The Culture of Vlogging and The

Use of Self Expression Through

YouTube in Todays Society.
LaShe Maxwell
College Writing II: Final Project
Christine Olding
12 May 2017
 What is Vlogging?
Vlogs, otherwise known as video blogs, are a way for a user to express whatever they want to an unknown and
broad audience. These can be commonly found on video sharing websites, the most popular of these being
YouTube. YouTube is a medium of the internet that allows all kinds of videos to be uploaded and viewed by
anyone. While there are restrictions that have to be followed, the creators essentially have free range of what
content they upload. (Griffith and Papacharissi) This study presents an examination of userproduced content,
focusing on personal video blogs (vlogs). Vlogs are sites where authors post stories and/or information about
themselves in the form of video, rather than text, as traditional blogs include. They are public spaces for self
expression where authors control the content published.(Griffith and Papacharissi) So these creators can
essentially make videos about anything they wish, whether it is serious or silly. In assembling a list of vlogs,
vloggers sought to include a wide range of expression, representing comical and/or serious content as well as
political or normal conversations. One common thread was that all of the selected vlogs reflected a specific
vloggers life, career, or community, presenting a construction of an individual.(Griffith and Papacharissi) This
range of content helps appeal these vlogs to a large amount of viewers with diverse interests. The most traditional
form of a vlog is the person showing the viewer a piece of their life or just using the vlog as a journal or a diary
detailing their daily life. They are videos of people sitting alone in front of their webcams and just talking to
anybody and everybody who care to click on their video. These vloggers talk about their day, their problems, their
accomplishments, their hopes, dreams, and fears.(Wesch, 21) This way of self-expression helps the vlogger build a
connection with their audience in a uniquely personal way.
What Does YouTube Have to Do With
Vlogging?
YouTube has been a haven for these vlogs as people who use it can
gather a large following and reach a wider audience there than
anywhere else. YouTube has such a huge membership that it could
seem overwhelming but with the range of content that creators make it
allows many subsections to form within the site. The creators on this
website is also known as YouTubers and these YouTubers can have
people subscribe to their channel helping them gain a following. This
forming of small communities is a major aspect of making YouTube
such a popular place to create a strong vlogger-viewer relationship.
(Jferreira7)
What Does YouTube Have to Do With
Vlogging?
There are benefits to using YouTube for uploading videos and these
benefits allow YouTube to be as popular as it is today. According to
David Sifry (2007), there are about 120,000 new blogs are created
every day or approximately 1.4 blogs created every second of
every day.(Griffith and Papacharissi) On the Internet the
publication and sharing of text, audio, and video is not only easy, it is
nearly instantaneous and it comes at little cost to users.(Griffith and
Papacharissi) These benefits of being able to upload quickly and
without cost allow millions of users to access YouTube easily
everyday.
Why Would Someone Make A Vlog?
Vloggers also tend to share a large part of themselves in their videos not only
talking about their life but also sometimes taking the camera with them and
showing the viewer what goes on in their life on the daily.
This uninterrupted introspective inner dialogue, combined with the perceived
privacy of the webcam experience and the relative anonymity and ambiguity of the
generalized generalized other create the groundwork for what may be the most
surprising form of YouTube vlog: the confessional.(Wesch, 26)
This unedited, raw material is helpful in expressing to the viewer what the vlogger
is really like in real life and it helps to build an odd connection between the two.
This can help the vlogger since it can make them not feel so alone and/or weird to
share whats happening in their life to strangers and hope that they can relate.
Self-Expression Through Videos
Vlogging provides a new way of expressing oneself and ones true identity which adds a
new freedom to the idea of blogging. The vlogger can choose everything about the video
such as how they want to be viewed and how they want the video to be. The variety in
the selected vlogs reflects the human experience. Some vlogs incorporate more of a
range of emotion than others, depending on how, it seems, a given vlogger wants to be
perceived. (Griffith and Papacharissi) This allows the vlogger to be the one in control
of how their video goes and what they share in an environment without judgement or
constraints. The most benefical part about vlogging is that you can do it from within the
comfort of your own home. Some have called it at once the biggest and the smallest
stagethe most public space in the world, entered from the privacy of our own
homes.(Wesch, 22) It feels very intimate and private when recording the video but its
also a very public way of expressing yourself which is nice for the type of people who
dont want to talk about their issues with people they know.
Anonymity and Self-Expression
The reasoning behind Vlogging is something that a lot of people dont really
understand. There is the obvious appeal of being able to unload to an anonymous
audience about all of the issues in their life but there is also the idea of just
having someone to talk to and sharing your life with them.
And yet, although we all crave human connection and community, our sense
of individualism, independence, and privacy makes us see these connections as
constraints. YouTube and other online communities seem to offer a tempting
solution: the possibility of connection without constraint.(Wesch, 27)
This quote really expresses that need we all have to share whats happening
within our lives without actually doing it in person and being judged by others,
there is a comfort in the unknown that YouTube provides.
Why Would Someone Want to Watch A Vlog?
The people who watch these vlogs is another thing in which the reasoning is still
unknown but it is suspected that the idea of seeing someone going through the same
life experiences or extremely different ones can be comforting . The I is the
agent that reacts to these views and judgments. The us is the recognition of the
shared human experience in the joys, sorrows, hopes, and trials of the world.
(Wesch, 30) These shared experiences can be helpful to anyone going through the
same things in life. There are also multiple types of videos on YouTube out there
that explore multiple interests. So an individual can find a YouTuber who makes
content that directly relates to their hobbies and also find others who are interested
as well. You can most likely find some group of people online who find comfort
in a community that supports the love of something you enjoy.(Jferreira7) That
sense of a community can be a haven to anyone whose interests may be against the
norm of society.
The Relationship Between the Vlogger and
the Viewer
The relationship between vlogger and viewer is a contradiction of close but also distant, its an odd relationship
that benefits both parties involved. The relationship between viewer and viewed is deep and profound but not
strong. It is not just loose, it is in most cases completely anonymous, fleeting, and ephemeral. It is a deep yet
diffuse experience of connection; an anonymous hand with the message, You are not alone. (Wesch, 29) This
shows that there is more than just someone watching a video, there is an admiration that builds up to the point
where the viewer feels a connection with the person Vlogging. They see aspects of themselves within the vlogger
and relate to that. An example of this would be YouTube Star, Tyler Oakley,
Tyler Oakley, a vlogger known for fangirling and his love boy bands, has amassed a following of 4 million
subscribers. As a gay man, he greatly supports the Trevor Project and other pro-gay foundations. He calls his
followers a fandom of sorts that works to support the gay community and raise money for charities like the
Trevor Project.(Jferreira7)
He started his channel to share his interests with like minded people and also to bring awareness to the public
about the LGBT community, showing that there is also a positive ideal when it comes to Vlogging. These creators
arent just looking to be famous, they want to make a change in the world and make the abnormal seem normal.
The Relationship Between the Vlogger and
the Viewer
There are also ways for these fans to meet their favorite YouTubers in person. Meet-
ups and conventions are essential to make a successful online community flourish to
strengthen bonds among those in the group. As posted in an article in Forbes, an
effective online community is also an effective offline community.(Jferreira7)
There are multiple opportunities throughout the country for people to meet these
YouTubers, there is even a specific convention for YouTubers. VidCon, similar to
Comic Con for comic book lovers, hosts YouTubers as guests, along with sponsors,
viewers, and supporters of any kind in a series of events. Ideas are exchanged in
order to let creativity blossom and keep the community as tight knit and integrated as
possible, especially when everyone lives in different parts of the world. (Jferreira7)
These gatherings are one of the more sacred parts of the relationship between viewer
and vlogger and it really helps to strengthen that bond and for each party to express
their fondness for the other.
The Cons of Sharing Your Life With the
World
With all of its benefits, there are some cons to Vlogging, there will always be backlash for
sharing your life publicly. In an interview with a Vlogger, Alfie Deyes he goes on to speak
about these issues, The drawbacks include the prolific internet trolls who attempt to
undermine vloggers who are trying to make a living online, but Deyes says that he is
surrounded with so much positivity that negative comments do not bother him.(Chawla)
The availability of an anonymous audience also means the potential for having people who
will see these videos in a negative light and verbally attack the creator. This is a risk that
every vlogger have to take in order to put their content out there for all to see. However,
in Vlogging and blogging, it is difficult for vloggers to predict every individual reaction to
their site vloggers can only make educated guesses.(Griffith and Papacharissi) There is
no way for them to predict whether or not something they post will offend anyone or cause
a backlash onto them until its already gone public. But, no matter what they do in their
videos there will always be negative comments about it. It is the way of the internet.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the culture of Vlogging is an incredibly personal new
way of self-expression and as technology advances even more the idea
of self-sharing will only continue to grow. It is a great tool fro anyone
who wants to be themselves without judgement and who want to
connect with others who are similar. The YouTube community is a
force not to be reckoned with. The tight knit community found on the
site is a prime indication of the power that the Internet has to connect
people from all over to bond over interests.(Jferreira7) Vlogging and
the YouTube community is a strong aspect of the internet that wont be
fading away anytime soon.
Works Cited
Chawla, Dalmeet Singh. "The young vloggers and their fans who are changing the face
of youth culture." The Observer. Guardian News and Media, 27 Sept. 2014. Web. 11
May 2017. <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/28/vloggers-
changing-future-advertising>.
Griffith, Maggie, & Zizi Papacharissi. "Looking for you: An analysis of video blogs."
First Monday [Online], 15.1 (2010): n. pag. Web. 11 May.2017
Jferreira7. "The YouTube Community: A Culture of Subcultures." Digital Media &
Cyberculture. N.p., 25 Feb. 2015. Web. 11 May 2017.
<https://fordhamcyberculture.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/the-youtube- community-a-
culture-of-subcultures/>.
Wesch, Michael. "Youtube and you: Experiences of self-awareness in the context
collapse of the recording webcam." Explorations in Media Ecology 8.2 (2010): 19-34.