or basically anything or anyone related to YouTube itself. I
got the same blank stare, confused look, or worse, a scornful response. So,
everyone, buckle down and listen up, because I’m about to teach you a thing or
two about YouTube, and hopefully bridge the generation gap on this whole issue.
In 2005,
YouTube was born, and since then a whole new kind of celebrity has come about: ‘YouTubers,’
or online personalities. YouTubers,
then, are people who create videos and post them onto the internet. Believe it
or not, the biggest YouTuber in the world, Felix Kjellberg (a.k.a. Pewdiepie) uploads
videos of himself gaming, and then people like me watch those videos,
endlessly, not because of the game itself, but because of the hilarious running
commentary that accompanies his gaming. And he makes millions doing this (and
gives a lot to charity). If you’re still not getting it, think of it like Gogglebox:
people are watching people watching TV, but for us, we’re watching YouTubers
playing games. But it’s not always games we’re watching, it could be makeup
tutorials or videos of a person’s daily life (also known as vlogs), or it could
even be something like ‘unboxing,’ which is the simple act of filming yourself
opening a box and then vlogging about the product inside. And yes, for some
people this is REALLY interesting (not for me though). The bottom line for me
is, and I’m guessing other people like me, is that I’m looking for funny,
interesting content on the internet, and I’m finding it with YouTubers.
It’s fair to
say that becoming a YouTuber has a huge allure, because if a YouTuber’s cards
are played right, they can rack up millions of subscribers and become known all
over the world. This path
to fame was once considered atypical and unlikely, but nowadays, thousands are
creating content online, including half my class (!) who are having fun in
their spare time creating content, however I’m sure some of them have
aspirations to greater YouTubing careers. But when they say to their parents
that they’d like to become a YouTuber as a full time career in the future, their
parent’s response is typically something along the lines of “Don’t be silly,
think about getting a REAL job.” What parents don’t seem to understand is that successful
YouTubers are extremely creative people who work very hard to create new
content on a daily basis, and this is no easy task.
Mif’s tips for parents:
o
If
you’ve read this far and are ready to learn more, go back and read my review on
Tyler Oakley’s book, BINGE:
o
Work
on your poker face, so when your child says they want to become a YouTuber, you
can at least try to look encouraging.
o
Do
your homework. Google Dan and Phil, Tyler Oakley and Pewdiepie.
o
Sit
with your child and watch some YouTube with them. Hopefully after one or two
videos you’ll ‘get it.’
o
And
finally, if you’re still not getting it, go back and re-read this piece.
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