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Tommy Ngo 

Professor Cole 

English Composition II 

01 May 2020 

Following the Norm

            Debra Bradley Ruder of Harvard Magazine stated, “Young brains have both fast-growing

synapses and sections that remain unconnected… leaving teens easily influenced by their

environment.” Throughout the past decade, young adults have been influenced by video creators

on platforms, such as YouTube, to conform to a social norm with the use of tactful content. A

social norm, according to Stanford University, is the “social constructs, the endogenous product

of individuals’ interactions.” This allows their personalities to not fully develop and inspire less

creativity. Through research and examination of YouTube videos and related articles, YouTube

and social media have confined and encouraged the new generation to conform to a new social

norm. 

            The brain is part of a central nervous system that helps regulate different aspects of your

life. It allows physical movement, mental (in)stability, control of body functions, and various

other tasks. It allows you to find a perspective and follow it. If it is heavily influenced by

something at a young age, it will stick with you throughout your life. Toxic stress affects this

part of the brain, which leads to problems in behavior and mental health. This part of the brain

being influenced at a young age causes one to be at risk of problems later on in life. Research

from San Francisco State University states that “[we] are tightly link to the external

environment... we have less control of what we think of next.” Being influenced by videos and

content creations are a lot easier than anyone expects. One may believe that they have complete
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control over their body, but with certain cognitive tricks, almost everything else is rendered

useless. It’s similar to being hypnotized. We get stuck in a “trance” and watch video after video. 

            In 2005, an online video sharing service was introduced to the public by three computer

scientists. YouTube was launched with the initial intention of “having a simple interface that

allowed the user to publish and view videos through standard web browsers.” The type of

content that people would record on their cellphones from events such as the Super Bowl or

visiting the zoo. This was the goal and the creators succeeded, but these homemade videos

slowly turned into high production-quality shows. YouTube became more of a business than just

a family video sharing site. Recently, YouTube has changed its mission statement: “to give

everyone a voice and show them the world.” The branding behind this came from the idea that

everyone, no matter race, gender, or orientation should have a voice that is worth being listened

to. YouTube gives them this power and with its growing user base, the company began to

monetize its success.

            With the rise of YouTube came the infiltration of “influencers.” These are everyday

people that have the skill to influence their viewers to purchase a product or service after

establishing a sense of ethos. Influencers begin their brand by building their credibility with the

use of compassion and knowledge of what they are sharing with the viewer. They build a

reputation for themselves and consistently share their genuine experiences. Over time, they build

a large database of viewers and market themselves towards a greater income and eventually

celebrity-status. They create content that introduces the idea of commonality and gains

viewership through altruistic giveaways and sponsorships. These channels begin to increase in

viewership and encourage the ideas of fitting in or “following along.” 

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            An example of this would be Smosh, a comedy YouTube channel that was launched on

the platform in the Fall of 2005. They slowly began to gain a following for their entertaining

videos. What began as two friends recording homemade videos came to be an entire television

production with over 25 million followers. They were ranked number one for the YouTube

channel with the most subscribers three times on and off before being knocked off the charts.

This was because new competition came into the picture. As their viewers begin to age, they

begin to follow the new trends. Young adults are under pressure to make friends and fit in during

school to not be that outcast student. They follow the trend to fit in, which slowly begins to

eliminate their sense of individuality. 

 As Doctor Tamasine Preece states, “YouTubers who talk about sensitive issues… may [cause]

viewers to imitate behaviors.” Individuals who watch these videos slowly conform to what is

told. This was proven in 2012 when an online challenge became widespread. The “Cinnamon

Challenge” is when someone films themselves eating a spoonful of cinnamon powder under 60

seconds without liquid. Millions of people took in the event from what started as a fun online

challenge but quickly became a hazard. A 13-year-old boy who did the challenge resulted in a

coma and a 4-year-old boy died from ingestion of the powder. These children were influenced by

the trend because everyone was doing it. This is what Dr. Preece qualifies as “identity-play.”

This is when young adults enact behaviors they see online and begin to feel pressure to act along

with their surroundings. Also, this often impacts the ability to develop critical thinking. When an

individual is following the masses, it’s harder for them to think and solve problems for

themselves. They become dependent on others' opinions and anecdotes. This begins at a very

young age. YouTube encourages the idea that users should be over the age of 13 to use its

platform, but with children’s shows and channels, children can begin using it as early as birth.
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Parents put on the alphabet song or children’s show for their kids to watch and this eventually

leads them into other videos when not supervised. Chuchu TV is a YouTube channel that is

directed towards toddlers. The channel creator initially began making videos with Hindu

influences, but one video with his daughter caused a massive uproar, and his channel gained over

34 million subscribers. He stated, “If she is going to like it, the kids around the world should like

it.” He began to use his daughter as the leading influence and direction of his channel. This

shows that social influences and critical thinking are influenced from a young age. 

            As the viewers conflict with the social norm and impact creativity, it also impacts the

creators. Video creators have to maintain an online status to remain relevant and continue to

grow their brand. Taking a vacation or break without posting anything can potentially severely

impact their viewer base and income. Many large YouTubers begin to make thousands of dollars

monthly, which in turn, becomes their main source of income. Christina Villegas, a lifestyle

“guru,” recently stated on her YouTube channel with 1.3 million followers that she makes

approximately $12,000 to $17,000 a month from her videos alone. This does not include

sponsorships or merchandise sales. With that in mind, these video creators always have a mental

ticker in their head making them think about channel growth and sources of views. Tech

YouTuber Jacques Slade recently privatized his subscriber count because the pressure of

growing his channel at a public standpoint was affecting his mental and emotional health. In an

article on Engadget, it stated that Slade always worries about going on vacations and taking a

day off. He always has questions such as “What’s [not having content] gonna do to me?” and

“When I come back, are people still gonna watch my videos?” Questions like this put immense

amounts of pressure on the creator to pour out videos to their viewers to gain a larger audience,

resulting in a larger paycheck. Karen North, a professor at USC and expert on psychology, states
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in the article that “Internet creators have a more direct connection with their audience… their

struggles feel more public.” Many creators have stated that their personal lives are impacted by

their online life. Internet comments often harass and create a toxic environment for creators as

well, causing them to feel “burned out.”

            One of the most known examples of mental health toll on influencers is the one by

Youtuber and Beauty blogger, Michelle Phan. Growing up, she wanted to create a better life for

herself and her mom. Phan desired “to make the world a beautiful place.” But eventually, her

success took a toll and she stated that she “became a prisoner to her own vanity.” She cried every

night because with fame and success came lawsuits and business executives trying to take a cut

of her profit. She broke. She established a channel with nine million subscribers and a cosmetic

company worth approximately $500 million from the ground up, but in the end, her mental

health declined. She went off-grid for a year to “find herself” and to build up the willpower she

needed to come back into the public eye. Along with Michelle Phan, many other YouTubers

have stated that “social media is dangerous” and have experienced the causes of it. This includes

YouTuber Ethika, who recently took his own life due to the stress and “trolls” that came from

fame. “it can give you an image of what you want your life to be.” “[People] forget they’re not

immune to mental health problems.” He stated these two lines prior to taking his life on June 25,

2019. He had an outcry and needed help, but in the end, the emotional toll was too much. 

            With catastrophic events such as the ones Michelle Phan and Ethika experienced, many

individuals have taken to social media to express their feelings. YouTubers are the “celebrities”

of the new generation and are criticized and hated on every single day. Viewers often tend to

forget what their words mean because they are hiding behind a screen. It only takes one troll for

others to be “trolling” as well because it’s a chain effect. Viewers follow after one another
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because they feel that the commonalities, they share allow them to connect with one another,

often through hate. 

            Again, even topics such as depression and suicide are circulating the internet and it

becomes embroidered into young adult’s heads. The heart-wrenching death of Ethika has caused

social controversy. Having a suicide that is publicized allows people in the same situation to

potentially think that it’s the only option. Their stress and anxiety can only come to an end like

that of Ethika’s if they commit such a horrendous act of violence. This creates an environment of

normalization. It normalizes suicide to a point because many thinks if someone who has things

such as money and a mansion could not bear it, how can they. They are put into a standpoint

where everything will be influenced by their surroundings and their peers. 

            But to gain their initial following, they must create tactful content. YouTube has an

algorithm that allows content to be posted on its main page or suggested to the viewer based on

what the video is about, its length, keywords, and when you post it. The online social media

outlet, Hootsuite states, “More than 70 percent of time spent on YouTube is spent watching that

the algorithm recommends.” This causes many YouTubers to create the same video because

when one gains popularity, another can as well. Again, encouraging the idea that conforming to a

certain standard will allow popularity and a greater value (financially and physically).

Throughout the website, the viewer can see many similar videos from different creators such as

“unboxings” or “a day in my life” because since these videos gain maximum views, it is

requested from the viewer and so on so forth. Having similar videos eventually leads to growth

and with growth comes the business aspect of YouTube. To gain more viewership and sponsors

are a must to thrive. This leads to an industry in marketing and public relations, where

YouTubers become celebrities held on a pedestal with agents. YouTubers build their brand with
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these agencies by marketing products that sponsor (pay) them to their viewers. This creates a

consistent income flow, but advertising products to millions of subscribers causes many people

to buy the same products and ideas. A famous video creator has the ability to persuade their

following to purchase products that they market as life-changing or useful in their personal lives.

This makes the public believe that if their idol finds the product to be revolutionary and worth

the cost, they should make the purchase too. Eventually, you will find everyone purchasing the

same brands and products because individuality is less likely with these influences. And this is

true for all types of people. 

            Video creators follow certain criteria to market towards a specific audience, which has

been proven with similar videos and influencers. But there are influencers for almost every group

of people. There are content creators for the “gamers,” “beauty-gurus,” “lifestyle-influencer,”

“goth-kids,” and so much more. There is always a YouTube channel for whatever you are

specifically into, but once you join the channel and view these videos, you are being influenced.

There are specific channels for different targeted audiences, so everyone eventually conforms to

a group and follows a trend. And with a younger audience, creators eventually change their

content standards to another standard. They must change their content to remain relevant and

within means with the viewer, to continue to profit. A prime example of this is RiceGum, an

Asian influencer who started YouTube in 2012. He began on the platform with gaming videos on

Call of Duty and Modern Warfare. Recently, he has gone into a more mainstream content

creation process. Changing his content from gaming to music creation and lifestyle, allowed his

channel to continue to grow over the past eight years. He kept up with the trends and followed

what other creators were doing to stay relevant. Eventually, creators and viewers begin to

conform to what is being asked of each other. Creativity comes from each other, but eventually,
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it’s all boxed up and bounces around from person to person. Similar to how a pinball machine

keeps hitting the ball (or ideas), back up into a confined space and it always bounces around in

the same space but never moves forward. 

            The YouTube platform has drastically changed over the past two decades from a place

where people can post videos for enjoyment to a place of business and conformity. The first

YouTube video was a simple “home-production” video of a man visiting the zoo. There was no

context behind it. It followed the original goal of YouTube, to have a simple interface that would

allow anyone to share what they captured. Recently, these videos have ramped up and had

equipment set-ups totaling tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s no longer an

environment of sharing what you simply captured, but an environment where television-style

productions are crafted to the viewer’s liking. 

            As The Guardian, an online tech magazine states, “Today’s YouTubers will be

tomorrow’s moguls.” With this magazine predicting the future in 2015, five years later, this is

100% correct. YouTubers have built themselves a platform where they are the celebrities and

main focus. The world now revolves around them and celebrities alike. It has been normalized

that YouTubers can have clothing brands and million-dollar contracts for their looks or skills.

They have turned “influencing” into a career and billion-dollar business, but will it continue to

conform to the mind of young adults into something that excludes individuality and creativity? 

 
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Works Cited 

Alexander, Julia. “YouTuber Etika's Death Spurs Conversation about How Viewers React to

Creators' Mental Health Struggles.” The Verge, The Verge, 27 June 2019,

www.theverge.com/2019/6/27/18759603/desmond-etika-amofah-death-youtube-creator-

mental-health.

An article by Julia Alexander about the death of an infamous online personality and gamer.

Desmond “Ethika” Amofah was suffering from anxiety, depression, and overall mental health.

Ethika uploaded a video, as a cry for help discussing the negatives of life in the “lime-light” right

before taking his own life. He stated that the negatives “consumed” him and that many people

believe that online harassment doesn’t take a toll on mental health. It further stated that viewers

think they understand the content creator, but what they really see is a persona or an alter-ego for

the attraction of views. Many of these creators have to visit a therapist multiple times a month to

stay on the right track. Alexander follows through with a list of YouTubers who have

experienced similar problems and the overall toll of being an influencer. 

Cooper, Paige. “How Does the YouTube Algorithm Work? A Guide to Getting More Views.”

Hootsuite Social Media Management, 1 Nov. 2019, blog.hootsuite.com/how-the-youtube-

algorithm-works/. 

An article by Paige Cooper who discusses how the YouTube algorithm works. These

videos are marketed based on what the video is about, how long it is, when it is posted, and key

words involved. Over 70% of the time spent on the website is by recommendations made by the

algorithm with an average of 60-minute viewing sessions. The algorithm has changed over the

last decade: view count (2012), view duration and session time (2012-2016), machine learning
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(2016), quality (2017), monetization (2018), and banning “borderline content” (2019). The new

algorithm works by filtering videos to fit the user’s frequently watched content. But overall, the

algorithm changes constantly and there are 13 tips to improve your reach. 

“How Are YouTubers Influencing Children?” Internet Matters, 10 Oct. 2019,

www.internetmatters.org/hub/expert-opinion/youtubers-influencing-children/.

Doctor Tamasine Preece begins to talk about the control that YouTube has over children

and advice to escape its grasp. Content can often include knowledge that young adults should not

acknowledge, this includes language, crime, suicide, bullying, and more. She recommends that

there are ways to limit contact with this by limiting time spent on YouTube and activating an

age-restriction database. According to Dr. Preece, YouTube has an effect on Identity-play,

mental health, cruelty, fake knowledge, and so much more. 

“InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development.” Center on the Developing Child at

Harvard University, developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/inbrief-science-of-ecd/.   

Harvard University discusses the science behind childhood brain development and its

retention ability. It begins by talking about how the brain is influenced over time and that it’s

connected to different circuits that influence the body’s behaviors. These influences influence

different genes and eventually cause change to cognitive abilities, emotional health, and social

abilities. The research also concluded that toxic stress can eventually create lifelong problems in

mental and physical health due to damaged neurons. There are basic principles that help prevent

intervention and become more favorable as one age.

            
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Jahromi, Neima, et al. “The Fight for the Future of YouTube.” The New Yorker,

www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-fight-for-the-future-of-youtube. 

In The Fight for The Future of YouTube, Neima Jahromi begins to talk about the influences

that YouTube has on both the viewer and the creator. How it changes the foundation of freedom

of expression and the platform enforcing new policies. But the scale of the platform causes

various problems and brings fundamental questions into view. Every business has its technical

issues, but the business and viewership standpoints are often coincided with YouTube. It

elaborates with examples of various YouTubers and their prospective. “If we frame hate speech

or toxicity as a free-speech issue, then the answer is often counter speech.” Many want the

platform to pick a perspective and stick to it and want to determine how it will be written in

history. 

McFadden, Christopher. “A Brief History of the Internet Giant YouTube.” Interesting

Engineering, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2019, interestingengineering.com/youtube-its-

history-and-impact-on-the-internet. 

            In an article by Christopher McFadden, it explains the history, purpose, and future of

YouTube. The impact that it has had thus far and what it will eventually accomplish. He talks

about the original purpose of YouTube and what the new purpose has been changed to, and the

reasons behind it. He elaborates on the creators Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim and

how the original concept came to be with the eventual investment of $11.5 million. Eventually,

YouTube was sold to Google for $1.65 billion and the purpose was changed according to

Google’s guidelines. 
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“Our Thoughts Are Susceptible to External Influence, Even against Our Will.” ScienceDaily,

ScienceDaily, 3 Feb. 2015, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150203142309.htm.

            An article by San Francisco State University advises the public on how susceptible

humans are to different influences, even when we are not paying attention to it. In an experiment

conducted by the university, it showed participants over 50 images of black and white pictures

and eventually the majority of the test group came to the same conclusion. This made it possible

to know that the mind is able to be controlled by just perspective and is often done without

knowledge or authorization. The article further explains that changes can occur based on

subvocalizing, machinery, and psychopathological disorders. 

Ruder, Debra Bradley. “The Teen Brain.” Harvard Magazine, 16 Oct. 2008,

harvardmagazine.com/2008/09/the-teen-brain.html.

            In an article by Harvard Magazine, it explains how the Children’s Hospital of Boston and

Harvard Medical School has conducted an experiment to explore the structure of an adolescent

brain. The brain is hardwired and can be changed with certain vulnerabilities that many people

do not know about. 80% of the brain develops during the adolescent period, so with that time

many things can impact the thought process of a young adult and stick with them until death.

There are also chemical signals that are sent through the brain to help learning take place, which

explains how it is easier for a child to learn a song or language compared to an adult. Adolescent

children are also more vulnerable to external stressors which can eventually cause harm and

mental health issues with age. 

Story by Alexis C. Madrigal. “Raised by YouTube.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 4

Oct. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/11/raised-by-youtube/570838/.

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            An article by Alexis C. Madrigal shows the growth of various YouTube channels and its

effect on the provider. A prime example was ChuChu TV, a channel ran by a man who was

influenced by him and has since gained over 30 million subscribers. It shows how the mind acts

and that “if she is going to like it, the kids around the world should like it.” It shows that many

video creators follow this logic to create a standard for others. The article further talks about the

growth of the channel and compares it to the likes of Disney. It shows that ‘America’s grip on

children’s entertainment is coming to an end.” That everything can easily be influenced and

taken over.