Time to wrap up this huge post with genres that I definitely try to steer clear from on YouTube. As made clear by my opening shot, anything MrBeast-ified is out because when I come to YouTube, I come to be stimulated, not to get a headache. And certainly not to think that the outliers in practically everything is something society should aspire to end up achieving at some point. The next genre that I’m put off by is Reaction, not only because of the grey area and high risks that come with transforming copyrighted material, especially from mainstream corporations, but also because most of the time, I find the actual reactions to be either soulless, artificial or SSSniperwolf (which isn’t the only reason she’s a toxic creator). The only exceptions – that I’m aware of anyway – are Jarvis Johnson GOLD and Arthur TV because of the fact they give constructive commentary of what they watch instead of just spouting in between soundbites. If I want to hear spouting in between soundbites, I’ll tune into Twitch Streamers playing games I’m interested in.
Speaking of games, it takes me to Let’s Players. Even though they open my eyes to many video games I’ve never heard of before, the vast majority suffer a similar problem to Reaction YouTubers. The way they react to in-game action is often over-the-top or unrealistic compared to how most normal people play games. While I understand that they sometimes have to act this way to entertain their audience and / or stand out from others playing the same game, it’s off-putting and sometimes a distraction from the real star of the show: The game itself. Unless it’s made by YandereDev.
And the final genre I love to hate is a third type of commentary that I feel is becoming more and more MrBeast-esque: The Evolving Drama Commentary. These channels primarily cover the latest developments on situations that ignite the social media thermosphere. Unfortunately, three key issues cloud my judgement of them. The first is thumbnails and titles being crafted with the same adjectives or verbs with no clear explanation as to why they are used, except for easy clicks. Think words and phrases like massive, insane, he’s done, he’s in massive trouble, etc, etc being dotted around every second video about a situation, which may or may not even qualify as a situation worth talking about.
Which brings me onto my second problem, the content itself often being fragmented or placing a disproportionate onus on one or two issues out of a wider web. Especially when big creators like KSI, Logan Paul and MrBeast are featured in the thumbnail, or it all ends up repeating itself unintentionally like some YouTube Echo Chamber. Worse, that same content often becomes outdated the moment it gets uploaded or fundamentally wrong when receipts to the contrary emerge to undermine the whole purpose. And the third issue I cannot overlook is when that same content makes poor observations about either the people or wider issues involved. I think a perfect example is the TommyInnit v Dream drama where Tom calls out Dream for casually throwing out the R-Slur on Twitter / X. I saw this commentary video essentially say ‘What’s the big deal with it?’ which… Is just wrong for so many reasons I’ll probably make a detailed post about in the future. I think ImAllexx, who I already discussed above, embodies all three problems but I also think he’s the tip of the iceberg which I’m not going to dive into because this post is now WAY too long!
So, what’s the TL; DR? To avoid being labelled a terrible YouTuber in my eyes, I think one must do the following three things. Number one, do your homework! And do it properly. Today’s socio-economic environment may tempt you to offer half-truths to a large audience in exchange for a lot of money, but eventually, the full truth will liberate most of that audience and leave you with the label of POS. Or worse. Number two, practise what you preach! And as consistently as you can. I say that since life is never a straight line that stays linear. It’s more a quadratic line that has peaks and troughs. But so long as what you claim on social media or podcasts is evident in both the content itself and how you manage interactions on social media, people will stay onside through thick and thin. And number three, forge your own path instead of following trends! A common complaint is that YouTube feels boring because it’s all the same. There’s no originality, no fresh ideas and it’s increasingly unsustainable unless you have A LOT of money behind it. That’s why I intend to produce what I’m interested in rather than trying to climb to the same heights achieved by others using far, far less resources. And if people want to read what I write, more power to them. All I can do is just deliver on the titles I put in the very top of each and every post.
Now I’ve highlighted a lot of issues and no doubt there are and will be plenty of other content creators who are or have ended up being bad. But I could only cover so much without burning myself out. In fact, Social Media has caused so many debates, highlighted and caused so many issues and given rise to so many changes in everything life has to offer that I think a whole season of my Blog should be dedicated to scrutinising as much of this stuff as I can. If that’s something you’d be interested in reading, please let me know and give me ideas for posts on this theme in the comments below. I’m also curious who else you think is also worthy of the label of a Bad YouTuber and why and if you think any of my criticism here is unfair.
In the meantime, I’ll be back next Sunday with a quick post talking about something else I’m not interested in. And here’s a hint… It’s something a close-minded person would automatically associate with being Irish. Until then, all the YouTube Videos I’ve linked throughout this post will be available under References & Supplements. Keep up with me highlighting my favourite things on my socials and if there’s anything about me you want to know more about, send me a DM or email and I’ll see what I can do.
And remember, I’m The Aspie behind The ADog Blog. Talking by myself, for myself. Unlike Autism Speaks.
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