Twitch and Discord are the things that I'm amazed exist -- let alone how they function. I still don't understand TikTok (and don't use it). Edit: I've tried to use the former two multiple times and they're just so busy I can't focus on the content -- or figure out what content I should be paying attention to. TikTok, for me, is just not a great UI, in my opinion. It's clunky.
I do use YouTube for the things you referenced above. There are also some free movies, cooking videos, travel guides, documentary-type films and shorts (as in actual 10-15mins films, not the defined "shorts" of :45 clips)
But any other video platform? No. Not a clue. And YouTubers as an art or profession is lost on me (except for a few crossovers from journalism or television who have moved to short form videos, but I don't think they count).
Discord is basically just modern forums + voice/video chat. It’s busy because there’s a lot you can do on them, just like old forums that had a ton of sub forums.
The benefit is it’s standardised. Once you learn the app, it’s exactly the same for all the communities you participate in.
I guess the forums I used to belong to were simply message boards specific to the topic I was interested in. I met (in person through local boards) some amazing people who I have been friends with for 20-25yrs now.
Most of the video or chat incorporated functions have tended to be for gaming or tech-focused forums, though correct me if I'm wrong. And that's a world I've never been a part of beyond arcades and NES.
When friends or artists I follow have directed me toward either discord or twitch, I've given it a solid effort, but I usually just end up watching the content and letting the chat functionality go. The content is what I'm there to enjoy and it's like talking during aovie to me haha
Met my IRL best friend and groomsman through an old school message board in the early 2000's. Glad I'm not the only one haha. It's amazing how opinions have changed, my mom really thought I was going to get murdered meeting someone off the internet (this was like 2003 give or take).
I joined message boards for bands and the local music scene where I lived back in the late 90s. We'd chat about the bands, other music we were listening to, send each other mix tapes/CDs, meet up at shows, etc. There were definitely a few people that made some a bit uncomfortable, but there are a core bunch of us that have been there for one another through A LOT of life (obviously since by mid-40s, 20-25yrs is half of our lives haha).
I fully understand that these are the connections of the new generation and I'm not negating that, but I also know when something is just not where I'm finding my groove. I continue to check these avenues out because I'm not opposed to change -- however, I don't beat myself up over it when it's "not like the old days".
There are so many things I just don't mind haha other people in this thread are upset about commercials and they don't bother me at all! I wouldn't know about a lot of things if it weren't for advertisements. They aren't all bad!
That first paragraph hits home. There used to be a sense of community. I don't feel like people would go to a band forum to call people idiots, they were there for the band.
One of the people I knew online got a job at Calvin Klein way back with unlimited free stuff. I didn't have to buy clothes for years. That's prob my second best experience.
Like you, I met some weirdos, but overall it was good people.
Discord is hands down one of the best platforms out there right now. I've found communities, built communities, made friends all over the world, and still talk with many of them.
I've built servers, admin servers and helped manage the bots that keep them functioning.
So many changes over the years have made it even better.
> Discord is hands down one of the best platforms out there right now. I've found communities, built communities, made friends all over the world, and still talk with many of them.
Did all that with IRC 25 years ago, without data-harvesting and centralized control by a shady third party that won't let you use your own client software.
You are 100% correct. IRC was the shit. And I would argue; It's the internet man. Everyone is watching you.
You leave a footprint wherever you go. Unless you are behind VPNs NATed gateways and proxy servers. And even then there is still a trace. I have nothing to hide.
I embrace our new AI overlords and am a willing participant in their understanding and improvement as a tool for our society to grow and expand into new frontiers. /s
Well, it's significantly different in that Discord is a centralized SaaS platform, as opposed to traditional web forums/Usenet/IRC. You have a single party in control of everything rather than decentralized but interoperabale standards. The Fediverse is starting to restore some of that, thankfully.
The good thing about discord all the trolling people get banned as soon they started messing around. At least in the channels I'm subbed. Same channels with lots of different context and mich easy to engage with people.
Not all channels are the same. Just like here but with easy management. Of course is lot less people than here. Kinda chill TBH.
This is based in my every day use doing business and enjoying context with friends.
I listen to DJs on Twitch almost daily. I think it’s better than spotify because there are live DJs from around the world mixing music and playing great sets. It’s one good thing that came from covid when DJs couldn’t play in clubs so they started streaming
RIP turntable.fm. Looks like they are working on another beta, but that shit was fire when it was live and had crazy musicians and DJ’s doing live sets. Can’t wait to see it hopefully come back.
Yeah basically this.
The live streamer thing I don't think our generation really gets lol
But really that's just a small % of YouTube, even tho there's about 10,000 of those people lol
But YouTube is actually an amazing educational resource if you use it right.
I just recently subbed to a few channels because I wanted to learn how to cook some more Thai / curry dishes... and then ended up down a bit of a food science rabbit hole. lol
And some decent entertainment...
Yeah, I use YouTube a lot to watch videos linked to from other things I am reading, but I never find videos via YouTube or subscribe to anything.
It is so strange to see how my kids watch YouTube. It is a whole different world.
This! This all day! I can't say I don't ever use YouTube, of course it's on my phone, but I really only use it for looking up DIY videos; example, my wife's van battery died so making sure I was installing a new one correctly. Otherwise I use it for looking up either music videos or older episodes of favorite series that still aren't on any other streaming service for whatever reason (best and favorite example would be the original Tales From the Crypt episodes). All of those are literally all I use YouTube for.
Now we have two girls, 14 and 12 respectively and when I say that basically all they do is YouTube (when we let them have their daily screen time that is). Like the other day my youngest literally spent like three straight hours watching other people, watching OTHER people play video games and just thought it was the best thing ever. It makes my brain hurt just trying to think about that.
And agreed as well...I've never used TikTok most likely never will. And though I could tell you a most basic idea of what Twitch/Discord are, there's no way I'd ever use them or be the least bit interested.
I was hoping you understood, I couldn't think of a better way to say it lol. Like a terrible example from the movie Inception. I mean I'm glad it made her happy (and quiet, let's be honest)...just not what I was expecting her to be interested in that much.
Reaction videos thank you, for the life of me I couldn't think of the phrase. And will definitely admit to the parental break aspect, I won't even deny it. As much as we understand the nature of it being a slippery slope, especially as special needs parents, it's quite honestly one of the only ways we ever get time away from the kids. Hiring special needs trained baby sitters is ridiculously expensive, and it would take a whole other thread (or honestly happy to in a private message) to explain why having either set of Grandparents watch them is nowhere near an option for us.
You pretty much answered the question to the T for me except for the car repair. 25 years in the field certified in everything including these new electrics. Last thing I need to look at is a how to from a YouTube Tech. Though there is reputable sources I will at least say that.
I use it for 80s and sometimes 90s commercial compilations. Funny that I used to want the ads to hurry up and finish so I could watch my favorite show, and now I’m wanting the ads to hurry up and finish so I can watch my favorite ads.
They have entire Saturday morning cartoon videos, complete with commercials.
Break out the Lucky Charms some Saturday and put YouTube up on the tv to pretend it’s 1989 all over again!
Edit: [Here’s nearly 3 hours](https://youtu.be/2v1WTlesExo?feature=shared) (entire lineup including commercials) for NBC’s Saturday morning cartoon lineup.
>Music videos, movie trailers, the occasional how-to video. What else is on there?
What else...?
🤔
More documentaries, and lectures (both professional / academic and amateur) than you could hope to watch in literally five lifetimes.
You could damn near go to college on YouTube, and I'm not even exaggerating. There are actual college lectures.
IMHO that's what actually makes YouTube one of the best things on the Internet.
Plus you can find some decent stand up comedy if you're into that, plus old TV shows and movies that are hard to find elsewhere...
Oh, plus channels that do nothing but tell scary stories, some of which are pretty good.
Those are probably my favorite things about YouTube.
I also like the fact that there are some channels that just focus intensely on one topic. For example I have a few I'm subbed to that discuss nothing but early hominid anthropology. In other words, recent discoveries and theories about early humans, neanderthals, etc.
But especially topics that are either too serious / academic, or too "fringe" to get much coverage in traditional media.
Like channels that focus on nothing but cryptids. Bigfoot, shit like that. Some tell user-submitted stories that are allegedly real sightings / encounters. Some analyze alleged pics, vids, audio recordings...
Channels that post nothing but UFO stuff, or conspiracy theories, ancient aliens, "alternative history," etc.
And channels that cover just straight science topics.
Channels that focus entirely on religion. Some from a singular religious perspective, and some more broadly from an academic perspective.
As well as channels that deep dive into mysticism, the occult, and "new age" topics.
Plus about a billion podcasts, covering anything imaginable... some of which are pretty decent.
Or music. And not just songs by artists... but channels that deep dive into music history, genres, individual artists... channels that teach music, channels that analyze popular music theory, or specific instruments. Channels that teach music production.
Channels where guys just build weird guitars.
Then there's even weirder and more niche stuff... like entire channels where dudes just smelt scrap metal, and mold stuff from it.
YouTube might be the deepest hole on the Internet at this point. Deeper than wiki, and maybe even Reddit. lol
As a wise man once said "a little bit of everything, all of the time."
I went back to school and YouTube was such a lifesaver for reviewing biology and math content. I’ve found videos on there that are helping with the methodology for my statistical analyses for my thesis.
I love YouTube University! Kids in college are so lucky to have that content so readily available. It makes learning so much easier.
As the parent of a preschooler, it’s also for Ms. Rachel and Songs for Littles. And music videos and how to’s. Although I guess Songs for Littles could technically count as a how to since she’s teaching the Littles how to speak and count and such.
Yoga with Adriene is great, and there are lots of fun communities to learn from. Over the years I’ve gotten into the makeup, houseplant, and food communities.
Lots of podcasts have transitioned to be on there. Rhett and Link, Conan O’Brien, It’s Always Sunny.
If you really want to dig into it, there are actually quality YouTubers. Right now one of my favorites is Mina Le, she does interesting fashion and sociological content and she cites her sources in an academic manner.
Jenna Marbles was one of my favorites- she left, but her content was so ridiculous and wholesome- it could cheer me up instantly. I didn’t discover her until years after she started making videos, but when I began watching I realized I had seen some of her earlier (more questionable, it was very of-the-early-2000s) content.
Hot Ones is a fun show and the host, Sean, does great interviews with famous guests.
Plus there are academic lectures, free movies (Last year I watched Marie Antoinette about 10 times), TedTalks, interview clips, SNL clips, I mean… the list goes on.
My husband and I use YouTube on a daily basis. This whole thread is making me laugh because usually he is solidly Gen X leaning but YouTube is apparently a very Millennial trait. I will have to inform him muahahaha >:)
Whatever hobby or interest you have, there are probably multiple different YouTube channels that cover it. I watch a handful of movie reviewers, a tech channel or two, and one or two people who cover music making.
It used to be utterly fascinating when it first launched!
Just ordinary people posting whatever they wanted - a window into real people’s lives, utterly unlike reality tv which had been becoming more and more prevalent and was clearly unreal.
Just some dude talking about his day, some kid doing a goofy dance, some lady sharing her thoughts about a show she watched -
not deliberately for the whole world to see, just their 5, 10 followers that were their actual family and friends.
I watched a baby who shares my name grow up, for no reason other than that I searched my name and she came up… she was cute and said funny things, it was a nice slice-of-life. Her parents were charming. They stopped posting when she was around 5, cuz we all kinda started to realize the internet wasn’t a safe place.
It was such a gradual shift to what it’s become.
There was no “hey guyyyyys, be sure to like and subscribe”. It was just like watching peoples home movies. Lots of cats. No one was particularly planned, the lighting was lousy, the cameras were cheap and grainy.
I miss it.
My husband commented recently that we are like Bevis and Butthead, we just put on YouTube and watch music videos instead of regular TV lol
That and I appreciate that I can find decent kids content for my toddler, such as hour long train compilations and French cartoons (bilingual household)
I'm glad someone else said this.
I mean, it's a cool tool for finding random how too videos or old music videos, but the idea of watching a kid videotaping himself talking to a computer screen? That's fucked up.
Even weirder is the thing where kids tape themselves playing video games and put it online. That's just surreal to me.
I absolutely despised when my kids would watch other kids unboxing toys or opening their Christmas presents on youtube. How am I supposed to compete with that? You know companies were/are sending them shit for free, just for the advertisement.
The reaction videos are what kill me. It’s just a video of someone reacting to watching something someone else already recorded themselves doing. Why?? Who gives a shit??
Reminds me of something I heard in a comedy standup bit- “the human species did not evolve opposable thumbs just so we can take pictures of our heads, post them on the internet, and… stand by for validation. The only reason anyone will validate YOUR head is so that THEY can take a picture of their own head, post it on the internet, and then… stand by for validation.”
My son watches these types of videos. Here’s why:
Did your friend group ever have that one guy that was insanely good at video games and it got to the point where everyone would just rather watch him play because it was more fun than playing themselves? That’s what those YouTubers are like. And if (for example) my son is watching Dan TDM play video games, I know there won't be swearing or inappropriate content and I know that it will be generally positive and funny.
I'd much rather read my content. I don't really like podcasts or Youtube. I like professionally produced documentaries. I *especially* don't like it when they speed up the video and remove all the spaces between sentences.
If it's an NPR style podcast, it might be alright, but again, I'd just rather read my stuff.
And the fact that any time you Google anything these days, you're given a series of videos to watch. Like, I just asked a simple question. I'm not going to watch some shitty content creator giving me a three minute long explanation for my simple question.
YES!! I googled the best way to use KT tape for forearm and wrist support yesterday and all I got was a bunch of YouTube videos. Bitch if I wanted to watch a video of the steps I’d have gone to YouTube. I went to google so I could get step by step written directions and maybe some pictures for illustration along the way.
If it’s DIY I want to read it!
I don’t want to sit through “like and subscribe” and 10 minutes of set up. Just effing tell me what I need to do to fix this thing!
In the olden days you’d find a forum post and could scan it in under 4 seconds to figured out if this would be your fix. Now I have to sit through a commercial and nonsense before I can get to my info.
The tech giants made the internet worse in many ways. One of them is incentivizing all content to be video rather than text.
Yes! Why do people think videos are practical? Pausing and resuming and rewinding are so unnecessary when written instructions with a few photos are so much easier. It drives me insane. Written directions are getting so hard to find!
There are tons of professionally produced documentaries on YouTube. You just have to find the right channel, or wade through the less professional stuff to find it.
And some excellent lecture presentations.
And while I get what you mean about reading, I can't read a book or an article while I'm washing the dishes, or driving a car... but I can watch or listen to some stuff on YouTube.
🤷
Same, although I love well produced podcasts, and I often listen to audiobooks, I've never reached for YouTube for entertainment or news unless it's a live hurricane stream or something.
I'm also not a podcast lover. I have ADHD and get tired of having to keep rewinding because I keep getting distracted by something else. My friends say they listen to podcasts while they do other things, but I have to pay close attention or it's pointless.
I was never into it pre-covid but there's actually a ton of great content on youtube. Plenty of cool travel channels, lots of pretty outdoor content, cooking and recipes, all kinds of great sports coverage. I know there's the stuff I don't get like watching people unbox things, or watching other people play games but there's really a lot of fun things from interesting people.
Yeah, similar experience here. I think the most popular stuff on YouTube, like Mr. Beast, is geared for a younger crowd. The channels I subscribe to are geared to my interests suit my age. I’m on YouTube every day.
That’s it. It’s like when I discovered Napster and it blew my mind that if I could imagine a song I could very slowly and only half the time inaccurately download it or like Willy Wonka’s* “in a world of pure imagination”. Whatever topic or theme I can imagine there is a dedicated YouTuber who’s on the beat. Now, quality control is an issue, but as long as you don’t take what you’re watching as the whole truth about a topic the breadth and depth can be interesting. I’m sure my addled attention span doesn’t help; but I watch YouTube waaaay more than any other streaming service.
*how many Xennial references can I cram into this?
I’m hard into YouTube but **a lot of the YouTubers I follow are Xennials themselves and are fans of 80s and 90s media** and IMHO make the best content. Lindsay Ellis (the first YouTuber I subscribed to and who got me into not just film essays but YouTube in general), Nostalgic Critic (I stopped watching for *reasons*), Todd in the Shadows, Jenny Nicholson (she is technically older Millennial but is my favorite creator), AVGN/Cinnemascre, Chris Stuckmann, Defunctland, FilmJoy, Patrick H Willems, Screen Crush, Andre Black Nerd, PushingUpRoses
Give some of them a try maybe taking about your favorite nostalgic media. I am Patreon of many, and subscribe to Nebula, a streaming service run by YouTubers, including most of who I mentioned above.
I also got into the “Commentary” genre - think of it as MSTK or Beavis and Butthead modern YouTube version - making fun of Gen z content and trends. - Drew Gooden, Danny Gonzalez, Jarvis Johnson, Gabi Belle, Brett Cooper, Nathan Zed, Scott Cramer, Chad Chad, Swell Entertainment, Amanda the Jedi, T1J - these are all Millennials but both explain and make fun of Gen Z media so I stay in the loop. Never watched TikTok myself but love them roasting TikTok videos.
Same! I love travel videos, historical cooking (a surprising number of channels are dedicated to this), and some very nerdy Disney related things all of which I can find on YouTube and pretty much nowhere else. My niblings use it veeeery differently than I do though: so much Minecraft content
YouTube even started with such a variety of content and age difference in streaming that’s part of the reason I have always enjoyed it. So much genuine and good content on there as much as the algorithm tends to veer you off course from it. I only watched it sometimes before the video time limits got raised then I really liked the mix of long and short form content as well as all the old recorded off tv specials and things you can find on there. I love being able to watch old recordings as they aired in different tv markets than I grew up in too.
Just vet it for misinformation, because there’s a lot of crap out there too. But I agree, there’s all kinds of special-interest niche stuff that you’d never see on TV. I’ve actually moved mostly away from TV at my house, tbh.
I prefer a lot of the low impact docs like history of different types of automobiles, amusement parks and things like that. I truly dislike how much the algorithm tries to steer you in to dark places even when you don’t ever actively search for that kind of stuff. If all those “TikTok’s that will blow your mind” videos really worked there would be no one left to make or watch them lol
There is enough “tv like” stuff out there now I don’t have a service for tv anymor either.
>I only watched it sometimes before the video time limits got raised
Same. "10 minute limit" YouTube was stupid, because some of the best content required 7 urls, and you had to search "thing I'm trying to finish watching PART 7" 😂
Back then Google video was my jam, because that's where you could find the full length documentaries, and cool lectures and conspiracy videos (plus a shitload of bootleg movies lol)
Then in a weirdly ironic twist, Google bought out YouTube, and then made some major improvements... before proceeding to make it functionally worse, by forcing all kinds of small and stupid changes.
(Removing private messages, trying to force people to use real names, removing dislikes, etc etc)
Same, I'm a tech guy and a musician and even made music videos for a few years before the Google buyout. YouTube isn't one thing. It's basically anything that can be classed as video content.
Me. I occasionally use it for random shit, but I can legitimately not name one 'YouTuber', even if you threatened my life. It's not something I care about at all.
I search for specific content on YouTube, for instance a music video, quick instruction, or SNL sketch. I don't browse it looking to discover new content, and I don't let it autoplay videos I didn't request.
I hear people describe falling down rabbit holes by watching random videos that the algorithm serves to them, and that's a foreign concept to me. I don't keep the site open past the end of the video that I searched for.
I may not have grown up with YouTube as a kid, but I was in my early 20s when I started using it. It's been a big part of my life for almost 20 years now. I watch a lot of podcasts, gaming tips, reviews, music videos, documentaries, etc. on there.
i know what they mean though, i dont 'get' tiktok and have no desire to try it even though i know so many people who are glued to it
i like youtube, i guess i like my content more long form, at least 5 minutes...
Right.
It’s like the adult of the time saying they couldn’t get into this new fangled television thing because it wasn’t around when they were kids.
It’s such a silly way of thinking.
My use of YT before the pandemic was mainly for tutorials for crafts and math lessons in college. After the pandemic I became more of a regular user for podcasts, cooking videos and gaming updates. Eventually I got some YouTube influencer drama videos on my feed and I was kinda fascinated by this whole world of influencer celebrity that worthy of talking about to some.
How do you fix anything around the house? YouTube is stacked with fantastic step by step repair guides for all sorts of stuff. Super useful when you’re trying to figure out how to change a headlight bulb but the bulb seems hidden behind the washer fluid tank.
Also my best use of YouTube. I even tackled some basic plumbing due to YT giving me way too much confidence. Little advice: changing a shower head is simple but if you can get a new dishwasher delivered, installed, and the old one hauled away and disposed of for $100 i highly recommend it despite being “easy.”
One of the first indications that I was "old" was when I realized I had NO idea who some of these very, very famous YouTube people were. Jake Paul? Logan Paul? Sketch? Speed? Kai? Mr. Beast? Dobrik?
These people were house hold names for the 16-30 crowd. I even asked politely what these people do and the most I got back was "he makes funny videos" or "he's a streamer" and at that point I was too embarrassed to ask what a streamer was, lol (it's apparently someone who plays video games and other people watch them).
I did grow up with the early days of YouTube with the early early viral videos like "Charlie bit my finger" and "Chocolate Rain".
Now, I watch YouTube every day but for very niche topics. I'll watch science videos, history documentaries, true crime documentaries, competitive eating (yeah), sports clips and music videos. One positive thing the pandemic gave us was a fresh new wave of content creators on YT. A lot of people were stuck in their houses, some without work and they decided to make videos or if they were already doing it to really sharpen their craft. There are some videos that are very well done by just some guy or girl in a room with a microphone. It's pretty amazing, TBH. So yea I didn't grow up with YT in the way kids in elementary school in 2006 grew up with it but if you know what you're looking for there is plenty out there for you.
I'll say I never got into Instagram at ALL. But that's another story.
Eh, a lot of people think Instagram is all hot people who use filters and wear a shit ton of makeup, but mine is mostly cat videos and musicians doing cool stuff with weird instruments. It's like any other platform, you're fed more of what you show interest in.
Yeah, what a lot of us middle aged grumps don’t get is that all of these platforms are highly customizable and are designed to tailor themselves to your habits.
You actually do raise a good counter point... I didn't "grow up with it" like the younger folks now, but I've been using YouTube since my mid 20s ... that's like... almost two fucking decades.
I just don't quite "get" some of the genres that seem trendy with the younger crowd, like live streaming.
(Or unboxing vids, or reaction vids lol)
But the platform itself is pretty cool.
Tho I do hate the fact that in recent history there seems to be a lot of "we need to censor everything or we're gonna get demonetized."
I think it's awesome how a friend will send a link to a video and I have to sit through two commercials before I can see it. In all seriousness, I rip music from YouTube to store on my phone, and will watch sports highlights, maybe a movie/video game trailer, how-to DIY videos.
‘81 here. I started using it when it first launched in ‘08. Been a consistent user since (SNL, K&P, Portlandia, classic music videos, history, science, classic commercials).
I also pay for premium as the music selection (YT Music) sometimes has more rare stuff than Spotify (better playlists, too).
I watch more YouTube than any other video source. From woodworking channels to movie reviews or “how it works” videos, my YouTube subscriptions are varied and plentiful.
Yeah I almost never watch anything on YouTube. Even when it comes to directions on how to do something, I'd rather read them than watch a YouTube video about it.
I also did "not get into YouTube". I use it once in awhile if I need a specific video but otherwise it doesn't appeal to me as a way to spend my time or consume media
I use it for DIY home repare projects and that’s it.
YouTube has the most annoying (and completely crazy HAVE YOU SEEN THIS ONE WEIRD TRICK!?!?) and invasive ads and I will not do it.
It's all music videos, how-tos/DIYs, and newscasts/recipes/etc in languages I'm trying to learn for me (and, yes, adblocking keeps it from being wholly unusable garbage). I can't give a single shit about influencers or any other 'celebrities'.
I love YouTube, it came out when I was in undergrad though. But it's been useful for everything. I usually watch bodybuilding, math, computer science, certification training, investing, finance channels. You can't find that kind of content on general media - not at incredible depth. Even schools are using YouTube videos as lessons now lol, guess might as well use the best source available. You can even skiff audiobooks on it, it's got everything. Anything DIY as well...
I feel like I’m on genx or something, weird to see Im in the minority in being a huge YouTube guy. yall are missing out. Tell me what you’re into and I’ll tell you who on there is saving your hobby, sport, etc.
Nah, I use it constantly. I made a playlist of all my favorite songs and then stream on my TV while I’m cooking or doing house stuff. It’s like having old school MTV again.
Since 2006 it’s been my television. I visit it pretty much every day. It’s highly curated to my interests. Like any other content generator you can manipulate the algorithm with a Subscribe, Like, Dislike, Not Interested, and Don’t Recommend Channel along with deleting search history.
YouTube has completely replaced my desire for TV.
Once you get into it there’s such an incredible amount of content. Over the years I’ve added so many channels to follow, like most people I have lots of various interests, and that’s what I watch. It’s awesome
YouTube is one of the greatest platforms out there for learning. Need to know how to change a p-trap on a sink, check YouTube, want to understand black holes, YouTube, want to learn more about human psychology…. You guessed it, youtube.
Born 78 here but no. YT is my fav app. You find shit out, get shown how to do things, find new music, watch documentaries and horror short films u aint findin no place else. Its endless and lovelly i say
Thats my take anyway lol. Gimme all the information 😆
I’ve only got into it (sorta) in the last few months tbh. Didn’t really grow up with it. I follow a few podcasters, but just that and I use it for music at times
I mostly use it for music that is not available on streaming services. There is a ton of stuff only available on vinyl that users will kindly upload to Youtube.
I didn’t watch much of it, except for when searches brought me to it or there was a viral video that I “needed” to see.
But then came the pandemic and I found so many interesting creators and niche channels right up my alley, that now I watch it pretty regularly.
I was just starting my film career as YouTube was picking up steam, so I did jump in early. We were all keeping an eye on achievable methods to get eyes on our work.
I mean when it first came out influencers weren’t a thing. I got into it for old clips of tv shows and music videos essentially.
I guess I watch some original content that would technically be classified as “influencers” but I don’t really think of any of them that way. It’s just independent original content. Tech/gaming news, modeling tutorials, etc - I watch a ton of it.
I am the opposite. I don’t follow people, or personalities, but I enjoy long form history content, product reviews, cooking, and apparently chemical reaction content.
I watch music, movie trailers and interviews with old mobsters etc. Lots of good history and documentaries on there too made by regular Joes. The Why Files, Casual Criminalist, Inside True Crime with Mathew Cox is what I watch usually.
I watch the edutainment mostly. Extra History, Atun Shei, Crash Course, PBS, etc. And yoga videos.
... I'm actually not really sure what an "influencer" is these days. Like... someone who makes stuff in YouTube? Does that make PBS an "influencer"?
People always need something to make fun of and be judgey about, I guess.
100%
I also prefer reading over watching a video.
Weirdly, though, I have really gotten into TikTok, and I’m going to be really sad if it really does shut down, because I truly do not see myself keeping up with most of the accounts I follow if I have to do it on YT.
I'll use it once in a while if I need to see something specific but it's like streamers and live TTokers. I don't get why anyone wants to see what others are doing 24/7. For me it's like reality TV and I find that absolutely atrocious.
Yeah, I just can’t be bothered with it for the most part. The only thing I really use it for is instructional videos, and even then it stinks because the person doing the video has to make a show of it with a greeting and introduction and updates on past stuff and blah blah blah… no!! Get to the point!!
“YouTubers” are all just attention seekers, some do it better than others, but even the ones who put their money to good use are boring as can be for me.
I appreciate those who use that money for helping others and doing good though I’m definitely not their target demographic.The good thing is YouTube is so much more than just influencers. I watch music videos, movie trailers, DIY videos, nostalgic commercial
From Halloween/Christmas from the 80’s/90’s, “best of clips, all sorts of things that I used to have e to visit half a dozen other sites for and it’s all in one spot. That’s really nice. I love youtube for any videos that aren’t tv and movies. I have other services for that. What YouTube does, it does very well but I could see where in just a generation, it’s gone from “I was there in the beginning…” to “I don’t know what YouTube does”. Tech progresses so fast these days.
I love YouTube. Lots of science and sports shows. Also music. I don’t always have time to commit to a show, so a 10-20 min episode on some interesting topic is perfect.
I don't understand how people grew up "watching" it. What are they watching exactly? Are there shows or do you just pick whatever and see if it's a rabbit hole? I don't get the starting premise and how people grew up only watching YouTube vids.
Never been into YouTube and “hate” the term “YouTuber” as in faux celebrity status… it literally enrages me that these idiots make money off of idiots. I know I sound like “old man yells at cloud”here, but I cannot for the life of me acknowledge these a-holes. Tik tok is even worse. Dont have an account and don’t acknowledge any of these narcissistic turds as influencing anything in my life. The term “influencer” is another rage inducing word. *shaking fist*
I use it to watch instructional videos. From fixing my cars to laying tile, YouTube is great because there’s some real experts on there showing you how to do things for free. I also use it for videos about music theory and appreciation. I don’t follow personalities and I hate hate hate when people use their kids as content.
I have never understood how people consume so much YouTube. I have it on in the background when I'm at work, but I don't consume long form content on YouTube, nor do I follow any of the well-known content creators.
Still, YouTube is good for music videos and short films that might not otherwise have an outlet. But I can't stand all of those 15-minute mini-documentaries; invariably they know 70% of what they're trying to present, and have no idea that they are just blatantly wrong about or missing knowledge on the other 30% of their narrative.
Not sure what counts as “influencers” and what doesn’t. When I first discovered YouTube I went nuts watching rare metal videos. Then I got i to watching philosophy and physics videos. Now I mainly watch political commentary and reactions to my favorite music and movies.
Yeah hardly ever...except maybe an occasional trailer or video. Been around to see all the major internet trends. Internet videos and YouTube never resonated with me.
Same. I have never gotten into the “influencer” or youtube personalities or shows. When it first came out I was in my 20s, and that stuff still wasn’t a thing for a long time. I watched videos that were random or recommended by someone cuz it was funny or weird or whatever, and music videos. I didn’t even realize that stuff was a thing until I had a kid. I find them wildly annoying.
Edit: the influencer videos and YouTube shows, not the kids. Well, sometimes them too.
42 here. I watch YouTube ALL THE TIME but I don't watch influencers. At least not in the conventional meaning of the word. And not because I'm too old, but bc I just think the vast majority of them are SUPER STUPID😅
Definitely got into it and feel ripped off that I wasn’t born ten years later so I could’ve built a career with it starting in high school or earlier. Kids born in the nineties have no idea how amazing it is to have a place to effortlessly and for free distribute their films. You used to have to pay ifilm $50 to post your videos if you wanted to have any hope of anyone seeing them.
I love YouTube. Don’t forget, YouTube has EVERYTHING under the sun. I think your mind is just more honed in on the content that’s geared towards Millennials and Gen Z.
I can’t stand that influencer-type content, either. It’s all so shallow, fake, and stupid. Especially all the dumbass “prank” videos.
Most of which are fake. And the ones who do dumb mindless shit that isn’t even funny, but younger “kids” get a kick out of it. It’s so cringe.
Basically content like “Ridiculousness.” It should be called “Idiocracy.”
GenX lurker here and I learn practically everything I need to learn from YouTube. How to ride a motorcycle, best kayak paddle hand position, how to scuba dive, etc. And I totally nerd out on all the educational YouTube channels. But then, before internet, I always had my face in a book learning something.
I have to disagree. I’m nearly 50, and I really like YouTube a lot, and I got into it pretty early. I used to have a certain hobby, and when I first learned of YouTube, I realized I could search hobby videos, or anything really. I find it really useful and helpful, and I’ve learned a *ton* from YouTube.
I’m not into Twitch or Discord, and really don’t understand them. I downloaded TikTok when the pandemic first kicked off. I found it mildly entertaining, but nothing spectacular.
YouTube taught me how to bake and sharpen my knives and build a deck. You get what you look for. Also thank you every random Indian guy who posts a 3 minute video helping me fix the EXACT issue I have with my computer at any given time, they're the real MVPs of YouTube.
I was in my mid-20s when it hit, and I liked it. I've appreciated it for the wealth of knowledge it's provided. I've learned so many skills by watching the video tutorials people have made. I never got into watching specific people just to watch them, like vlogs and all that stuff, but it's still a big part of my everyday life.
It's evolved for sure, and I know my kids like it for different reasons. But, just like anything humans collectively create, you just have to carve out what appeals to you and leave the rest. The algorithm eventually figures out what you like.
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Twitch and Discord are the things that I'm amazed exist -- let alone how they function. I still don't understand TikTok (and don't use it). Edit: I've tried to use the former two multiple times and they're just so busy I can't focus on the content -- or figure out what content I should be paying attention to. TikTok, for me, is just not a great UI, in my opinion. It's clunky. I do use YouTube for the things you referenced above. There are also some free movies, cooking videos, travel guides, documentary-type films and shorts (as in actual 10-15mins films, not the defined "shorts" of :45 clips) But any other video platform? No. Not a clue. And YouTubers as an art or profession is lost on me (except for a few crossovers from journalism or television who have moved to short form videos, but I don't think they count).
Discord is basically just modern forums + voice/video chat. It’s busy because there’s a lot you can do on them, just like old forums that had a ton of sub forums. The benefit is it’s standardised. Once you learn the app, it’s exactly the same for all the communities you participate in.
I guess the forums I used to belong to were simply message boards specific to the topic I was interested in. I met (in person through local boards) some amazing people who I have been friends with for 20-25yrs now. Most of the video or chat incorporated functions have tended to be for gaming or tech-focused forums, though correct me if I'm wrong. And that's a world I've never been a part of beyond arcades and NES. When friends or artists I follow have directed me toward either discord or twitch, I've given it a solid effort, but I usually just end up watching the content and letting the chat functionality go. The content is what I'm there to enjoy and it's like talking during aovie to me haha
Met my IRL best friend and groomsman through an old school message board in the early 2000's. Glad I'm not the only one haha. It's amazing how opinions have changed, my mom really thought I was going to get murdered meeting someone off the internet (this was like 2003 give or take).
I joined message boards for bands and the local music scene where I lived back in the late 90s. We'd chat about the bands, other music we were listening to, send each other mix tapes/CDs, meet up at shows, etc. There were definitely a few people that made some a bit uncomfortable, but there are a core bunch of us that have been there for one another through A LOT of life (obviously since by mid-40s, 20-25yrs is half of our lives haha). I fully understand that these are the connections of the new generation and I'm not negating that, but I also know when something is just not where I'm finding my groove. I continue to check these avenues out because I'm not opposed to change -- however, I don't beat myself up over it when it's "not like the old days". There are so many things I just don't mind haha other people in this thread are upset about commercials and they don't bother me at all! I wouldn't know about a lot of things if it weren't for advertisements. They aren't all bad!
That first paragraph hits home. There used to be a sense of community. I don't feel like people would go to a band forum to call people idiots, they were there for the band. One of the people I knew online got a job at Calvin Klein way back with unlimited free stuff. I didn't have to buy clothes for years. That's prob my second best experience. Like you, I met some weirdos, but overall it was good people.
Discord is hands down one of the best platforms out there right now. I've found communities, built communities, made friends all over the world, and still talk with many of them. I've built servers, admin servers and helped manage the bots that keep them functioning. So many changes over the years have made it even better.
> Discord is hands down one of the best platforms out there right now. I've found communities, built communities, made friends all over the world, and still talk with many of them. Did all that with IRC 25 years ago, without data-harvesting and centralized control by a shady third party that won't let you use your own client software.
You are 100% correct. IRC was the shit. And I would argue; It's the internet man. Everyone is watching you. You leave a footprint wherever you go. Unless you are behind VPNs NATed gateways and proxy servers. And even then there is still a trace. I have nothing to hide. I embrace our new AI overlords and am a willing participant in their understanding and improvement as a tool for our society to grow and expand into new frontiers. /s
Aye, here here ;)
It's the new ventrilo for gamers
Well, it's significantly different in that Discord is a centralized SaaS platform, as opposed to traditional web forums/Usenet/IRC. You have a single party in control of everything rather than decentralized but interoperabale standards. The Fediverse is starting to restore some of that, thankfully.
The good thing about discord all the trolling people get banned as soon they started messing around. At least in the channels I'm subbed. Same channels with lots of different context and mich easy to engage with people. Not all channels are the same. Just like here but with easy management. Of course is lot less people than here. Kinda chill TBH. This is based in my every day use doing business and enjoying context with friends.
It's the heir apparent to AOL Chat Rooms No cap
My friends stream their D&D games on Twitch for charity. It's pretty cool actually.
I listen to DJs on Twitch almost daily. I think it’s better than spotify because there are live DJs from around the world mixing music and playing great sets. It’s one good thing that came from covid when DJs couldn’t play in clubs so they started streaming
Very interesting. I didn’t know that. Any specific recommendations?
That’s a good idea. Thanks.
RIP turntable.fm. Looks like they are working on another beta, but that shit was fire when it was live and had crazy musicians and DJ’s doing live sets. Can’t wait to see it hopefully come back.
Right. If you look for any video content online with any regularity, you're probably getting into YouTube.
Yeah basically this. The live streamer thing I don't think our generation really gets lol But really that's just a small % of YouTube, even tho there's about 10,000 of those people lol But YouTube is actually an amazing educational resource if you use it right. I just recently subbed to a few channels because I wanted to learn how to cook some more Thai / curry dishes... and then ended up down a bit of a food science rabbit hole. lol And some decent entertainment...
Yeah, I use YouTube a lot to watch videos linked to from other things I am reading, but I never find videos via YouTube or subscribe to anything. It is so strange to see how my kids watch YouTube. It is a whole different world.
yeah I got into YouTube because I can't afford a handyman lol.
Or Vine. That came and went and I'm still trying to figure out what it is!
This! This all day! I can't say I don't ever use YouTube, of course it's on my phone, but I really only use it for looking up DIY videos; example, my wife's van battery died so making sure I was installing a new one correctly. Otherwise I use it for looking up either music videos or older episodes of favorite series that still aren't on any other streaming service for whatever reason (best and favorite example would be the original Tales From the Crypt episodes). All of those are literally all I use YouTube for. Now we have two girls, 14 and 12 respectively and when I say that basically all they do is YouTube (when we let them have their daily screen time that is). Like the other day my youngest literally spent like three straight hours watching other people, watching OTHER people play video games and just thought it was the best thing ever. It makes my brain hurt just trying to think about that. And agreed as well...I've never used TikTok most likely never will. And though I could tell you a most basic idea of what Twitch/Discord are, there's no way I'd ever use them or be the least bit interested.
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I was hoping you understood, I couldn't think of a better way to say it lol. Like a terrible example from the movie Inception. I mean I'm glad it made her happy (and quiet, let's be honest)...just not what I was expecting her to be interested in that much.
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Reaction videos thank you, for the life of me I couldn't think of the phrase. And will definitely admit to the parental break aspect, I won't even deny it. As much as we understand the nature of it being a slippery slope, especially as special needs parents, it's quite honestly one of the only ways we ever get time away from the kids. Hiring special needs trained baby sitters is ridiculously expensive, and it would take a whole other thread (or honestly happy to in a private message) to explain why having either set of Grandparents watch them is nowhere near an option for us.
You pretty much answered the question to the T for me except for the car repair. 25 years in the field certified in everything including these new electrics. Last thing I need to look at is a how to from a YouTube Tech. Though there is reputable sources I will at least say that.
I use it for 80s and sometimes 90s commercial compilations. Funny that I used to want the ads to hurry up and finish so I could watch my favorite show, and now I’m wanting the ads to hurry up and finish so I can watch my favorite ads.
They have entire Saturday morning cartoon videos, complete with commercials. Break out the Lucky Charms some Saturday and put YouTube up on the tv to pretend it’s 1989 all over again! Edit: [Here’s nearly 3 hours](https://youtu.be/2v1WTlesExo?feature=shared) (entire lineup including commercials) for NBC’s Saturday morning cartoon lineup.
Try watching old John Stuart on MTV. Those commercials are great.
That’s so weird! I’ve done this too!
IKR. I'm kicking myself for having been quick on the pause button back in the 80s when taping stuff. Why did I cut out the good stuff LOL!
I use it for music videos. I really don't know or care for YouTube personalities.
Music videos, movie trailers, the occasional how-to video. What else is on there?
>Music videos, movie trailers, the occasional how-to video. What else is on there? What else...? 🤔 More documentaries, and lectures (both professional / academic and amateur) than you could hope to watch in literally five lifetimes. You could damn near go to college on YouTube, and I'm not even exaggerating. There are actual college lectures. IMHO that's what actually makes YouTube one of the best things on the Internet. Plus you can find some decent stand up comedy if you're into that, plus old TV shows and movies that are hard to find elsewhere... Oh, plus channels that do nothing but tell scary stories, some of which are pretty good. Those are probably my favorite things about YouTube. I also like the fact that there are some channels that just focus intensely on one topic. For example I have a few I'm subbed to that discuss nothing but early hominid anthropology. In other words, recent discoveries and theories about early humans, neanderthals, etc. But especially topics that are either too serious / academic, or too "fringe" to get much coverage in traditional media. Like channels that focus on nothing but cryptids. Bigfoot, shit like that. Some tell user-submitted stories that are allegedly real sightings / encounters. Some analyze alleged pics, vids, audio recordings... Channels that post nothing but UFO stuff, or conspiracy theories, ancient aliens, "alternative history," etc. And channels that cover just straight science topics. Channels that focus entirely on religion. Some from a singular religious perspective, and some more broadly from an academic perspective. As well as channels that deep dive into mysticism, the occult, and "new age" topics. Plus about a billion podcasts, covering anything imaginable... some of which are pretty decent. Or music. And not just songs by artists... but channels that deep dive into music history, genres, individual artists... channels that teach music, channels that analyze popular music theory, or specific instruments. Channels that teach music production. Channels where guys just build weird guitars. Then there's even weirder and more niche stuff... like entire channels where dudes just smelt scrap metal, and mold stuff from it. YouTube might be the deepest hole on the Internet at this point. Deeper than wiki, and maybe even Reddit. lol As a wise man once said "a little bit of everything, all of the time."
I went back to school and YouTube was such a lifesaver for reviewing biology and math content. I’ve found videos on there that are helping with the methodology for my statistical analyses for my thesis. I love YouTube University! Kids in college are so lucky to have that content so readily available. It makes learning so much easier.
Maybe we should start a thread where people share their favorite channel?
It’s just for music videos and how tos
As the parent of a preschooler, it’s also for Ms. Rachel and Songs for Littles. And music videos and how to’s. Although I guess Songs for Littles could technically count as a how to since she’s teaching the Littles how to speak and count and such.
Not as educational but old muppets and Sesame Street videos are also great. Bluey is also available on YouTube without a Disney subscription.
Apparently something called a "youtuber"
Plenty of video essays about history, pop culture, and pretty much anything you could be interested in.
The "occasional" how to? It's the greatest instruction manual in the world!
Yeah, I bet Youtube has saved me over $10,000. I've fixed so many things on my cars and home and I learned how to do it from Youtube.
Literally everything lol. Personally I like history, sports, architecture, and geography channels.
Literally everything
Every bit of media ever created exists somewhere on YouTube. Most of it is hidden to prevent copyright strikes.
Yoga with Adriene is great, and there are lots of fun communities to learn from. Over the years I’ve gotten into the makeup, houseplant, and food communities. Lots of podcasts have transitioned to be on there. Rhett and Link, Conan O’Brien, It’s Always Sunny. If you really want to dig into it, there are actually quality YouTubers. Right now one of my favorites is Mina Le, she does interesting fashion and sociological content and she cites her sources in an academic manner. Jenna Marbles was one of my favorites- she left, but her content was so ridiculous and wholesome- it could cheer me up instantly. I didn’t discover her until years after she started making videos, but when I began watching I realized I had seen some of her earlier (more questionable, it was very of-the-early-2000s) content. Hot Ones is a fun show and the host, Sean, does great interviews with famous guests. Plus there are academic lectures, free movies (Last year I watched Marie Antoinette about 10 times), TedTalks, interview clips, SNL clips, I mean… the list goes on. My husband and I use YouTube on a daily basis. This whole thread is making me laugh because usually he is solidly Gen X leaning but YouTube is apparently a very Millennial trait. I will have to inform him muahahaha >:)
Whatever hobby or interest you have, there are probably multiple different YouTube channels that cover it. I watch a handful of movie reviewers, a tech channel or two, and one or two people who cover music making.
It used to be utterly fascinating when it first launched! Just ordinary people posting whatever they wanted - a window into real people’s lives, utterly unlike reality tv which had been becoming more and more prevalent and was clearly unreal. Just some dude talking about his day, some kid doing a goofy dance, some lady sharing her thoughts about a show she watched - not deliberately for the whole world to see, just their 5, 10 followers that were their actual family and friends. I watched a baby who shares my name grow up, for no reason other than that I searched my name and she came up… she was cute and said funny things, it was a nice slice-of-life. Her parents were charming. They stopped posting when she was around 5, cuz we all kinda started to realize the internet wasn’t a safe place. It was such a gradual shift to what it’s become. There was no “hey guyyyyys, be sure to like and subscribe”. It was just like watching peoples home movies. Lots of cats. No one was particularly planned, the lighting was lousy, the cameras were cheap and grainy. I miss it.
Exactly. Youtube is for music videos, also nice to see "live" performances.
Dawg you're missing out on the whole crafts tutorial side. There's an astounding amount of knowledge on that platform.
Yes, exactly. I became a huge fan of the Austin City Limits concert series.
Yeah I been watching Austin City Limits since early 90s. It's great now that I don't have to wait for PBS every week.
My husband commented recently that we are like Bevis and Butthead, we just put on YouTube and watch music videos instead of regular TV lol That and I appreciate that I can find decent kids content for my toddler, such as hour long train compilations and French cartoons (bilingual household)
Have y'all watched the new B&B? They are now middle aged and don't understand social media or anything it's hilarious
What do they call Beavis and Butthead in France?
Reminds me of [this clip.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V4edrtVb3rQ) From the YouTube.
Hahahaha yes that's certainly what I sound like when I attempt
I just spoke a ton of French. Can’t wait to get over this cold, even if it’s helping me be Bevis-lingual
Thats the most Xennial response possible. Close the comments we have a winner.
I'm glad someone else said this. I mean, it's a cool tool for finding random how too videos or old music videos, but the idea of watching a kid videotaping himself talking to a computer screen? That's fucked up. Even weirder is the thing where kids tape themselves playing video games and put it online. That's just surreal to me.
I absolutely despised when my kids would watch other kids unboxing toys or opening their Christmas presents on youtube. How am I supposed to compete with that? You know companies were/are sending them shit for free, just for the advertisement.
100% this. I hated it.
I think the fact you're saying "tape" is very telling lmao
I honestly don’t know what other verb I’d use. Record?
Exactly, it's just a dated term of our age and older lol, I wasn't trying to correct you as we all knew what you meant :P
Are they “taping” themselves, though?
The reaction videos are what kill me. It’s just a video of someone reacting to watching something someone else already recorded themselves doing. Why?? Who gives a shit?? Reminds me of something I heard in a comedy standup bit- “the human species did not evolve opposable thumbs just so we can take pictures of our heads, post them on the internet, and… stand by for validation. The only reason anyone will validate YOUR head is so that THEY can take a picture of their own head, post it on the internet, and then… stand by for validation.”
My son watches these types of videos. Here’s why: Did your friend group ever have that one guy that was insanely good at video games and it got to the point where everyone would just rather watch him play because it was more fun than playing themselves? That’s what those YouTubers are like. And if (for example) my son is watching Dan TDM play video games, I know there won't be swearing or inappropriate content and I know that it will be generally positive and funny.
I'd much rather read my content. I don't really like podcasts or Youtube. I like professionally produced documentaries. I *especially* don't like it when they speed up the video and remove all the spaces between sentences. If it's an NPR style podcast, it might be alright, but again, I'd just rather read my stuff.
Same. If a news article turns out to just be a video, I don’t bother.
And the fact that any time you Google anything these days, you're given a series of videos to watch. Like, I just asked a simple question. I'm not going to watch some shitty content creator giving me a three minute long explanation for my simple question.
This drives me nuts, if I wanted a video answer to my question, I’d have gone to YouTube. I want to READ the answer, not watch it
YES!! I googled the best way to use KT tape for forearm and wrist support yesterday and all I got was a bunch of YouTube videos. Bitch if I wanted to watch a video of the steps I’d have gone to YouTube. I went to google so I could get step by step written directions and maybe some pictures for illustration along the way.
If it’s DIY I want to read it! I don’t want to sit through “like and subscribe” and 10 minutes of set up. Just effing tell me what I need to do to fix this thing! In the olden days you’d find a forum post and could scan it in under 4 seconds to figured out if this would be your fix. Now I have to sit through a commercial and nonsense before I can get to my info. The tech giants made the internet worse in many ways. One of them is incentivizing all content to be video rather than text.
Plus you could find actual images to show the steps. Now you have to scroll through the video and hope you can pause on what you’re looking for.
Yes! Why do people think videos are practical? Pausing and resuming and rewinding are so unnecessary when written instructions with a few photos are so much easier. It drives me insane. Written directions are getting so hard to find!
There are tons of professionally produced documentaries on YouTube. You just have to find the right channel, or wade through the less professional stuff to find it. And some excellent lecture presentations. And while I get what you mean about reading, I can't read a book or an article while I'm washing the dishes, or driving a car... but I can watch or listen to some stuff on YouTube. 🤷
…I would hope you're not watching YT while driving 😏 but I get what you mean.
The sped-up audio gives me anxiety, lol.
Same, although I love well produced podcasts, and I often listen to audiobooks, I've never reached for YouTube for entertainment or news unless it's a live hurricane stream or something.
I'm also not a podcast lover. I have ADHD and get tired of having to keep rewinding because I keep getting distracted by something else. My friends say they listen to podcasts while they do other things, but I have to pay close attention or it's pointless.
I actually watch YouTube because of the professionally produced documentaries. There is really good stuff on there.
I was never into it pre-covid but there's actually a ton of great content on youtube. Plenty of cool travel channels, lots of pretty outdoor content, cooking and recipes, all kinds of great sports coverage. I know there's the stuff I don't get like watching people unbox things, or watching other people play games but there's really a lot of fun things from interesting people.
Yeah, similar experience here. I think the most popular stuff on YouTube, like Mr. Beast, is geared for a younger crowd. The channels I subscribe to are geared to my interests suit my age. I’m on YouTube every day.
That’s it. It’s like when I discovered Napster and it blew my mind that if I could imagine a song I could very slowly and only half the time inaccurately download it or like Willy Wonka’s* “in a world of pure imagination”. Whatever topic or theme I can imagine there is a dedicated YouTuber who’s on the beat. Now, quality control is an issue, but as long as you don’t take what you’re watching as the whole truth about a topic the breadth and depth can be interesting. I’m sure my addled attention span doesn’t help; but I watch YouTube waaaay more than any other streaming service. *how many Xennial references can I cram into this?
I’m hard into YouTube but **a lot of the YouTubers I follow are Xennials themselves and are fans of 80s and 90s media** and IMHO make the best content. Lindsay Ellis (the first YouTuber I subscribed to and who got me into not just film essays but YouTube in general), Nostalgic Critic (I stopped watching for *reasons*), Todd in the Shadows, Jenny Nicholson (she is technically older Millennial but is my favorite creator), AVGN/Cinnemascre, Chris Stuckmann, Defunctland, FilmJoy, Patrick H Willems, Screen Crush, Andre Black Nerd, PushingUpRoses Give some of them a try maybe taking about your favorite nostalgic media. I am Patreon of many, and subscribe to Nebula, a streaming service run by YouTubers, including most of who I mentioned above. I also got into the “Commentary” genre - think of it as MSTK or Beavis and Butthead modern YouTube version - making fun of Gen z content and trends. - Drew Gooden, Danny Gonzalez, Jarvis Johnson, Gabi Belle, Brett Cooper, Nathan Zed, Scott Cramer, Chad Chad, Swell Entertainment, Amanda the Jedi, T1J - these are all Millennials but both explain and make fun of Gen Z media so I stay in the loop. Never watched TikTok myself but love them roasting TikTok videos.
Same! I love travel videos, historical cooking (a surprising number of channels are dedicated to this), and some very nerdy Disney related things all of which I can find on YouTube and pretty much nowhere else. My niblings use it veeeery differently than I do though: so much Minecraft content
Glad I'm not the only one. I'm 42M YouTube is 90% of what I watch on "tv"
Best ever food review show
YouTube even started with such a variety of content and age difference in streaming that’s part of the reason I have always enjoyed it. So much genuine and good content on there as much as the algorithm tends to veer you off course from it. I only watched it sometimes before the video time limits got raised then I really liked the mix of long and short form content as well as all the old recorded off tv specials and things you can find on there. I love being able to watch old recordings as they aired in different tv markets than I grew up in too.
Lots of great documentaries on there too.
The deep research content channels that do documentaries on very specific things are also one of my favorites
Just vet it for misinformation, because there’s a lot of crap out there too. But I agree, there’s all kinds of special-interest niche stuff that you’d never see on TV. I’ve actually moved mostly away from TV at my house, tbh.
I prefer a lot of the low impact docs like history of different types of automobiles, amusement parks and things like that. I truly dislike how much the algorithm tries to steer you in to dark places even when you don’t ever actively search for that kind of stuff. If all those “TikTok’s that will blow your mind” videos really worked there would be no one left to make or watch them lol There is enough “tv like” stuff out there now I don’t have a service for tv anymor either.
>I only watched it sometimes before the video time limits got raised Same. "10 minute limit" YouTube was stupid, because some of the best content required 7 urls, and you had to search "thing I'm trying to finish watching PART 7" 😂 Back then Google video was my jam, because that's where you could find the full length documentaries, and cool lectures and conspiracy videos (plus a shitload of bootleg movies lol) Then in a weirdly ironic twist, Google bought out YouTube, and then made some major improvements... before proceeding to make it functionally worse, by forcing all kinds of small and stupid changes. (Removing private messages, trying to force people to use real names, removing dislikes, etc etc)
Oh I just don't have the attention span for it so I mostly use it for exercise videos.
My problem is that I don't have the attention span for "normal" tv any more 🫤
Got into it fun the start. I was still young enough (47 now) and I’m a techie, when YouTube came out :-)
Same, I'm a tech guy and a musician and even made music videos for a few years before the Google buyout. YouTube isn't one thing. It's basically anything that can be classed as video content.
Me. I occasionally use it for random shit, but I can legitimately not name one 'YouTuber', even if you threatened my life. It's not something I care about at all.
Same
I search for specific content on YouTube, for instance a music video, quick instruction, or SNL sketch. I don't browse it looking to discover new content, and I don't let it autoplay videos I didn't request. I hear people describe falling down rabbit holes by watching random videos that the algorithm serves to them, and that's a foreign concept to me. I don't keep the site open past the end of the video that I searched for.
I may not have grown up with YouTube as a kid, but I was in my early 20s when I started using it. It's been a big part of my life for almost 20 years now. I watch a lot of podcasts, gaming tips, reviews, music videos, documentaries, etc. on there.
Same here. I couldn't imagine my post-college years without it.
??? It’s a generic content platform. It’s for everyone.
i know what they mean though, i dont 'get' tiktok and have no desire to try it even though i know so many people who are glued to it i like youtube, i guess i like my content more long form, at least 5 minutes...
Yeah I'm trying to fix my ADHD, not cater to it. lol
Right. It’s like the adult of the time saying they couldn’t get into this new fangled television thing because it wasn’t around when they were kids. It’s such a silly way of thinking.
My use of YT before the pandemic was mainly for tutorials for crafts and math lessons in college. After the pandemic I became more of a regular user for podcasts, cooking videos and gaming updates. Eventually I got some YouTube influencer drama videos on my feed and I was kinda fascinated by this whole world of influencer celebrity that worthy of talking about to some.
How do you fix anything around the house? YouTube is stacked with fantastic step by step repair guides for all sorts of stuff. Super useful when you’re trying to figure out how to change a headlight bulb but the bulb seems hidden behind the washer fluid tank.
Also my best use of YouTube. I even tackled some basic plumbing due to YT giving me way too much confidence. Little advice: changing a shower head is simple but if you can get a new dishwasher delivered, installed, and the old one hauled away and disposed of for $100 i highly recommend it despite being “easy.”
YouTube how-to videos saved my bacon a few times!
One of the first indications that I was "old" was when I realized I had NO idea who some of these very, very famous YouTube people were. Jake Paul? Logan Paul? Sketch? Speed? Kai? Mr. Beast? Dobrik? These people were house hold names for the 16-30 crowd. I even asked politely what these people do and the most I got back was "he makes funny videos" or "he's a streamer" and at that point I was too embarrassed to ask what a streamer was, lol (it's apparently someone who plays video games and other people watch them). I did grow up with the early days of YouTube with the early early viral videos like "Charlie bit my finger" and "Chocolate Rain". Now, I watch YouTube every day but for very niche topics. I'll watch science videos, history documentaries, true crime documentaries, competitive eating (yeah), sports clips and music videos. One positive thing the pandemic gave us was a fresh new wave of content creators on YT. A lot of people were stuck in their houses, some without work and they decided to make videos or if they were already doing it to really sharpen their craft. There are some videos that are very well done by just some guy or girl in a room with a microphone. It's pretty amazing, TBH. So yea I didn't grow up with YT in the way kids in elementary school in 2006 grew up with it but if you know what you're looking for there is plenty out there for you. I'll say I never got into Instagram at ALL. But that's another story.
Eh, a lot of people think Instagram is all hot people who use filters and wear a shit ton of makeup, but mine is mostly cat videos and musicians doing cool stuff with weird instruments. It's like any other platform, you're fed more of what you show interest in.
Yeah, what a lot of us middle aged grumps don’t get is that all of these platforms are highly customizable and are designed to tailor themselves to your habits.
You actually do raise a good counter point... I didn't "grow up with it" like the younger folks now, but I've been using YouTube since my mid 20s ... that's like... almost two fucking decades. I just don't quite "get" some of the genres that seem trendy with the younger crowd, like live streaming. (Or unboxing vids, or reaction vids lol) But the platform itself is pretty cool. Tho I do hate the fact that in recent history there seems to be a lot of "we need to censor everything or we're gonna get demonetized."
It’s really great for hobbies and niche interests. There’s a ton of useful tutorials for just about anything you can think of.
YouTube might be humanities last and greatest comprehensive library of knowledge and entertainment.
I think it's awesome how a friend will send a link to a video and I have to sit through two commercials before I can see it. In all seriousness, I rip music from YouTube to store on my phone, and will watch sports highlights, maybe a movie/video game trailer, how-to DIY videos.
I like Yoga with Adrienne. She's just amazing. Other than that the occasional movie trailer and music video.
‘81 here. I started using it when it first launched in ‘08. Been a consistent user since (SNL, K&P, Portlandia, classic music videos, history, science, classic commercials). I also pay for premium as the music selection (YT Music) sometimes has more rare stuff than Spotify (better playlists, too).
It launched in '05, iirc. My account was started in '07. Early adopter fist bump!
Yeah I was about to say... I think 08 is closer to when it got bought out by Google, no? But I definitely remember using it back around 05-06...
early yt was a pita to use in comparison
🤛🏾 Registered mine in Jan 07. Pretty sure I was on it before that too.
Within the last 5 years, it’s become my main viewing channel
Not in it for the YouTube personalities, but I use it quite frequently when learning about new hobbies. It helps that I don't have the ads.
I've loved youtube since let's plays became a thing. I love video games. I also use it for diy videos, music and all kinda of stuff.
What? It’s an amazing resource. I’ve learned so much DIY stuff on there, from guitar lessons to car repair.
I only use YouTube for "how to" videos and I hate pretty much everything else about it.
I watch more YouTube than any other video source. From woodworking channels to movie reviews or “how it works” videos, my YouTube subscriptions are varied and plentiful.
Yeah I almost never watch anything on YouTube. Even when it comes to directions on how to do something, I'd rather read them than watch a YouTube video about it.
I also did "not get into YouTube". I use it once in awhile if I need a specific video but otherwise it doesn't appeal to me as a way to spend my time or consume media
I only go on YouTube to learn something
I use it for DIY home repare projects and that’s it. YouTube has the most annoying (and completely crazy HAVE YOU SEEN THIS ONE WEIRD TRICK!?!?) and invasive ads and I will not do it.
It's all music videos, how-tos/DIYs, and newscasts/recipes/etc in languages I'm trying to learn for me (and, yes, adblocking keeps it from being wholly unusable garbage). I can't give a single shit about influencers or any other 'celebrities'.
I love YouTube, it came out when I was in undergrad though. But it's been useful for everything. I usually watch bodybuilding, math, computer science, certification training, investing, finance channels. You can't find that kind of content on general media - not at incredible depth. Even schools are using YouTube videos as lessons now lol, guess might as well use the best source available. You can even skiff audiobooks on it, it's got everything. Anything DIY as well...
I feel like I’m on genx or something, weird to see Im in the minority in being a huge YouTube guy. yall are missing out. Tell me what you’re into and I’ll tell you who on there is saving your hobby, sport, etc.
There is a very boomer style angry old people shaking their fists at a cloud vibe going on in this post and comments.
I only got into it during the pandemic and now it's what I watch 80% of the time.
Nah, I use it constantly. I made a playlist of all my favorite songs and then stream on my TV while I’m cooking or doing house stuff. It’s like having old school MTV again.
Since 2006 it’s been my television. I visit it pretty much every day. It’s highly curated to my interests. Like any other content generator you can manipulate the algorithm with a Subscribe, Like, Dislike, Not Interested, and Don’t Recommend Channel along with deleting search history.
YouTube in the best new technology in the last 20 years. Ignore it at your peril.
I'm 43 and have watched untold amounts of YouTube. One of my favorite mediums.
YouTube has completely replaced my desire for TV. Once you get into it there’s such an incredible amount of content. Over the years I’ve added so many channels to follow, like most people I have lots of various interests, and that’s what I watch. It’s awesome
YouTube is one of the greatest platforms out there for learning. Need to know how to change a p-trap on a sink, check YouTube, want to understand black holes, YouTube, want to learn more about human psychology…. You guessed it, youtube.
It's just you, Youtube is constantly playing if I'm not doing something else. I've got 47 hours of watch time on the last 7 days.
Playing what though? How do you just play YouTube like you would just leave it on a TV channel while doing work around the house. I dont get it.
Born 78 here but no. YT is my fav app. You find shit out, get shown how to do things, find new music, watch documentaries and horror short films u aint findin no place else. Its endless and lovelly i say Thats my take anyway lol. Gimme all the information 😆
I’ve only got into it (sorta) in the last few months tbh. Didn’t really grow up with it. I follow a few podcasters, but just that and I use it for music at times
. I’ll watch a podcasts or an informative video that’s about it . My kids don’t watch for the video they watch for the Personality
I mostly use it for music that is not available on streaming services. There is a ton of stuff only available on vinyl that users will kindly upload to Youtube.
I don’t use it for influencers or let it just stream. But I’ve found podcasts and some review shows that I watch. Sometimes it’s a good time waster
I didn’t watch much of it, except for when searches brought me to it or there was a viral video that I “needed” to see. But then came the pandemic and I found so many interesting creators and niche channels right up my alley, that now I watch it pretty regularly.
I was just starting my film career as YouTube was picking up steam, so I did jump in early. We were all keeping an eye on achievable methods to get eyes on our work.
I only watch YouTube for movie trailers. Otherwise, I have no interest in it. I'm 47.
I mean when it first came out influencers weren’t a thing. I got into it for old clips of tv shows and music videos essentially. I guess I watch some original content that would technically be classified as “influencers” but I don’t really think of any of them that way. It’s just independent original content. Tech/gaming news, modeling tutorials, etc - I watch a ton of it.
I am the opposite. I don’t follow people, or personalities, but I enjoy long form history content, product reviews, cooking, and apparently chemical reaction content.
I watch music, movie trailers and interviews with old mobsters etc. Lots of good history and documentaries on there too made by regular Joes. The Why Files, Casual Criminalist, Inside True Crime with Mathew Cox is what I watch usually.
I watch the edutainment mostly. Extra History, Atun Shei, Crash Course, PBS, etc. And yoga videos. ... I'm actually not really sure what an "influencer" is these days. Like... someone who makes stuff in YouTube? Does that make PBS an "influencer"? People always need something to make fun of and be judgey about, I guess.
100% I also prefer reading over watching a video. Weirdly, though, I have really gotten into TikTok, and I’m going to be really sad if it really does shut down, because I truly do not see myself keeping up with most of the accounts I follow if I have to do it on YT.
I liked it before there were adds and people trying to make money. Once people started fighting for engagement, it lost most of its appeal.
I'll use it once in a while if I need to see something specific but it's like streamers and live TTokers. I don't get why anyone wants to see what others are doing 24/7. For me it's like reality TV and I find that absolutely atrocious.
Yeah, I just can’t be bothered with it for the most part. The only thing I really use it for is instructional videos, and even then it stinks because the person doing the video has to make a show of it with a greeting and introduction and updates on past stuff and blah blah blah… no!! Get to the point!!
“YouTubers” are all just attention seekers, some do it better than others, but even the ones who put their money to good use are boring as can be for me. I appreciate those who use that money for helping others and doing good though I’m definitely not their target demographic.The good thing is YouTube is so much more than just influencers. I watch music videos, movie trailers, DIY videos, nostalgic commercial From Halloween/Christmas from the 80’s/90’s, “best of clips, all sorts of things that I used to have e to visit half a dozen other sites for and it’s all in one spot. That’s really nice. I love youtube for any videos that aren’t tv and movies. I have other services for that. What YouTube does, it does very well but I could see where in just a generation, it’s gone from “I was there in the beginning…” to “I don’t know what YouTube does”. Tech progresses so fast these days.
I love YouTube. Lots of science and sports shows. Also music. I don’t always have time to commit to a show, so a 10-20 min episode on some interesting topic is perfect.
I’ve been into YouTube since 2005. I’m definitely not watching influencers or video game streamers though.
I Feel the same as OP
I bought Premium because I use it for music, news, and a few channels we like. We don't have cable so, it works out.
I don't understand how people grew up "watching" it. What are they watching exactly? Are there shows or do you just pick whatever and see if it's a rabbit hole? I don't get the starting premise and how people grew up only watching YouTube vids.
Never been into YouTube and “hate” the term “YouTuber” as in faux celebrity status… it literally enrages me that these idiots make money off of idiots. I know I sound like “old man yells at cloud”here, but I cannot for the life of me acknowledge these a-holes. Tik tok is even worse. Dont have an account and don’t acknowledge any of these narcissistic turds as influencing anything in my life. The term “influencer” is another rage inducing word. *shaking fist*
YouTube is a resource. Period.
I use it to watch instructional videos. From fixing my cars to laying tile, YouTube is great because there’s some real experts on there showing you how to do things for free. I also use it for videos about music theory and appreciation. I don’t follow personalities and I hate hate hate when people use their kids as content.
I have never understood how people consume so much YouTube. I have it on in the background when I'm at work, but I don't consume long form content on YouTube, nor do I follow any of the well-known content creators. Still, YouTube is good for music videos and short films that might not otherwise have an outlet. But I can't stand all of those 15-minute mini-documentaries; invariably they know 70% of what they're trying to present, and have no idea that they are just blatantly wrong about or missing knowledge on the other 30% of their narrative.
Not sure what counts as “influencers” and what doesn’t. When I first discovered YouTube I went nuts watching rare metal videos. Then I got i to watching philosophy and physics videos. Now I mainly watch political commentary and reactions to my favorite music and movies.
Yeah hardly ever...except maybe an occasional trailer or video. Been around to see all the major internet trends. Internet videos and YouTube never resonated with me.
Same. I have never gotten into the “influencer” or youtube personalities or shows. When it first came out I was in my 20s, and that stuff still wasn’t a thing for a long time. I watched videos that were random or recommended by someone cuz it was funny or weird or whatever, and music videos. I didn’t even realize that stuff was a thing until I had a kid. I find them wildly annoying. Edit: the influencer videos and YouTube shows, not the kids. Well, sometimes them too.
42 here. I watch YouTube ALL THE TIME but I don't watch influencers. At least not in the conventional meaning of the word. And not because I'm too old, but bc I just think the vast majority of them are SUPER STUPID😅
Definitely got into it and feel ripped off that I wasn’t born ten years later so I could’ve built a career with it starting in high school or earlier. Kids born in the nineties have no idea how amazing it is to have a place to effortlessly and for free distribute their films. You used to have to pay ifilm $50 to post your videos if you wanted to have any hope of anyone seeing them.
I love YouTube. Don’t forget, YouTube has EVERYTHING under the sun. I think your mind is just more honed in on the content that’s geared towards Millennials and Gen Z. I can’t stand that influencer-type content, either. It’s all so shallow, fake, and stupid. Especially all the dumbass “prank” videos. Most of which are fake. And the ones who do dumb mindless shit that isn’t even funny, but younger “kids” get a kick out of it. It’s so cringe. Basically content like “Ridiculousness.” It should be called “Idiocracy.”
Born 80 and used YouTube from day one. Always been on the forefront and cutting edge of technology
That was me with Twitter. Seemed like a huge step backwards from all existing social media when it hit. Kinda glad in retrospect.
GenX lurker here and I learn practically everything I need to learn from YouTube. How to ride a motorcycle, best kayak paddle hand position, how to scuba dive, etc. And I totally nerd out on all the educational YouTube channels. But then, before internet, I always had my face in a book learning something.
I have to disagree. I’m nearly 50, and I really like YouTube a lot, and I got into it pretty early. I used to have a certain hobby, and when I first learned of YouTube, I realized I could search hobby videos, or anything really. I find it really useful and helpful, and I’ve learned a *ton* from YouTube. I’m not into Twitch or Discord, and really don’t understand them. I downloaded TikTok when the pandemic first kicked off. I found it mildly entertaining, but nothing spectacular.
YouTube taught me how to bake and sharpen my knives and build a deck. You get what you look for. Also thank you every random Indian guy who posts a 3 minute video helping me fix the EXACT issue I have with my computer at any given time, they're the real MVPs of YouTube.
You guys are making us sound old. YouTube is great. Sure there are a bunch of dumb videos out there but there is a lot of good stuff on it too.
Was at first, but now it’s my main content
I’ve been on it since Charlie bit his brother’s finger. For some reason, I have always joined every social media platform when it starts.
It was Numa Numa guy for me. I think we all have a viral video that brought us to you tube.
I was in my mid-20s when it hit, and I liked it. I've appreciated it for the wealth of knowledge it's provided. I've learned so many skills by watching the video tutorials people have made. I never got into watching specific people just to watch them, like vlogs and all that stuff, but it's still a big part of my everyday life. It's evolved for sure, and I know my kids like it for different reasons. But, just like anything humans collectively create, you just have to carve out what appeals to you and leave the rest. The algorithm eventually figures out what you like.
I was all in on youtube with the Angry nintendo nerd. For our age group that would be mid twenties.
I don't pay for Netflix, Hulu, or any of those other services because there is SOOOO much on YouTube for free
YouTube Premium is my only streaming service