제 8 호 Two-Sides of YouTube
Kicker: ENTERTAINMENT (YOUTUBE)
Two-Sides of YouTube
Focusing on Value Sharing and YouTube Journalism
by Sol-Hyang Park, Reporter
What is the world's fastest growing population and the second most populous country? India? Brazil? Wrong. If it is difficult, I will give you a hint. The focus should be on 'digital'. The answer is YouTube.
1. The World of YouTube
According to data from the social media platform management company Hootsuite and British digital marketing company Wears Social, Facebook is the number one country in digital territory. It is close to 2.4 billion people. Number 2 is YouTube with 2 billion people. It is far more than 1.4 billion China or 1.3 billion India. Moreover, its pace of population growth is unparalleled. YouTube is available in more than 90 countries in 80 languages. The daily viewing time amounts to 1 billion hours.
Korea's YouTube upward trend is also great. According to the "Social Media and Search Portal Trend Report 2020" survey of 620 men and women in their 10s to 50s in Korea, 89.2 % of users watch YouTube, and what is more surprising is that more than 30 % of users in their 40s and 50s watch YouTube.
In the past, YouTube was a place where people in 10s and 20s upload videos just for fun and was unfamiliar to middle-aged people over 40. However, as countless creative contents, celebrities’ channels, videos aired on TV etc. are uploaded especially in the recent corona virus crisis, people have come to use YouTube to relieve boredom. YouTube, which was mostly used by a certain age group in the past, has become a playground for everyone.
2. Place to Share Value
YouTube's recently concluded "Gajja Sanai" series, started in July, had a huge impact on the Korean Internet broadcasting industry and became so popular that it was the most talked about program in 2020. The "Gajja Sanai" content aims for entertainers to overcome human limitations through UDT/SEAL special course training at MUSAT. Rough language and behavior only available in YouTube attracted many viewers, and people's determination to challenge the limits of true human beings is the main reason for its high popularity. Rather than simply "experience" the special military process, the program showed the growth of participants by sending the message “You can do it.” It is quite different from other entertainment contents that are simply funny.
Like this, YouTube is full of various contents and ingenious imagination. In addition, they share their own stories, such as their tips or experiences of something, make contents based on various jobs, and unbox their products. As such, YouTube is now a place for exchanging and sharing important values such as empathy and emotion beyond the function of uploading videos.
3. YouTube Journalism
As YouTube has emerged as a powerful video platform, the competition among the media is getting fiercer. Media companies are overhauling the online sector and strengthening video contents. That is why the new term “YouTube Jornalism” has emerged. The term has not yet been clearly defined academically, but it is a term that has emerged as more and more people are dissatisfied with traditional newspapers and broadcasting and watch news on YouTube. Now the number of subscribers to major YouTube news channels are all over 1 million, and in the case of news radio, YouTube streaming is essential. In fact, most viewers listen to the radio on YouTube streaming.Diverse types of YouTube personal news channels
In addition to the news produced by broadcasters, personal news is also noteworthy. Beyond dealing with domestic entertainment and political issues, it informs users of a wide variety of issues, such as organizing and delivering overseas issues that are not handled well by the local media, sports issues and covering international sports events. These creators have many subscribers by delivering more specific and interesting information than Internet articles and broadcasting.
Until now, traditional media, such as newspapers and TVs, have dominated the production and distribution of news. However, with the advent of YouTube, distribution was divided and their dominance has decreased. Now, anyone who is not a journalist can produce "news" on YouTube. YouTube journalism has challenged traditional journalism and weakens its control, while giving power to individuals.
People expect more “interest”, “fun” on YouTube than simple “fact” and “truth.” Based on this demand, many people produce contents that reflect it. There is clearly a problem here. The spread of fake news, which is simple but powerful, has accelerated. It attracts people's attention with provocative titles or thumbnails even on trivial issues. In addition, YouTube's self-selected "algorithm" sometimes focuses only on certain aspects of information, which prevents users from having a neutral eye. Furthermore, the number of victims of vicious comments and rumors is increasing. If you click any video about any celebrity, you can easily see malicious comments. It’s overflowing and even if someone reports them, they are not easily accepted.
4. The Way Ahead
The mentioned problems are becoming more serious as YouTube usage increases rapidly in the Corona era. YouTube should be aware of the damage caused by fake information and vicious comments and tighten regulations. Consumers should not have blind faith in YouTube either. If you just watch what you want to see, you can be trapped in passive thinking. You should look at and judge information from a more diverse perspective.
YouTube's growth has allowed us to make diverse and creative contents and share greater value beyond information delivery. We laugh more, are touched more, and gain much knowledge using YouTube. However, always be aware that there is so much fake information and are so many victims. Let's all use YouTube wisely!
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