You might think that it is Tik Tok or Instagram that are on the top of the list when talking about the adolescent’s first choice of social media, but believe it or not, it is YouTube. The biggest video-sharing platform in the world is the most popular among teenagers when it comes to the online world. Studies have shown that 95 percent of teens aged between 13 – 17 use the YouTube website or its app, but the majority of them said they were using the platform ‘constantly’.
There’s something special about the younger members of society, that makes parents more apprehensive than usual about them. Thinking of all the kind of content their teenager could be watching on YouTube or any other social media, and all the consequences keep them awake at night. It is only natural to have your guard up when it comes to a platform as huge as YouTube, especially if you don’t know it that well. but the good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way! Recent studies conducted on teenagers have shown that YouTube is not that bad after all! Actually, they claimed that it can have more good effects than we think on teenagers in many ways. here are some of the positive impacts of YouTube on the youth:
There is endless educational content
Anyone who has used YouTube even once, couldn’t have helped but notice the amount of educational and informative content that can be found on it. Whether we are willing to admit it or not, teenagers feel like they are not learning much at school these days and most of them tend to hate it and their teachers.
YouTube can be the school they’d always wished for, but never got to have. They can pick a YouTuber that they really like, feel comfortable with the way they explain things, follow their content, and learn something new. We are not saying that YouTube could come anywhere close to replacing schools completely, but it could make up for the lack of proper education in some fields. They can also use it for studying for a test and finding the answer to their problems in a specific subject like math.
However, it is not only about studying. They can learn how to dance, how to fix broken furniture around the house, how to exercise, or life skills we don’t learn at school most of the time. The list could go on and on forever. But the thing is, YouTube can give teenagers the chance to find their real interests and learn the skills related to that on YouTube, as well. This can be their clue in choosing the right career path for themselves in the future knowing what they are showing interest in and what their strengths are.
YouTubers inspire the teens
A digital content company under the name of Defy Media carried out some research on teenagers about why social media is so appealing to people of that age. The research was done in multiple sections and in-depth interviews were held with students ranging between 13- 17 years old.
One of the interesting results of this survey was that they realized most teenagers have more respect for YouTubers than other celebrities like actors or football players and prefer them. It doesn’t mean that they don’t like singers or actors like Ariana Grande. But they don’t exactly have an understanding of them as individuals and don’t quite get their lifestyles.
YouTubers, on the other hand, were generally more relatable and tangible to teenagers than celebrities. They could be anyone, from a nerdy classmate in their physics class to an old childhood friend, and looked more like the average people they had seen in real life. The feeling that YouTubers had gained their fame and wealth using their own skills, experiences, and interests was more respectable to them.
Most importantly, the YouTubers usually express who they truly are and don’t have to maintain certain qualities to stay in business and this was impressive to them. Watching the YouTubers on a screen inspires them and makes them believe that if the YouTubers could do it, maybe they can too.
YouTube helps them define their identity
No matter if you are a teenager or an adult, one of the main reasons why people like using YouTube is that it can help them form a community and find people who share the same mindset and attitude as them or ones whom they have a lot in common with in terms of hobbies and interests.
The teenage years are when people are struggling with finding their true selves and values. They keep exploring at that age to finally feel at peace with the person they identify as. Being able to fit into a group and having people who are the same as them is one of the most inviting qualities that YouTube offers them. They can express themselves and be understood by the people of that community.
Whether you are still a teenager or are already past that, you know that particular part of life tends to get a bit lonely and depressing. YouTube is not going to take the agony all away but makes it easier to deal with and makes them feel better about themselves knowing that they are not the only people experiencing these complications and they are more normal than they think.
YouTube can make teenagers more understanding
YouTube is mainly free of any discrimination. Whether you are from the remotest village in a deprived area or are living in one of the high-rise buildings of New York, it doesn’t make any difference in your experience with YouTube. Almost! Therefore, it has active users from most countries around the world and they come from all ethnic groups, languages, and backgrounds.
Being active on YouTube means that you will be coming across videos of people from anywhere in the world and you’ll be hearing their stories. Being exposed to such content can make you less of a racist, sexist, or homophobe person, as you can see and be a part of their experience, especially when it comes to more marginalized groups of people like the LGBTQ+ community.
In this particular example, once teenagers see them express themselves in their videos or share their stories, they will find them nice and friendly regardless of their sexuality and learn to be less biased and judgmental when it comes to their differences compared to those of former generations. They grew up in more traditional conditions and were not accustomed to seeing minorities having a voice and hearing them out, not having widespread access to the internet.
it can also be good for teenagers to see members of specific groups, as it allows them to explore their own sexuality and have a better understanding of themselves and also learn more about cultural diversity and respect them.
Conclusion
It might be interesting for you to know that in 2017, a British organization under the name of the Royal Society for Public Health did thorough research on teenagers and their social media usage in order to investigate their benefits and drawback. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube were included in the research. The first four were reported to have an overall negative impact on teenagers while the result was completely different about YouTube. It was the only media that was generally more positive and had more benefits than disadvantages for them including helping them deal with depression, and anxiety, giving them a sense of belonging to a group, getting motivated, and understanding the world around them better.
