How Does YouTube Influence Teenagers Today?

 

Four in ten adolescents believe that their favourite YouTuber understands them better than their own friends. Also, 70% of teenage YouTube subscribers say they relate more to YouTube creators than Hollywood celebrities. Zoella, Joe Sugg, Casper Lee, Dan Howell and Alfie Deyes are some of the biggest YouTubers, each with over five million subscribers! How have YouTubers become so popular? And what is it about them that is attracting the youth of today?  Let’s find out.

 

YouTube is an amazing thing. Whether you’re a YouTuber or just watch the video, It gives people a chance to film their lives or what they really enjoy and show the world. They could do a video on cooking, fitness, a daily vlog or even funny challenges, giving people something to do when they are bored. Anyone can watch videos that make them smile or even explain how to do something, helping them to develop important life skills.  People can earn a lot of money on YouTube and can even make a career out of it through advertising, which can help unemployed people get a job that they love, this is a win-win situation. YouTube is one of the only free video sharing sites which means anyone can watch it at any time without having to worry about being charged.

 

Businesses can build their fan base through YouTube so thousands of people will support them before they even come out into the real world. Being a YouTuber can give teens the confidence they need to make it in the job industry, can inspire millions to do what they love most and they can put it on their CVs which can impress companies. Having ‘YouTuber’ on your CV can show your presenting skills, confidence and creativity along with reliability. 

 

YouTube first came out in 2005, and it is still going strong. A YouTube fan, Ellen Hartly, said, “When I was 14 I was suffering from lack of confidence and was severely self-conscious. That was until I discovered Emma Chamberlain on YouTube. She was so confident and fun so I decided, I want to be like that. YouTube changed my life for the better, I don’t think I’d be the same if it weren’t for YouTube”.  This shows that YouTube can change people’s lives and help people become their best selves. Also, just watching videos can make you smile when you’re sad and become someone you never knew possible. It offers opportunities that people wouldn’t get and it gives people a chance.

 

On the other hand, I think that YouTubers and YouTube as a whole can have quite a negative impact on young people’s lives for many reasons, despite it being a positive, friendly platform for sharing content. One of these reasons is the psychological effect on teens today since there have been many instances where young children as young as ten are developing negative behaviours, even violent, to the extent where police must intervene. However, most of these instances trace back to this supposedly harmful platform, which children have access to, possibly without parent permission. At least 13% of children have had an experience that caused a problem with their parents. Just watch people nowadays, always on their phones. Personally, what is worse is the overwhelming amount of time spent in front of screens because you are carried away with interesting thumbnails or amazing adverts. However, do not worry because YouTube has updated its platform with a permanent solution to this and an actually helpful in-built feature. To access this new feature, go through settings, app monitoring and you will find an accurate data graph which shows the amount of time the user has spent on YouTube, and shows the daily average this week/month/year. This is a special feature, and can be unlocked by activating an account, as long as you give YouTube permission to access this kind of data and monitor the account’s usage and terms.

 

There's no denying that YouTube has changed the world in the 14 years it has been around. From building the confidence of teenagers, to inspiring millions of people, YouTube has impacted us in many different ways. However, the platform has been reported to harm some teenager's self-esteem. Its addictive content and having 24 hour access to it, means YouTube can be a dangerous thing for young people. What are your feelings towards YouTube? Is it an amazing invention? Or is it destroying our society?

 

 

 

 

 

Lucy, Molly and Olga 

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