Well, they say it's kinda frightnin'
How this younger generation swings
You know it's more than just some new sensation
-Eddie Van Halen "And the Cradle Will Rock" 1980
Once upon a time, the kids discovered an online way to make money making videos by uploading them to YouTube. Millionaires were seemingly created overnight and Baby Boomers everywhere were outraged at how this generation was getting rich for literally playing video games. We seem to forget how much professional sports players are paid but I digress.
How did this industry come about and how does that make sense? How can we be parents and tell our children that they will not be the next PewDiePie any more than they will be a basketball pro? Or how can we at least keep them away from the society low that is Logan Paul. Why are these videos so annoying to the "older" generation? Why can't the kids just read books?
Chances are, you haven't heard of any of the the top 20 YouTubers that are multimillionaires. But they are as popular as movie stars with their fans. You may have also run across at least one article about how YouTube changes are affecting these creators. There always seems to be drama with this group. Most of it is created to self promote and I wouldn't mind at least a little drama to get some attention to our channel. However, if you are over 40 and you did stumble upon JackSepticEye or Markiplier, you would quickly turn it off with the same annoyance that one gets from fingernails on a chalkboard.
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| Aren't we better than this? |
The fast paced editing, the eye catching graphical elements and the yelling, are repellent to anyone over 30. Sort of like a Looney Tunes cartoon on steroids with no familiar characters. It is the equivalent to what rock and roll was to the Dean Martin/Frank Sinatra generation. Add to the fact that they are probably playing a video game, and I'm sure your level of interest just dropped even further. Who would watch this? Answer: Lots of people. Young people.
In the continuing tradition of every generation jettisoning their parents culture, I present the YouTube generation gap. For a long while, it was music that separated the generations and that tradition continues although not as divided as say, Elvis or the Beatles were back in the day. While a '50's rock and roll fan couldn't relate to Bowie, at least they could appreciate the "White Christmas" duet with Bing Crosby. I'm not going to weave a common thread that brings us to Elton John and Eminem singing together but you get my point.
Just for fun, lets take a trip back to the '80's for a moment. I clearly remember my father calling Men at Work "faggots". It was probably after seeing one of their bizarre videos but it still upset me at the time because at the time their music resonated with me the way music does with teenagers. I even told my mom that they were "my Beatles" Wow. I probably wanted money to go to their concert.
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| Take a moment to appreciate the album cover art. |
Unfortunately, back then, nobody knew how to make videos for a good 5 to 10 years (See: I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution) Naturally, as these kind of things go, as soon as we figured out how to make music videos, we stopped making them. Almost like we stopped going to the moon. So I hardly blame Men at Work for making goofy videos with little appeal to anyone older than myself at the time. They were cool to me and I liked their lyrics. That's all that mattered. I do think my father should get some residuals from helping to inspire Dire Straits "Money for Nothing".
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| Believe it or not, in 1985, these graphics blew our minds. No joke. |
Anyone that plays an instrument can contest to the fact that it is hard work. Especially if you play in a band or teach. While we may think all pop stars are overnight sensations, very few were working at Taco Bell the night before they won a Grammy. A Star is Born is complete fiction. Besides, where the hell was Ally's inner voice before she left Jackson to go on tour? Couldn't she hear us collectively say "Don't Go?!!??!?".
Like show business, it isn't easy to make it big. Same goes for creating videos. It isn't easy. I always knew that those that created these gaming videos had work to do from rendering to uploading to YouTube. It can take me 4-6 hours of work to put a video together. More if you count social media and all the extras that come with putting out a video. It never really ends and there is always something to do or fix. This is just my side of the video. Shelly has already come up with the idea for the video, figured out what she is going to say and taken video and audio of her performance.
So let's get back to the point. Kids dig stuff their parents hate. Why? Easy. While some of the YouTube entertainment is just fluff and could resonate with any generation, these YouTubers of the last 5 to 10 years have found something that resonates with the current generation. In addition, every generation has enjoyed knowing celebrity gossip. What if your celebrity was available and talked to you one on one at least once a week? What if you could turn on a friend that chats with you as they play the same video games you do or the games you WANT to play but can't afford because you are a kid? Maybe they don't play games but they just talk about what is going on in their life. For that period, you are escaping to their world that is edited for your viewing but still get an "inside" look. What if you could be part of the group with hardly any effort?
It is an odd bit of celebrity that I've heard some YouTubers speak to. To have a million or two "subscribers" that know you better than your neighbor is a strange thing to get your head around. Especially if they aren't in the same country as you. It is a bit beyond reality to have that many people with instant access to you. At some point, say around 10,000 subscribers, I've heard that these YouTubers had to disconnect from their fans in some way. There is no physical way to keep up with that many comments, request or viewers. In many ways, it is no different than the celebrity movie star copes with. Unfortunately for the viewer, the connection is one way the majority of the time.
So there you have it. Comfort, belonging and common ground all intertwine to give the viewer an experience that sucks you in and keeps you there. Like the tv series that you know the ending to but watch anyway because it's comforting. My wife and I enjoy the same effect watching "The Office" at least once a year.
While YouTube isn't going away anytime soon, the one thing you can count on is change. In a future blog, I'll talk about some of the changes that YouTube has gone through. Even throughout this change, we still felt like this was a good time to get into YouTube and be something a little different than what is popular. We know it is probably a longer road to success, but it is one worth taking.
Every generations entertainment will annoy the previous. That is a fact and we will continue to neglect reading. (but audiobooks are totally cool) Maybe a few things will transcend generations, like The Beatles or The Who. Maybe it is an older generation speaking here but I just can't imagine what is very popular on YouTube now is going to last. I don't imagine we will want to share that with future generations. Like popular slang that just goes out of style, or a joke that you had to be there for, it may just go away with time. I seriously doubt there will be PewDiePie conventions 20 years from now but I used to like Men At Work so what do I know. Seriously, I started this blog with a Van Halen quote.
- Jason Livingston
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| Dig the boots. |
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