#lifewithmak

(Probably wrong, please don’t come @ me—actually please do, I like to be proved wrong so I can be informed :))

I think the biggest flaw with the YouTube algorithm and how it recommends or demonetizes videos is that it’s basing a lot of its info on the viewer demographics. At least, I can only assume. Why else would YouTubers like James Charles, Danielle Cohn, and Logan Paul get videos to trending with blatantly inappropriate or sexual content despite (or perhaps, because of) their large, primarily minor audience, when actual wholesome youth creators like LifeWithMak get flagged simply for having adult viewers and inappropriate comments? The system actively rewards creators who show and promote inappropriate content to their underage audience, while punishing appropriate creators who are being harassed, when it should be the other way around. You shouldn’t be regulating content based on who’s watching it, you should be regulating content because you know who will be watching it. Assuming the appropriateness of content based on its viewers is so misguided and is the fundamental flaw behind the algorithm that makes everything so backwards.

I think the “algorithm favoritism” can be explained this way also. Big creators like Shane Dawson and Pewdiepie who are literally OG YouTubers that have defined the platform and continue to be huge to this day, are almost never found on the trending tab; as opposed to much newer, comparatively more problematic creators. They rely entirely on their existing fame and dedicated fan base for views. The way I see it, Pewdiepie and Shane Dawson used to be defined by their mostly minor audiences. Now those audiences are all grown up, and most of their fans are now adults. Understandably, I think YouTube favors creators who have mostly young audiences because children are simply more bankable and easy to influence in the advertisement game. Children are also more likely to stay on YouTube longer, and go to YouTube sponsored events like fanmeets or Vidcon, and buy merch. Basically, children are a lot easier to engage and retain on the platform long-term as opposed to adults. I mean, it’s literally a running joke that twelve-year old YouTuber fans are stupidly dedicated and are the reason why problematic creators get so big. So those with older audiences are phased out, and newer creators with newer, younger audiences are favored by the algorithm. Of course I definitely think there are other factors and flaws in the algorithm, like how certain “controversial” tag words in titles or within the videos themselves are immediately deemed un-advertiser friendly, such as LGTBQ+ words or even topics about mental health. The biggest indicator to me is cursing, which immediately gets videos flagged for less ads, since it’s inherently seen as inappropriate for children.

YouTube as a whole seems to be transforming the entire platform and building it entirely around their one interest-group/demographic, which is children. And it’s pushing out any sort of meaningful or somewhat controversial content in the process simply because they don’t think that demographic will respond to it. I think more than just YouTube protecting their advertisers, the advertisers themselves clearly know who they want to target, and any content that doesn’t appeal to their target audience is avoided. That’s why I think there’s a lot of confusion over who is calling the shots with these unfair demonetizations—advertisers themselves, or YouTube. I think it’s both. The interests of advertisers and YouTube itself have merged into one singular unit, and it’s hurting content creators. There’s suddenly no middle man between them and the people who give them their money, protecting their content and making sure they can still get a paycheck. Advertisers themselves are basically scanning their content to determine who gets paid and who doesn’t, and there’s a palpable fear being shown in the content created. There’s so much more censorship, both deliberate and subconscious, in my favorite creators’ videos. Everyone’s afraid to say things they want to say or need to be said because they feel like Auntie Advertiser is always watching. The only real place I feel like I can get controversial, informational content is from channels who share clips from TV shows owned by big media companies, because of course they’re safe.