Do you believe that today’s YouTube stars are being exploited or empowered?

3-Do you believe that today’s YouTube stars are being exploited or empowered? Write a short persuasive piece that shares your opinion. 


      With the emergence of Globalization and advancement in technology, the importance of the internet has grown, becoming a necessity in today's generation. Along with this, the importance of Youtube, a website where anyone can upload videos and make profit out of their number of views and likes for their videos, has grown bigger. Up to today, there are almost 1.3 billion creators, whose job is to make Youtube videos on their channels, all around the world, 5 billion videos being watched on a single day, and the monetary value of Youtube is has grown exponentially. Now, do you think that Youtube stars are just being exploited to increase Youtube's revenue and to negatively influence the social norm, or being empowered to give them opportunities to fight against this evilness? In my opinion, I believe that Youtube creators, especially those with more fame, are being empowered with the help of Youtube due to several reasons, and I will go over them in my essay. 

      First, it is true that the competition in order to actually generate some profit from making video is highly intense; it is true that many people decide to choose ways that ensure a number of views. These ways, in common, follow a trend which our society has shaped into:A trend that involves high levels of  vulgarity, indecency, materialism, and even sexuality. I can't disagree that the number of these videos are overflowing and will still overflow in the future; however,I want to put a spotlight on Youtube stars who decided to avoided using these "ensuring" methods but still managed to acquire fame equivalent to or even more than stars who used these methods. For example, Nigahiga, a channel created by a single person but controlled by a few, is a great example of how Youtube stars can be empowered. By making satirical, yet highly appropriate videos that criticize the inappropriate norms our society has created, Nigahiga is empowered as a figure of justice. Like this, with the empowerment of few Youtube creators, such as Nigahiga, our society hasn't been prone to abrupt changes. 

    Secondly, I also think that Youtubers can create an abrupt social change and that is because I believe that Youtube stars have the authority that is equivalent to that of celebrities. The power to change the entire society. For instance, Tyler, a Youtube star with almost 8 million views, was able to gradually change the views against homosexuality of his viewers and was able to convince many people to agree with homosexuality. Later on, his single voice aroused different voices from different people who had the same opinion. Tyler's voiced led to a chain: Starting from him to his subscribers, to different celebrities, and even to some government officials. Now look at America and other countries: They all officially allowed gay marriage. I personally think that Tyler was at the heart of this revolutionary movement. Like this, Youtubers are empowered and given a huge authority that could change a whole society. 

    In conclusion, Youtube stars are empowered to have a massive effect on the society. Like the Nigahiga, some youtubers have the authority to prevent the society from changing, whereas some stars like Tyler Oakley have the authority to generate change in the society. However, empowerment comes with authority, which also comes with high responsibility.