Youtube is almost like a third home to me. When I'm bored, happy, sad, sleepy, in need for inspiration, listening to music it's always there. It's a great platform for product placement, tutorials ( ranging from cooking to makeup all the way to how to fix your phone if it fell in water), showing off your lifestyle, music , sketches, illegal movie and series streaming and the list goes on. With the rise of the social media platform there will obviously be people that will be famous for being on that platform and having a large quantity of subscribers and that my friend is called a youtuber.
This leads us to the question ; are YouTube stars being exploited or empowered? I personally believe (and please let me know if you disagree because I am curious of hearing others view on this) that in this world there is no such as black or white but rather grey. An example I would like to address and that is quite specific concerning a video posted by a vegan vlogger that was becoming quite popular, she was advertising this website that sells makeup online and that had sponsored her. It was some kind of makeup tutorial of products she has gotten from the website and the comments from her subscribers had mostly tones of disappointment and anger. Why you ask? Because the mascara she used was not “cruelty free” meaning it comes from a brand that tests on animals and that vegans are not supposed to consume animal products.
It is important to put into consideration that youtube is possibly a source of income and it's almost a form of business as it becomes a full time job that does not particularly pay well. If the youtuber is not promoting a product, they are probably somehow promoting themselves, their lifestyle or an aspect of their personality or talent. By doing so they are building an audience and fans, people interested in their content that show their interest in the form of views, likes, comments, subscribes or even following them on other social medias and try to interact with youtubers. It is empowering for a youtuber to have people engaged with their content but with the example of the youtuber that used a different mascara it shows that you are limited to what your audience wants.
The true exploitation is not from viewers even if they can be quite critical and picky but rather from companies and deal opportunities that will be the source of income of the youtuber. Going back to that vegan youtuber, her last 5 videos were sponsored and viewers started to be enraged but how is she going to fund her trips to Los Angeles with that ? This how she makes her living how she pays her rent, equipement and all the expenses of this life that you are all familiar with.It is a matter of following strictly what the employer wants to be able to sell their products to the audience you have worked hard on acquiring and that have some kind of trust in you. What is being exploited is who they are, their looks and talents but this can also empower them in such a way that they get to have business opportunities, be able to expand their channel get actual money from it and just evolve as a person.
Looking back at the documentary generation like it is important to understand that today we live in a society where the things on our screens have a big place in our lives and that we have stopped looking at the billboards around us. There is always a way to sell and sure youtubers have expectations of fulfill but if there is balance and if they are aware of the things around them then I guess it is up to the person itself and whether they would rather more be empowered or more exploited. Is this good or bad? I don't think anyone has a say or will be fully right about it unless they have a more or less popular youtube channel or any social media personality really.
Now will you excuse me, I will go back to watching youtube videos while jumping from a couch to couch to have killer calves (Mr Aaron reference).
