Is Youtube ruining your reading?

As a society, we are very fond of discussing the digital age, technology, and in particular, Youtube. We like to talk about how it is changing our lives, and often, shaming ourselves and each other for letting it take over every aspect of that life.

However, at its core, technology is an advancement upon the human experience. Our gadgets are seen as surpassing and therefore threatening older forms of media, such as the good old-fashioned book. What we fail to see, however, is that those older forms aren’t disappearing altogether. They’re becoming interconnected with the new and simply providing a different kind of experience. Despite the great possibilities of this, a lot of criticism has risen as a result.

Research conducted in early 2017 found that by age 16, some students still had reading ages of 13. It is not entirely clear what made the researchers link this result to the books these children were reading (where was the emphasis on the role that schools played?), however, the level of difficulty of certain books was pinpointed as a possible issue. In particular, they focused on the Girl Online series by Zoe Sugg (alias Zoella). A barrage of criticism ensued about Zoella’s apparent narcissism, for using a ghost-writer, and essentially showed that the elite think that writers need to be proven intellectuals.

Older media is becoming interconnected with the new, providing a different kind of experience

YouTube books have also been criticised for their apparent attempts at cashing in on their current popularity, with one journalist surveying some YouTuber books on how they performed in terms of financial motivation and, essentially, whether they were just get-rich-quick schemes.

Suffice to say, YouTubers haven’t received much slack from journalists in terms of their motives in writing books. It appears as if they are looked down upon for using book writing for their own material gain. Because of course, how can one even attempt to write a novel without the proper training, MA course or scholarly backing?

What seems to be entirely missed out in these debates however, is the very fact that these YouTubers are getting the younger generation reading, in a time where more and more children are becoming disillusioned with it. While these video stars are often cashing in a lot of money, that simply reflects the sheer demand for their content and writing. And if a little girl who doesn’t usually like reading, looks up to Zoe Sugg enough to buy, read her book, and find within herself a passion for reading, then shouldn’t that be enough?

Youtubers are getting the younger generation reading, in a time where more and more children are becoming disillusioned with it

In addition, some YouTubers have grown famous because of their infectious personalities or for the personal journeys they go on. In the case of Melanie Murphy, her new book epitomises this debate entirely. Its tag line, Living in an Online/Offline World suggests that it will talk about issues that huge swathes of millennials will understand, relate to and want to hear about. She touches upon mental health, bisexuality and eating disorders; all important issues that need to be discussed. For every pointless YouTuber book, simply seeking fame, there is a book like Murphy’s too.

On the other hand, YouTube also adds another dimension to the reading experience. Fans of John Green have the added benefit of being able to watch their favourite author online, which in turn could cultivate their love for reading, and possibly writing, further.

At its very heart, YouTube is social and it connects people. If children and millennials are demanding content from their favourite content creators, who’s to stop them? And who, exactly, is going to tell them to stop reading?