The first 20 minutes of the YouTube video presented by Michael Wesch that we viewed during the class lecture broadened my lens not only for YouTube, but the social media world as a collective. In the first half of the video, Michael Wesch provided great insight towards the timeline of YouTube. First, Wesch provided historical dates for the first few videos that were ever uploaded to YouTube and which country the videos were uploaded from. Afterwards, Wesch delves into the term, trends. He does this by not only explaining the definition of the term, but more importantly, the function this term serves as well as how it is used within the social media world.
What piques my interest the most is the fact that back when YouTube was first launched, individuals back then produced videos similar to how influencers are currently are. In other terms, back when YouTube first began, the above-mentioned term, trends, still existed. In his video, Wesch displayed videos that resemble various trends consisting of funny dances and singing. These videos alongside the method of following a trend are widely uploaded on numerous social media applications in order for users to gain publicity.
This can mean multiple things for schools. Specifically, for students, social media and technology as a whole is quite distracting. This is evident as Radcliffe states, “children who reported more than two hours a day of screen time got low scores” (2018). This insight is significant to underline because it indicates the downfall that technology serves with respect to its balance between entertainment and individuals using it as a resource for studying.
References
Augenthaler, T. (2018). How to Get Your Video to Trend on YouTube. The Influence Marketer. Retrieved May 25, 2025, from https://theinfluencemarketer.com/blog/how-to-video-youtube-trending/
Radcliffe, S. (2018, December 19). How Does Screen Time Affect Kids’ Brains? Healthline. Retrieved May 24, 2025, from https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-does-screen-time-affect-kids-brains.
Hey Abdurrahman,
I really enjoyed your reflection! It’s so interesting how you connected the early days of YouTube to today’s influencer culture, it’s surprising how trends have stayed consistent over time, just in new forms. I also agree with your point about the double-edged sword of technology in schools. While platforms like YouTube can be powerful tools for learning and creativity, it’s important to recognize how easily they can become distractions, especially for younger students. I struggle so much with that balance, I cannot imagine being back in elementary school with the distractions of TikTok and youtube more. Finding that balance is definitely something educators need to keep in mind.
– Kyler