I know what you’re thinking. Cult is a strong word to use to describe a fun, party-loving group of YouTubers… but I’m about to change your mind on how and why David Dobrik uses his power to influence those in a negative way especially those in the “Vlog Squad”. I will be the first one to say that I used to be OBSESSED with David and his squad back in the day. I started watching him on Vine and then followed him when he switched over to the Youtube platform. I didn’t know why but I had a fascination with his Hollywood lifestyle, his friend group, and the things he did in his everyday life. I had so much merch and I was so invested in the fanbase that I would say I was more than just a fan of David Dobrik.
In the beginning, David was doing what he loved, he loved to make videos and make people laugh, but as he grew his channel I began to realize that not only was his content changing but it was also becoming more dangerous and he kept wanting to “one-up” himself. I kind of felt blind for some time about David’s content and the type of person he actually was, because I loved him and his videos so much I didn’t want to see the negative and darker side to him. It took not only him being canceled and taking a break for a few months, but after watching Internet Impacts video on “The Cult of David Dobrik: How to Keep a Group Obedient” I realized how weird the structure of his “group” is. I always thought that the people in the videos were Davids best friends and they were always together because they were close friends, but after watching that video I realized that David instructed a sense of fear of failure in their minds and he basically manipulated them into doing whatever he wanted for the views. Because of Davids insane subscriber and follower count, all of his “friends” that have lower numbers would do whatever crazy shit he asked them to do so they could get publicity and gain traction on their own channels. This video made me realize that David could care LESS about his friend’s feelings and emotions and instead all he cared about was if he could get a crazy enough title and thumbnail that people would watch it.
I also came to the conclusion that David never did anything crazy himself, always using his power to manipulate those “underneath” him. Even with the multiple sexual assault allegations against “Durte Dom” David seemed to not care what happened and gave a half-ass apology that was very insincere which brought a lot of fans into a frenzy of anger. After all of this went down I realized that I am no longer a fan of David Dobirk. And now I’m trying to inform others and bring attention to the strange structure of his “friend group” and how manipulative David actually is. So maybe think twice before sprinting to your computer to pull up the newest vlog and actually ask yourself is this how someone should treat other people?