YouTube is the most widely used social media platform among U.S. adults.
Here I am going to go on a bit of a tangent in relation to problematic creators. TW: Racism, pedophilia, bestiality. If you are interested only in the main points, skip to the next graph.
On May 19th, 2020, I used two large YouTube creators as examples of large platforms to draw differences between "old YouTube" and "new YouTube."
By mid-July of 2020, one of these creators has officially left the platform and another has been completely absent from the platform, presumably at the suggestion of legal and/or public relations counsel.
In the summer where there were calls for holding people, even famous and rich celebrities, accountable for problematic, racist behavior, we saw a tale of two creators.
Jenna Marbles, a 33-year-old YouTube sensation was one of the first to create a career by releasing regular videos on YouTube after going viral in a 2010 video titled "How to Trick People Into Thinking You're Good Looking." In late June of 2020, Marbles (real name, Mourey) released an apology video in which she admitted to using blackface in a video in her earlier days of YouTube. Marbles says she unintentionally did blackface to
play Nicki Minaj in her 2011 video that has been private for some time
now. She cites her growth as a person.
Her apology, which has now been deleted from her page, also apologized for other racist and sexist behavior. Here she announced that she would be quitting YouTube.
The news of Marbles leaving YouTube was met with a series of outraged tweets and posts from others on the platform and fans of Marbles. Others were pleased reminding people to remember what led her to this choice in the first place. Overall, the rhetoric has been supportive of Marbles in that she decided to take action and hold herself accountable prior to trending on twitter for having been canceled.
Shane Dawson, a 30-year-old YouTube sensation has had a number of controversies over his decade on the platform after gaining fame for various sketch "comedy" videos. His shock-humor beginnings including disturbing content made around bestiality, pedophilia, and racism has been brought to light recently by an ever-growing minority of content creators. Many of Dawson's (real name, Yaw) newer followers that found his channel through more recent content focusing on exploring conspiracy theories and documentary-style videos on other popular YouTubers such as Tana Mongeau, Jake Paul, and Jeffree Star were unaware of this concerning behavior. The content of Shane Dawson that is in question recently is so disgusting, I will not be posting it here. If you have an hour of time and are interested in seeing the entire picture, I highly recommend you watch this video below. I will warn you that D'Angelo Wallace does not skim over any piece in the story and includes very disturbing video, audio, and photos from Dawson.
D'Angelo Wallace (922K subscribers) points out all of the disturbing behavior from Shane Dawson
Dawson also released an apology-type video, saying he was inspired by Marbles. However, in stark contrast to Marbles' apology, Dawson did not utilize specific examples and appeared to make excuses for his behavior explaining away concerning behavior through language summing up the behavior as a joke, even if not funny. He also did not commit to leaving public life in the same was that Marbles did.
Marbles' apology was widely accepted. Dawson's apology was widely rejected. Marbles accepted accountability. Dawson seemingly put on a facade.
Both address how their content was released "in a different time" and that the content "now" can be offensive to some people. Something that many were quick to point out is that Dawson waited weeks after trending on Twitter for calls of #CancelShaneDawson before releasing a statement. He has been quoted as saying that he goes in and out of public favor every other year or so when an old controversy is brought to light.
Overall, the apologies on utilizing blackface are not meant for me and therefore I am not someone who can accept their apologies.
In my own opinion, I cannot imagine a time in my life that I would have found the controversial content created by Dawson funny. Yes, I was a fan of Marbles back in 2011 and as a high school student I did not see issue in her content where I do now as an adult. For this, I suppose my comparisons are not completely fair, but I do find the underlying tones of Dawson's content to be much more sinister than Marbles.
Why am I presenting all of this information? What is the relation to Web 2.0? I don't know I can make the connection in a fluid and eloquent way just yet. But it is important.
Kids watch YouTube. A lot of kids.
Especially in our Pandemic world, kids are using Web 2.0 platforms such as YouTube to form their personalities and an extension of their socialization. A CNBC article from last year stated:
Kids, [Katherine Chen, an associate professor of sociology at the City College of New York and the CUNY Graduate Cente] told CNBC, are influenced by their surroundings and the way they’re socialized. Young people are “more exposed to YouTube influencers right now,” she said. “Children may learn about an occupation because of what they’re taught in school or in other kinds of influences and relationships.”
The excuse a lot of these Influencer heavyweights throw around focus on the difference in time. 10 years ago, people weren't so sensitive. 10 years ago, people were different. I was different. YouTube was different. Comedy was different. The world was different.
Regardless if that is true or not, a lot of the troubling "old YouTube" still exists on the platform for young and impressionable minds to find.
A lot of kids also want to be professional YouTubers. People grow and mature all of the time. How can we convey to the youth that while, yes, Shane Dawson grew his platform through inappropriate content and grew up to be a millionaire living in LA -- but that you shouldn't follow the same path.
We see kids going viral on Tik Tok getting canceled and losing scholarships and jobs and enrollment in their schools. But they keep coming. Should we shield our kids from creating content they may later be embarrassed of? How can we educate students to be better people than we were at their age? Is that a fruitless pursuit?
Kendyl - Great entry! I wish I knew the answer. Our values shape our media and our media shapes our values. But, I don't think it is fruitless to try and have an impact. Sure, we will not reach them all, maybe not even most. But, we have to sound the alarm and send the message. Better a kid look back and say, "I should have listened" than to say "no one told me."
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