YouTubers

In the modern and global world, YouTube is one of the most important social platforms  of our society. Teenagers, called Generation Z, are raised in the era of smartphones and don't know anything about the time before social media. Today, most of the young people are YouTube addicts. They spend a lot of time watching videos on YouTube. YouTube has attained a global watch time of over five hundred million hours daily. Before YouTube became a very popular platform, people used to see celebrities as role models. However, YouTubers' influences on young people surpassed celebrities on traditional media. In fact, celebrities are increasingly shifting their focus to YouTube in order to compete with YouTubers. Moreover, many parents don't even know about the existence of YouTubers and how they affect their kids. In order to raise our children in the best way, we should consider the effects of YouTubers on young people.

            Firstly, we should consider the effects of YouTubers on young girls. Millions of videos which are related to beauty were featured via YouTube. The importance of fashion and beauty have increased in young girls' lives this way. For example, some YouTubers feature Haul videos in which a YouTuber introduces and describes the products that they have purchased after each shopping trip. These YouTubers can earn thousands of dollars via shopping and filming what they  buy. Furthermore, besides fashion videos, a lot of videos which have beauty and makeup content are  featured. These YouTubers teach how to apply makeup and share their beauty routine. Young girls see these YouTubers as role models. They think they must dress  like YouTubers and apply makeup like them in order to look beautiful.

 Secondly, YouTubers affect young people's decision making process. These pseudo experts give information about the products based on their personal experience in order to support their viewer's purchasing decisions. YouTubers share intimate stories about their lives; it makes them seem trustworthy. They feel closer  to YouTubers than their Hollywood variety. They perceive them as equal because they are average people who might be a person living next door. Therefore, YouTubers are more popular and admired than celebrities and they can easily affect people's decision making process.

Finally, YouTubers affect young people's identification process. They affect their behaviors, values, beliefs and attitudes. Some teenagers identify with YouTubers and adopt their ideas. Identification is not the same as imitation. It is permanent. For instance, some popular YouTubers talk about sensitive issues including transgender issues, suicidal ideation, anxiety and depression. Hearing about such topics can be empowering for children who may have experienced rejection or isolation. Messages from YouTubers can be very confusing for them. Children might adopt these kinds of ideas which are not actually true. Also, some children adopt the bad language which is used by YouTubers. If they watch YouTubers who don't pay attention to the language that they use, they can start swearing and cursing  people in their lives. In addition, they might eat too much unhealthy food because they see YouTubers consuming them on their vlogs every day. Moreover, some YouTube videos such as Try not to laugh have risks that might result in children getting hurt or into trouble. YouTubers prank one of their friends or a stranger in videos of this kind . They perceive other people as accessories to their  own enjoyment. If viewers imitate this behavior in their lives, they can get hurt because they might ignore the anger of people  who are pranked.

To sum up, YouTubers can easily affect young girls, young people's decision making process and young people’s behaviors since they are one of us. Parents should take precautions against YouTube videos which might have harmful content in order to raise their children in the best way.

https://www.mamamia.com.au/how-bloggers-influence-teenagers/

https://essay.utwente.nl/71094/1/Westenberg_MA_BMS.pdf

https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/expert-opinion/YouTubers-influencing-children/

Gökhan DEMİRÇİN