YouTube-Good or Bad?

I have a confession to make: I spend a lot of time on YouTube watching other people’s video blogs. Pretty ridiculous right? Something about watching someone else talk into a camera doesn’t seem entertaining or substantive, but you will be surprised how addicted some people are to these videos. Video bloggers like Ryan Higa and UC Davis’ very own Kevin Wu are followed so religiously that they make money off their five minute video. CBS Sacramento reports that Kevin Wu, who started his video blogging endeavor in high school, has made enough money to pay for college and to donate to monthly charities.

Their rise to celebrity status on YouTube has caused countless people to create their own video blogs in hopes of making it big like Kevin Wu. People make videos on all sorts of things ranging from rants to “How to” videos. The issue that arises with the wide range of made videos is that people would make controversial videos in hopes of making a popular video. The recent video rant by the UCLA student is evidence of this. Not only were students comments offensive it prompted an equal number of video responses that were equally derogatory.

Even though YouTube has lots of controversial content, it has its fair share of substantive content. Aspiring film makers and musicians turn to YouTube to be seen and heard. Wong Fu Productions, a startup film making company started by three UC San Diego students, have turned to YouTube to share their thought provoking films.

As an avid viewer of YouTube videos, I find myself pleasantly surprised every time I watch an inspiring short film or talented musician and also disgusted whenever I watch offensive videos. I encourage viewers of videos on YouTube to consider the content you watch because whenever you view the video you are supporting their negative content.