When talking about social media, people associate apps, such as Instagram, with bad mental health and distraction from school. But what if I told you there was a side of social media that aims for the complete opposite?
Over the years, YouTube has become one of the most popular social networking sites with videos getting millions of views and channels reaching over one million subscribers. The site allows anyone to upload videos on whatever they like, seeing they follow the sites rules and guidelines. Recently, YouTube has been put under a negative light within the media with users abusing said platform and other issues regarding obvious acts of discrimination against minority groups from the site itself. Like most social networking sites, there is the constant ‘bad for mental health’ comment looming over the websites name often affecting the people utilising the platform and overthrowing the good that can come from YouTube videos and content creators. This is where a phenomenon dubbed ‘studytube’ comes into play.
Studytube is a side of the platform where students, often referred to as ‘studytubers’, upload videos on their school experience. Some chose to show their study routine filming videos called “study with me” whereas some focus more on talking about what its like at certain schools and tips and tricks on surviving those dreaded exams from GCSEs to university. No matter the topic or age of creator all these videos have one thing in common: a positive attitude to school and learning, something you rarely see anymore in teens.
Some of the more popular studytubers include: Jack Edwards, who talks about his experience studying English Literature at Durham University, creates study with me/get productive with me videos and the occasional travel vlog, Eve Cornwell, who documents her journey of becoming a lawyer, creates study with me style videos, sit down, chatty videos and some travel vlogs and finally Unjaded Jade, who posts real time study with me videos and motivational, positive talks about school, mental wellbeing and mindsets.
While showing mostly the positive sides of studying, which many people have criticised arguing it creates an unrealistic and unhealthy idea on how school life should be, they also touch on the negatives and set backs during their life as a student such as, rejection from dream universities and how they dealt with it and moved forward, dealing with stress and negative mindsets and even falling out of love with your subjects. It’s these more negative topics that differentiate this community from other parts of YouTube which force a perfect lifestyle onto their viewers more.
As well as producing videos a big part of YouTube is the merchandise, which on its own has a bit of controversy surrounding it with overpriced jumpers and t-shirts being pushed onto a young audience on the daily. However, this merchandise is less about making money and sales but about empowering like minded students. Two examples of this is Jack’s academic planner, dubbed the ‘Jackademic Planner’ as a fun play on words, and Jade’s ‘AM/PM StudyWear’ which include little motivational messages.
When asking people what they find enjoyable and appealing about these students and many other YouTubers like them, a common thing was that they are like older siblings to their viewers providing advice for future and current school situations through videos on what they wish they had known when starting A-levels or university and how to settle into university. As the eldest sibling not having anyone closely related experience A-levels or university to gain advice from, I believe that having YouTubers like this is important to help reduce stress levels when it comes to starting a new stage in the education system and revising for exams especially when schools seem to struggle to decrease stress in students effectively.
Clearly there is so much positivity within this community with an aim to unite and empower students and create ambition and motivation within other people, but unfortunately this is constantly overshadowed by people abusing the site for their own personal gain and the medias obsession with controversy and how much money YouTubers make rather than the content.
Jessica Grant
