YouTube is a diverse platform, with content creators behind over 100 million channels launching videos for 2.7 billion MAUs (monthly active users). As such, you can find a niche creator on just about any topic. The platform can be entertaining, educational, artistic, strange, and everything in between.
Yet, it can be tough to stand out on YouTube, and there is a theory that YouTubers are increasingly exaggerating the importance of content in tabloid fashion. If you’re terminally online, you’ll know exactly what we are talking about – the all-caps titles, the mouths agape in thumbnails, the use of words and phrases like “INSANE”, “OMG”, or “THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING” in the video titles.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with this in and of itself. And, as we said, there is a wide variety of content on YouTube, and much of it is not over-the-top in the way it tries to grab your attention. But the way some YouTubers use hyperbole to lure us into content is turning heads, with some believing that it might end up being detrimental to creators and the platform overall.
Some content fits the “OMG” style
However, it is fair to say that some of the content on the platform does lend itself naturally to the kind of over-the-top thumbnails and headlines that we are touching on. Over the last decade, we have lived in fairly unusual political times, with bombshell after bombshell hitting the news. YouTube content creators have been at the forefront of that. Similarly, niche channels like slot streamers may highlight explosive casino big wins with attention-graphing headlines and thumbnails. This is all natural.
Yet, where the criticism comes with content that is deliberately exaggerated when the underlying story is not that important, interesting, or insightful. Perhaps the biggest culprits are financial and cryptocurrency influencers. They will often tag videos with titles like: “Trump drops HUGE bitcoin news. $200K by November?” or “Warren Buffet says invest in this stock for INSANE passive income gains.”. All too often, the underlying story is weak – even outdated. Yet, a week later, the channel will be pumping out a new variation.
The above is an example of how clickbait can be alluring because it plays on our emotions. The underlying attraction here is our desire to make money, and it’s understandable that our inclination is to click, as we tend to tell ourselves that there might be some insight. It’s emotional and repetitive, and that tends to work. To be fair, this is not a YouTube-only issue: social media is stuffed with financial influencers promising the moon with quick fixes.
Culture Wars have led to new tactics
If we can move away from areas like making money, we might notice the phenomenon in other cultural areas. There has been a recent era of aggressive content that targets the movies and television sectors. In particular, there has been a wave of content creation focusing on the perceived missteps of Disney, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and other studios for the movies and shows they have been making. Just search for something like “The Rings of Power” or “The Acolyte” to gain an impression of what we are talking about.
Now, our purpose here is not to discuss the pros and cons of modern films and television, nor to criticize the trend on YouTube of railing against Disney et al. Yet, the exaggeration is unparalleled. Nerdrotic – a hugely influential YouTuber with one million followers – has made 21 videos on The Rings of Power. Nine of the videos have the word DISASTER (all caps) in the title. Other phrases used in Nerdrotic’s videos include “patently evil”, “destroys Tolkien”, and “hot garbage”. Nerdrotic has a right to post whatever the channel thinks, but it might be a smidgen over the top to say that a television show is “patently evil”.
The main question, though, is whether this sullies YouTube overall. As we said, it’s not only a YouTube problem. Moreover, if you pick up an old copy of something like the National Enquirer, you’ll know it’s not a modern phenomenon either. However, the best YouTubers balance attention-grabbing tactics with the underlying value of content. Without the latter, the former can leave a bad taste in the mouths of viewers.
