Entertainment vs. Information on Youtube
By: Jack Lyon
Ninety percent of 18–24 year olds use YouTube. Given this staggering statistic, I’m intrigued by how YouTube serves both informational and entertainment purposes for my age group. Additionally fascinating is the adaption of Youtube’s entertainment and informational videos to compete for viewers’ attention. I’m writing this article specifically because I think this balance between informational and entertainment media is a crucial topic for college students who are attending online school — which is the majority of college students right now
Since the move to online education last spring, students are spending more time glued to their screens. They are communicating virtually, learning virtually, and essentially living virtually. With practically everything online, YouTube is more relevant now than ever before with teachers instructing students to use the platform as a source of information. But the secret to engagement is not in the information. Whether a viewer or a video creator, just as much consideration should go into the entertainment value of a video as the actual information being provided… or maybe even more.
Considering that qualities which affect individuals satisfaction level for experiences ranks entertainment value as the single greatest contributor, while education ranks near the bottom, a video about a sixteen-year-old troublemaker throwing a party with his parents out of town would easily be more popular than one that provides no salacious or scandalous details.
In chapter 6 of YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture by Jean Burgess and Joshua Green, the authors explain how YouTube’s dual, dueling purposes — education and entertainment — have defined its entire history and current prominence. To illustrate this duality, they point to two events which put Australia in the YouTube spotlight at the same time. One was a video titled “Best Street Party Ever — Parents Yet to Find Out.” The other was a video of the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, opening parliament with an official apology to Australia’s Indigenous people. The street party video received eight times more views than the historic apology that had been decades overdue.
When we compare primarily informative videos to ones that are focused on providing entertainment, it’s important to remember that audiences have different sets of standards and expectations for each — and on YouTube in 2020, those standards continue to change. Maybe in 2007, a good, successful YouTube video informing you how to make fried chicken would simply be expected to provide clear directions on how to make the chicken. But in 2020, instructional videos now adopt some qualities normally reserved for entertainment videos in order to be more engaging and ultimately get more views. This trend is not at the expense of the viewer’s education; it’s actually to their benefit. YouTubers continue to blur the line between entertainment and informational videos. One would typically expect an informative video to be somewhat “dry” providing information with no concern for entertaining the audience. But when the motivation is to get more viewers or to keep people watching until the end, entertainment, to some degree, is an important factor regardless of the subject of the video. There are now countless videos that are illustrative of this more entertainment based approach.
As an example, let’s examine two YouTube videos that both cover the same topic: how to make fried chicken similar to KFC’s. One focuses on educating its viewers, while the other focuses on entertaining them. Based on popularity, the entertaining video is a clear winner. “Quang Tran” (who has 2.1 million subscribers) has amassed a whopping 7.4 million views, while “Zac’s Recipes” (who has 39.2k subscribers) only has 1.6 million views.
Quang Tran’s “I cooked KFC leaked ‘secret recipe’| DIY | COPYCAT” gives us an energetic, fun and participatory look into the creator’s life while he explains how to successfully recreate the KFC recipe. He effectively engages the audience through his vivid descriptions along with the sounds that accompany the consumption of the food he makes (7:05). He says “It kinda does smell like KFC” before digging into the first chicken leg, making sure to include the satisfying crunch sound. “This, my friends, is bombs,” he says, chewing loudly. His unique quirkiness makes me feel personally engaged.
In “Zac’s Recipes,” there is only one camera angle, giving the impression that he is talking to an audience through a barrier. While the video shows me how to follow the recipe, it doesn’t give me an experience that I’ll remember. While he tries to keep me intrigued with the jazz music he plays in the background, the video lacks an authentic personal touch. The creator avoids showing his face and doesn’t address his audience directly. “Zac’s recipes” misses an opportunity to bond with viewers like me: he doesn’t give me any direct insight to his personal life or seem like he cares about me, the person watching the video. Zac’s video is quick, simple, and informative, but it really doesn’t stand out from the thousands of other videos showing how to make KFC fried chicken.
As a student, I like it when informational videos stand out, not only because it helps me remember the information, but also because there is so much competition for viewership now that most universities have moved primarily online. Although my generation is re-creating the relationship between entertainment and informative media, YouTube videos are not the first time we’ve seen these two categories merge. In the 1970’s, the TV show Sesame Street was mostly viewed as a teaching aid; in fact, some parents felt that “Sesame Street relieved them of the responsibility of teaching their preschool children how to read.” (Postman). In his book Amusing Ourselves to Death, however, media critic Neil Postman argues “that Sesame Street encourages children to love school only if school is like Sesame Street.” He makes the case that Sesame Street undermines traditional school (142–143). However, Postman is making an assumption that the two environments, being at home watching TV versus being at school with other kids and a teacher, are comparable. Both situations require different levels of cooperation, personal involvement and engagement. This claim cannot be effectively supported, since he’s talking about two very different environments. If he was to say that Sesame Street made it hard to then watch a boring TV or video, that would be more convincing to me.Unlike Postman, I believe that groundbreaking educational programming like Sesame Street along with other educational programming is a way of challenging traditional school structures and curriculums. New media should explore the importance of entertainment in helping students understand concepts and in gain an understanding of their own learning process.There are many ways to teach, and students have many different styles of learning.
Khan Academy, which is known as one of the “leading digital education platforms,” has had a lot of success and inspired many imitators. While Khan Academy’s videos are informative and popular, their popularity can’t compete with the new educational YouTube format, which utilizes entertainment to keep the viewer engaged. Crash Course, another educational YouTube channel, is overtly entertainment-forward educational media. The channel incorporates comedic elements, intriguing visuals, and likeable hosts that behave as tour guides through the lessons. This is obviously a winning combination when measured by subscribers: at 11.7 million, Crash Course has almost twice Khan Academy’s also-impressive 6.1 million. Given Khan Academy’s 5 year head start is quite the accomplishment — and also supports my argument that Crash Course’s model is the way of the future.
Imagine what a move to all online classes, and assigned YouTube videos, would be without any concern for entertainment value. After a day full of online classes, I cannot imagine getting back online to endure dry information, meant to educate, with no concern for keeping its viewer engaged. I would find it hard to retain any value from a video that was solely focused on informing me and it would be nearly impossible for YouTube channels to be successful without focusing on entertainment.
In his Forbes article “Education as Entertainment: YouTube Sensations Teaching The Future,” Derek Muller (creator of the popular YouTube channel Veritasium) explains that “What makes these YouTube educational channels so successful may be the very element of entertainment students may not receive in the classroom. Entertainment is the top priority to keep [viewers’] minds from wandering… If you’re not getting people engaged, you’re not going to reach a big audience.” Muller also highlights how essential the element of entertainment is to gaining and maintaining subscribers/viewers. As a viewer I have benefited from the pressure that Youtubers feel to get viewership. And while some people might add ludicrous levels of entertainment, like zany or distracting stunts just for viewership, in my mind those who are serious about bringing their information to others and educating people in a more creative way are really upping the game for everyone. As someone who struggles with distractions and staying focused for extended periods of time, I appreciate everything that is done to add interest to the experience of being educated. I do think that the entertainment element often makes the difference between whether I am able to grasp a concept or not. I believe it’s invaluable and should be considered as an important piece of all education.
It’s fascinating, as a viewer, to analyze how much energy and effort YouTubers put into making sure that their audience has a memorable and engaging experience. As someone who is looking to create videos myself, it’s also fascinating to realize how much entertainment, which appears to be casual, is actually very deliberate and done with purpose to engage and educate me in innovative, ever-changing ways.
