Why Are Young YouTubers Successful?
Are you familiar with names like Vegeta777, PewDiePie or TheWillyRex? They’re all part of a new generation of young YouTubers, who are successful on the famous streaming platform.
Maybe you don’t know these names, but for sure, if you have children familiar with the Internet and social networks, who are between the ages of 7 and 18 years old, they probably know who these people are. In fact, it’s very likely that they follow them, have seen all their videos and talk about them with friends of their age group.
But why are these young kids so successful on YouTube? Some of them manage to pocket millions of dollars thanks to the number of followers and people who watch their videos. What’s the secret of their success?
Young YouTubers’ success
Their names are curious. Sometimes they may even seem absurd: HolaSoyGerman, VanossGaming, SkyDoesMinecraft or BlueXephos. However, the content they share is seen by millions.
In trying to explain this current phenomenon that sometimes catches parents off guard and is very new, we’ll refer to the study “YouTubers videos and the construction of adolescent identity.”
This study was conducted by three psychologists from the Rey Juan Carlos University in SPain: Vanesa Pérez-Torres, Yolanda Pastor-Ruiz and Sara Abarrou-Ben-Boubaker. In it, this group of psychologists establishes a series of elements that are vital to understanding the success of these young YouTubers, who are particularly popular among young people and teenagers.
Identity construct and scenarios
The group of psychologists analyzed various videos in which YouTubers talked about personal experiences. This point marks ideas about self-concept, offering self-esteem values. This links them psychologically to their audience.
Gender identity and sexual orientation
Many YouTubers speak openly about sexual orientation and gender identity. Thus, they give relevance to the social construct and present the challenges of gender identity.
Vocational identity
In this case, the study refers to career choice, which is an important stage for a teenager. It’s related to their autonomy and their life project. That’s why, among YouTubers’ videos, complexity, uncertainty and diversity play a role.
Young people have various options available, but they don’t know much about them. Therefore, these materials serve as a guide, despite the fact that in many cases the information is scattered and mixed, in addition to not having any control over it.
In terms of significance, these videos can be motivational, because YouTubers offer themselves as an example to follow their vocation, directly influencing the behavior of many young people who are looking for guidance.
YouTubers: social relationships
In general, the videos of trendy YouTubers often offer very positive appraisals of the family, particularly the parents. There are signs of affection, respect and even admiration and gratitude.
Regarding gender identity, many of the big YouTube stars showcase great family support. This is an important factor that favors the healthy development of young people, who see their self-esteem elevated and, in turn, allows them to connect with their audience, improving their identity processes.
Roles of video authors and their followers
A very particular interaction is established between the YouTubers and their audience. The YouTubers become opinion leaders, while their audience identifies strongly with their discourse.
As a result, the YouTuber catches the viewer’s attention, which transforms them into subscriptions to their channels. I t’s necessary for young people to receive some guidance from their peers, especially when dealing with particularly sensitive topics. In general, young YouTubers share personal opinions on sexuality, happiness, life aspirations, etc., which young people clearly identify with.
So, now you have some keys to understand why your children connect with a certain ease with successful YouTubers. No doubt, age makes them have very similar aspirations and questions. So it’s not difficult for them to identify with each other, admire each other and become opinion leaders among their peers.