The trend to small children on YouTube
Continuous to our discussion earlier, the issue of narcissism on social media do not only
addressed on children. But this also has becoming one of the leading trend
to a wide range of adolescent or even adults in recent years. (Singh. 2011)
Except for toys reviews, there are multitudinous of video channel that have
made use of the idea of digital prosumerism. Such as making video of
reviewing electronics goods, video games and make up products.
(Michniuk. 2014) These are the three current main industries that have
actively collaborated with YouTubers working in co-creation. (Dunkels.
Franberg. Hallgren. 2011) They have accelerated a numerous of popular
YouTube stars who actively promote and reviewing the products. Their use
of commercial propaganda and psychological manipulation has grown even
further to a wide range of global industries in recent year. The continuous
growth of YouTubers competing to commercial exchange that will gradually
replaced other categories of cultural production. (Gerhards. 2017) This
includes educational video resources, (such as languages, science, problem
resolving) ; Semi-professionals types (Sports, Tech, Auto) ; TV series/ News
/ Interviews / Film/ Animation in reproduction ; Leisure (Food, Travel, DIY,
Art, Animals). (YouTube 2018) These type of videos still currently have their
potential in the market on a day-to-day basis, especially on Facebook and
Instagram. However, it could be another story for their existence on
YouTube. These type of video will get support from the user’s that based on
their personal interest and hobbies. They are the type of video in which
mainly focus on the idea of sharing, knowledge-in-exchange, more likely to
be motivative rather than ‘manipulation’. The reason behind this is due to
the factors that we have discussed above. These categories of video are less
likely to involve commodities and consumerism. (Schepp. 2009)
Toys Review? Unboxing? Really?
Gen C is the market. Many young people enjoy having the power and ability to make stuff,
create and share own stories to the world. To small children, this perhaps encourage their creativities. However, it also depends what sort of video that small children are watching every day on YouTube.
Recently, there are more and more Toy Review Channel became really popular on YouTube. This brings the issue of commercial manipulation and psychological manipulation mainly affected to the young audience. I have also talk about this in my last post. The video of Unboxing signifier a sense of consumer experience when it indicates the audience the real objects and the process of revealing objects without having to spend money. Psychologically, the action of “Unboxing” consist of presenting the object of desire in a state of undressing. This could invoke immediate feelings of relaxation and satisfaction of one's curiosity. By watching people unpacking items, this type of videos can also give rise to a desire to buy. This will raise an interest for the spectator to continue to watch the similar type of videos. Their final goal is to entice more spectators, or joiners, or collectors to subscribe their video channel.
James Bridle has shared his speech about “The nightmare videos of children’s YouTube - and what’s wrong with the internet today” on TedTalk 2018. (YouTube. 2018) He proposed “It is not adults who are watching these videos. It's kids, small children. These videos are like crack for little kids. There's something about the repetition, the constant little dopamine hit of the reveal, that completely hooks them in. And little kids watch these videos over and over and
over again, and they do it for hours and hours and hours.” Bridle argues these types of video have
become the trend and it has become an addiction for children to watch. They watch this type of
video to imagine themselves opening packages of toys. Children constantly received information
directly from the YouTube video channels, nothing more than that. Watching other kids to unpack
new toys everyday. Except for raising desire to buy, it has nothing to do with education, not even
for entertainment or leisure. It could be say that it is meaningless for kids and small children.
"Being able to make something new."
Why encourage DIY culture?
In here, I propose to encourage DIY culture as the new marketing trend instead of product review or unboxing. DIY including art and craft, science and
engineering. People who create DIY types of video takes time for practices,
material preparation, crafting skills, as well as interpersonal communication
skills and presentation skills for clear explanation. (McKay. 1998) Watching
DIY type of video could get inspiration of ideas and creativity. (Bailey. 2013)
It is something that the spectators could learn and gain new skills from. In
comparison to product reviews or unboxing video, DIY’s video could be
very meaningful and educational that will help spectators to acquire new
knowledges. (Gauntlett. 2011) Moreover, DIY video shared a similar idea as
the unboxing and product reviews type of video, which is ‘prosumption’.
That they consume the materials to create a new production. However, DIY
type of videos are no where as popular as them. The reason behind this is
due to the fact that the DIY creation does not worth for money, unless they
run their own business. Unlike product reviews or unboxing, watching a
DIY video will not arose their curiosity or the desire for buying. Most of the
DIY video will only show the object and the process of creation. The video
creators are less likely to show up on screen or to react to how they feel
while creating their DIY products. Spectators normally would only watch
the video once or twice. Even more, the majority of the DIY creators are
more likely to be considered as sharing their video on a volunteer basis.
(Wolf. 2016) The majority of them rarely work across with advertisers for
promotion. The only profits that they would have made which is really
depended on ‘views’. The above reasons explain why DIY culture is slowly
being replaced by the other categories of video on YouTube.
DIY culture actually has a very great market potential to competing in
future. Considering DIY as ‘Democratic Youth Initiative’ and design
technology, it could also be seen as invention and innovation. (Wolf. 2016)
Except for the goal of exchanging idea, it actually also have a very rich
possibility and opportunity to offer to the MCNs, advertisers and companies
in terms of co-creation. For instance, the company could offer the materials
to the YouTubers, and the YouTubers or creators could then record
themselves as crafting the objects. There are also something that could do
with the camera angels and video editing. The video creator could also add a
few scene of themselves, such as showing their expression of the object, or
how they feel while creating the object. DIY video has so much more
potential than only tutorial of art and crafts. (Bailey. 2013) Thence, DIY
culture is definitely something that YouTubers and the communities should
preserve within YouTube culture. In fact, YouTubers, advertisers, companies
and the interconnection should help to raise awareness of the advantages of
DIY and begin to encourage DIY culture to the Youth and children, instead
of constantly promoting videos of commodities or product reviews or
unboxing. (Tedder. 2012) This is to back up YouTube as a social platform, but
also preserving the unhealthy trends that have affected our next generation.
Create the new market on YouTube
Living in 2019, ’YouTuber’ has become a new category of career choice and
social identity enabled in the network society. YouTube in which has
surpassed traditional human communication technologies and impulse
human intelligence. In order to enhance YouTube sustainability as a
collective knowledge space, it is essential for YouTube to provide new ability
that will continuously be imported, produced, and introduced to the
participatory culture in peer-to-peer network. (Jarrett. 2010) One of the
biggest issues for YouTube’s future has always been sustainable, profitable
growth that has given bandwidth costs, a crowded online video market and
the standing invitation to ‘anyone’ to upload video to the platform. (Burgess.
Green. 2018) In fact, the overcrowded market really has reach to a point
where YouTube has lost its aura and transformed to a commodity space. For
Burgess, ‘YouTube, like all enterprises that rely on user co-creation, has
needed to constantly find new ways to maintain its scale and rate of growth,
adapting to the changing competitive and technological environment while
supporting cultural and aesthetic diversity, respecting the agency of the
communities of users who work to help produce its various forms of value,
and playing defence against pressures of state-based regulation.’ (Burgess.
Green. 2018) Celebrating YouTube and the collective intelligence, YouTubers,
users, advertisers, partnerships and interconnectivity will acquire to build
new relationship of power and responsibility together in co-creation and
cross culture. YouTube will continuously to transform as a commodity space
where creative brands and ‘digital prosumerism’ become the leading sphere
of capitalist market participation. Simultaneously, YouTube and the
participatory culture will stimulate economic growth and globalisation. Cocreation
will maintain the characteristic of YouTube unique feature and
culture. There will be more and more users and young creators to engage in
participation and collaboration in this anthropology space. YouTube and the
human resources which will also continuous to form the collective
intelligence in representation of contemporary culture and civilisation.
(Hutchinson. 2017)
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