Almost everyone has looked up a video on YouTube and three hours later found themselves lost in the endless realm of time-wasting, but entertaining, content. The site has been operating for more than a decade and has seen its fair share of changes, but not all of them have been for the better.
In the past year, there have been numerous YouTube controversies. The most well known and recent controversy is Logan Paul’s disturbing vlog of his trip to Aokigahara, commonly known as the Suicide Forest, in which he filmed a dead body. This video struck a massive debate among the YouTube community on the issue of monetization, content and the immunity of certain creators when it comes to popularity.
Several YouTubers have altered their content in an attempt to make the most amount of money possible. The shift of attention from quality to monetization is hard to ignore on the website. Clickbait, shock-factor videos and vlogs gain the most amount of views, leaving other creators unnoticed. YouTube has yet to take any permanent action when it comes to the drama Logan Paul’s video caused, leading people to believe that some creators almost have a level of immunity when it comes to popularity.
This recent controversy raises the question of whether or not making videos that attract more attention is worth more than videos creators genuinely want to make. The intentions of several YouTubers are not in the right place, making content with clickbait thumbnails attract the most amount of views, and in turn, the most money. Logan Paul is a major example of this, along with other creators on the website.
Source: YouTube
Jake and Logan Paul have massive platforms in the YouTube community and have taken advantage of their popularity multiple times. Using graphic imagery as clickbait and then attempting to turn the video into a suicide awareness video deserves more punishment than just a slap on the wrist.
Clickbait culture on YouTube has altered the media that is produced and viewed, leading some to believe the website is headed in a downward spiral. If the website begins to hold some creators accountable for their actions, perhaps the trending videos will no longer be the misleading titles or graphic thumbnails but content that is meant for genuine entertainment.