I am absolutely obsessed with watching YouTube videos. Odds are, if I have nothing to do and I’m being lazy in my dorm, I’m watching videos upon videos and forgetting all other responsibilities.
Most people don’t realize that the site consists of more than just videos of twerking fails, adorable cats and millions of Harlem Shake renditions (yep, they’re still all there).
In fact, there are hundreds of Internet personalities who make their money simply from entertaining us through the web from the YouTube Partner Program.
The YouTube Partner Program is something that is actually pretty interesting — or maybe I’m just nerdy enough to enjoy it. Once a channel reaches a certain number of subscribers or views, it is able to monetize those views with those annoying ads we often get frustrated with. This allows them to make a pretty decent profit from the site, or so I assume. For many of the personalities, YouTube is their one and only job.
The Partner Program has made YouTube into an entertainment staple of many people’s lives — including my own.
These “YouTubers” bring their content in a large variety of ways. Many do comical sketches, like the once-popular channel “Fred.” Others talk straight to the camera at their viewers, like Jenna Marbles or Daily Grace. Others do a short TV show format about news and entertainment, like the Philip DeFranco Show. Still others do a themed comedy show, like My Drunk Kitchen (possibly the most brilliant channel that has ever graced the site).
YouTube even takes the place of television for many people.
It has also opened up a world for gamers, by creating a place for thousands of “gameplay videos.” I first stumbled across these videos while searching for a handy way to help me get through some chapters in video games I was struggling with.
Though that’s probably how they were created, many YouTubers spend their whole career broadcasting their gameplay onto the Internet.
I can’t tell you why I love these videos so much, but I can’t get enough.
Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, more commonly known as PewDiePie, is a 23-year-old Swedish gamer who has been putting videos on YouTube since 2009. In August, he became the most subscribed channel on the site, with more than 13 million subscribers.
Almost all of his uploads to the site are gameplay videos. The gameplay takes up most of the screen, with a small box on the top of the video, which shows his face. He walks viewers through playing the game and entertains along the way with jokes and reactions to what is happening in the game.
I can’t explain why these videos can be so addicting. You can get sucked into watching someone you don’t even know play a video game you have already played on the Internet.
There are thousands of people who have a whole channel dedicated completely to gaming. There are even channels composed of a team who bring reviews, trailers, gameplay videos and other gaming news to us through YouTube.
There are also tons of very popular YouTubers, including iJustine, who have a second channel where they exclusively play games. Most of hers consist of
Call of Duty Free-For-All matches paired with her feisty commentary. I can’t tell you how much time I’ve wasted watching her yell at her screen.
Whatever they’re doing, I’m totally addicted. It also provides for a solution to a problem we’ve all faced. Don’t want to shell out $60 for the newest game? Just watch a complete strangers play it on the Internet. Problem solved.
Sophie Kruse is a sophomore studying journalism and a columnist for The Post. What are your favorite YouTube channels? Email her at sk139011@ohiou.edu.
