Talking to Yourself = Quality Entertainment


"Vlogging" seems to be the new form of entertainment on YouTube. I would say most of the popular creators on the platform are vloggers. All these people have to do is hold a camera up to their face and film themselves going grocery shopping and it gets three million views. I used to watch these kinds of videos without really thinking about the absurdity of this style of content. But now that I see how this system on YouTube really works, I'm more hesitant in supporting these kinds of videos.

People can watch whatever they want on YouTube. That's the appeal of the platform: there are trillions of videos covering all kinds of subjects, created by all kinds of people. You're bound to find something you enjoy watching. I don't think watching or making vlogs is bad, but I just don't understand how they're so popular when there are literally a million other videos you could watch.

I find vlogging slightly problematic because it seems like most of the people who make them put little effort into the videos. The real work comes in when they edit them, but even that probably doesn't take much time. And it definitely doesn't require any creativity or originality. That's another issue with this. If you're going to call yourself a "YouTuber," you should be contributing something new and exciting to the site. But none of that is coming into play with vlog channels.

Worst of all, these people are making a ton of money off of these videos. And for what? Talking to a camera while you go to the gym? Logan Paul's net worth is estimated to be 19 million dollars. That should not be the case. These big channels with tens of millions of subscribers can release anything and get millions of views. It's like they don't even need to try anymore.

In the end, I'm thinking: is it that serious? After all, the point of YouTube is to make any kind of video you want and be able to share it with the world. So maybe these vlogs really are fulfilling what it means to be a YouTuber. As long as these videos are making people happy and aren't hurting anyone, I should probably just let people enjoy them in silence. And Emma Chamberlain is going to have to pay rent somehow, so might as well continuing to do whatever works for her.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Booksmart

Image
Today, I watched the movie Booksmart . It's the story of two teenage girls who want to make the most of their last night before they graduate from high school. I enjoyed this movie because I felt that it defied so many of the stereotypes Hollywood has established for the typical teen chick-flick. This movie showed a healthier (though still exaggerated) view into teenage life than most. For example, in a lot of high school-centered movies, there are mean girls who are portrayed as dumb and shallow. Thankfully, that cliche doesn't really exist in this movie. The female characters in the movie actually support and guide each other. While many elements of the film are dramatized, it portrays friendship in a realistic way. The two main characters, Amy and Molly, don't have the perfect friendship, but they fight about real emotional issues, instead of over boys or popularity or the stupid stuff we see so often in teen movies. The girls aren't dumbed down for our entertai...
Read more

My Relationship With Media

Image
I would honestly say that I'm kind of addicted to media. More specifically, my phone. Apple recently added a new feature to their phones where it shows you how many hours per day you spend on your phone. And it shocked me to find that I use my phone for up to six hours a day. That's a whole quarter of my day behind a screen. And that doesn't even account for the time that I use to watch Netflix or YouTube on my laptop. This made me think about how essential media has become to my life. I use it every day to stay connected to the world around me. Whether that be talking to friends or family that I don't get to see on a daily basis or looking at the news online to stay informed.  I feel like the internet (which is definitely the most prominent form of media in my life) is often viewed negatively by older generations, and I definitely understand that aspect. Social media can be very harmful to teens, especially ones who star...
Read more

MissRepresentation in Film

Image
Most films in existence are dominated by men, whether that be onscreen, acting as the protagonist, or behind the scenes, directing and holding power. While it is true that conditions for female representation in film has improved over the last few decades, we could still be doing much better. And the film MissRepresentation  reminded me of that. I have definitely noticed a lack of female leads in most Hollywood blockbusters. According to the Women and Hollywood organization, only 28 percent of films were led or co-led by women in the top grossing films from 2007 to 2018. Most of the time, women serve as background characters or, as  MissRepresentation  reminded us, they are just there as something pretty for men to look at. This is especially true for many action movies. Even when these films have a powerful female lead (Wonder Woman, Lara Croft, etc.), they are often still painted in the image of what an "ideal" woman should look like: skinny, hair and makeup done p...
Read more