I like YouTube. There I said it. Boy does that feel good to get off my chest. Believe it or not, contrary to what my father thinks, YouTube is no longer cat videos and sneezing Pandas. YouTube has matured to a legitimate platform for news channels and creative types, all with the signature edge that brought the site to such prominence. Channels like Philip DeFranco and Sourcefed are able to approach audiences more informally, resonating on a much more personal level with their audiences which is further enhanced through the encouragement to engage with them on Social Media.
By presenting topics of conversation in a more open and human way, you’re now able to gain millions of subscribers. Most importantly though, a strong consistent following adding to the view count, upload after upload, as they watch not just for the content, but you as an individual.
This sets them aside from other more traditional forms of news. By incorporating their own views, something the BBC or Fox can’t do, it becomes more of a discussion or debate, which encourages viewers to engage with the channel. But, and there’s always a but, things may be getting a bit out of hand.
I’M TALKING ABOUT HOW EVERY YOUTUBE VIDEO TITLE LOOKS LIKE THIS NOWADAYS.
Clickbait headlines are becoming more and more common due to the increasingly overwhelming content, and more importantly, to keep viewers clicking. Just like a newspaper selling copies or news channels maintaining viewership, headlines are what keeps us invested, and if it’s all in caps lock, it must be important right? Well, actually, no. Most of the time it’s quirky twenty-somethings that do that thing where they move their hair in a circular motion to keep it nice and volumised (if that’s even a word), talking about stuff that ever so slightly resembles the title. Sometimes though you just can’t comprehend how the content matches the headline, making it almost impossible to click away.
Some of the classics include “I did cocaine with the Pope”, “ASKED TO HAVE A THREESOME AT STARBUCKS!” and who can forget “I almost died in an Uber…no clickbait”. I’m sorry but if you are having to, in the title, tell me it’s not clickbait, you must be well aware of what’s going on here. By telling me it’s not clickbait is now becoming its own form of meta-clickbait. Oh the world we live in. Now I know I’m starting to sound like a boring old man that doesn’t understand the youth of today, which unfortunately may be true, but I genuinely believe this could become a real issue.
Could this all just be a way for YouTubers to guarantee viewership, regardless of the content? Making sub-standard videos but it’s okay because all that shows up is the subscriber count. People have an issue? Just turn the comments section off. Job done? Or could it actually hint at an annoying necessity for the platform and its creators?
I have no doubt that there is still a great amount of quality and effort put into many channels, as it has now become the livelihood for many, even infiltrating the mainstream (Zoella, Casper Lee, etc). But maybe just to have your voice heard amongst the noise, you have to do whatever is necessary, even radicalising your own content just to keep us impatient youngsters engaged. I suppose what matters most is that the content itself remains a standard, putting faith in the creators you love to be a part of their world with and just see the headline as a little annoyance, a test of your dedication to the vlog.
Now I need to go sit down and contemplate my six hundred word moaning of YouTube video titles and ponder where it all went wrong for me, this may take a while.
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