I think whether studytubers are toxic or inspiring is a very personal question although sometimes I have my doubts. For me, the answer is definitely toxic (with a couple exceptions). I've become hooked on their lives in a negative way but before I attempt to completely distance myself from the community, I thought I would toss my thoughts and reflections into the aether on this (probably dead?) thread. This is the first thing I have ever written and posted publicly on the internet and even though I am anonymous, I find it absolutely terrifying so I definitely have respect and empathy for people that choose to post their life on the internet (albeit in a curated and edited form!). I really do not intend any hate through this post and have tried to write it as if the study tubers who I might mention will read it. This isn't some snarky comment intended to say behind someone's back but something I would genuinely say to their face if I had the opportunity. It's tricky to raise this issue since you are essentially criticising someone's life but I feel if you are given the title of "influencer", something I find extremely problematic in the study community on youtube and beyond, what you do must be constantly scrutinised.
I never encountered the world of youtube until I was in year 11 studying for my GCSEs and even then I only used it for purely academic purposes (e.g. videos from teachers on how to analyse a poem etc.). When I started sixth form, I revisited my trusty friend (youtube) for some academic help yet unfortunately fell prey to the youtube algorithms recommended page. It knew I just completed my GCSEs and recommended a video of Unjaded jade opening her GCSE results. Why was this something I thought it would be worthwhile to watch? I don't know. The algorithm had penetrated my brain. It knew me better than I knew myself. I clicked and from then on I was hooked and discovered more and more studytubers.
On one hand, I think criticisms of the personalities of study tubers are a little unfair. Ruby Granger's borderline obsessive desire to study rather than socialise, Unjaded Jade's carpe diem mentality and overuse of the word spontaneity, Holly Gabrielle's obsession with food and exercise can all be interpreted in a positive and negative way. We are all unique. (If I were a successful youtuber, I am sure there would be much to criticise about my life!) On the other hand, they are essentially constructing a brand around their personality (which I feel like has quite a lot of parallels with a cult - i.e. the veneration of an individual - not saying the channels are cults, just one way of thinking about it if some parallels are drawn - instead of offering our money, we are offering our time in exchange for a life-changing philosophy hmmm...). The whole “impressionable teen” danger seems to be raised quite a bit in this forums but is is extremely important. These teens may pour praise into the comment section but is this inspirational candy sustainable in the long term? Books should change lives, not a teen who has edited their life on youtube. Even if we consciously tell ourselves that ruby does not study 15 hours per day, we may subconsciously feel differently. These “influencers”may be influencing us in subconscious ways. I'll admit they made me feel like an inadequate student some times which is ridiculous in retrospect. I was shocked when Jade and Ruby got rejected from Oxford and I, although studying significantly less then them, got into Cambridge. It was my first realisation that I needed to much more critically assess how they portrayed their lives in order to sift out what would make me feel bad and what could motivate although admittingly even recently Jade’s comments about having deep 2am chats with her friends all the time stress me out! Am I doing something wrong? I have friends, we have conversations but are they deep chats? Ahhhhh!!! Obviously if she were to read this she would say that it isn't a requirement but just one example and people can express their friendship in different ways but the way she presents her life nonetheless has this effect subconsciously. Jade seems like a great, intelligent person but one thing I could never understand is her declaring talks “deep” and experiences “life changing” when they are barely even days old. I would find it so awkward claiming these things. I would never be able to declare an instagram that my captions are meaningful (not that I post on instagram). She may see herself as a beacon of meaning in the sea of social media but that just comes across as a little self righteous. I can’t help but feel that if she got accepted to Oxford she would have acted like she never expected it and the whole thing was the most spontaneous thing in the world yet she evidently couldn’t imagine herself going to Bristol. That said, to be successful risks must be taken and that might include confidence coming across as self-righteous and pretentious to some people.
The impressionable teenager is at the mercy of media in all its forms yet “influencers” are perhaps the most dangerous. What confuses me the most about the studytube community is that it operates in a grey zone between being educational and being entertainment. Entertainment channels can be trash (or not!) but at least they are not pretending to be anything else. I feel like studytube channels can often pretend to be something they are not. The majority of study with me videos are not in real time and are inherently contradictory. You can’t study “with” the person. Is this the only way our brains can comprehend the value of learning? I've always motivated myself by focussing on the content of what I am doing and finding intrinsic motivation even before I knew what youtube was. Although perhaps if you're world is one of tiktoks, gifs and instagram posts, the visual is the only way to remind the brain of the importance of studying! However, one smaller channel that I feel has a much clearer purpose is Elena Handtrack. I find her videos get right to the point and actually present some new and unique ideas (she also has loads of real-times study videos). Her aesthetic is also very nice! Perhaps I find her especially useful because I go to the same university as her and am curious to see how she manages similar struggles. However, I don't think it it necessary for me to satiate that curiosity, since it is always possible to chat with friends about their methods of coping and study hacks!!
Studytubers are making money and gaining a following that will certainly help them in any entrepreneurial pursuits so it is important to ask, especially as many of them are growing up and their channels are changing and they may be seeing the link between their career and their channel all the more clearly, what is in it for the viewer? What is being offered apart from a shortened attention span and retina damage? I feel like Ibz Mo provides a great amount of value in encouraging access of student from low socioeconomic and under-represented backgrounds to Cambridge University, a very noble cause in my opinion! Although I agree with a lot of Unjaded jade's core ideas with regards to self-love and positivity I can see how it can be a little annoying and vague and frustrating. I'm not really sure what she is offering anymore. Inspiration can be gained from stories, biographies, friends... (although even as I am writing this I am doubting that its fair to say that since a lot of people may not have access to books or may have abusive friends so I guess this really only applies to me.) Positivity can often be the guise for lots of selfies on instagram with motivational quotes. People may claim this to be a life-changing moment for them in the comments and re-emphasise how much they love the the influencer but doesn’t that just go straight to their head and give their fan a shot of inspirational sugar? It may taste great but the low is coming.
Evidently I have mixed feelings, but, like I said at the beginning, I can only conclude that the community has had a negative impact on me. I wouldn't cackle with joy if the studytube community disappeared. There is some value there. We can't idealise the good ol' days when children weren't hooked on youtube. A lot of people look down on social media and youtube and me being that person who just read books (side note - I thought it was a bit funny that youtube sucked me away my time and my passion for reading only to spit out videos about the value of reading, such as Jade's recently!) and didn't have social media for the longest time I can't help but feel similar but perhaps humanity isn't doomed from decreasing attention spans and a cult-like obsession with a certain personality who is not offering anything tangible apart from life-advice when they are too inexperienced to offer it in order to inflict ads and expensive merch on their viewers. Any change in society will have a backlash. Perhaps the “inspiration” is not just like sugar, sweet, addictive and short-lasting. Perhaps inexperience lends "relatability" value. Perhaps benefits can be reaped, as there are definitely are some. It's not worth it for me personally at this time in my life when discovering what others are up, feeding a natural human curiosity, is distracting me from finding my purpose. Apologies for the waffling response and congratulations for making it to the end. Even if no one reads this I am hoping I can find some sort of closure with the studytube community so that I can end my toxic relationship, although perhaps that relationship is with youtube’s algorithm or even my own jealousy! Is it possible to separate the good form the bad? Perhaps one day I will leverage my career through social media and post pictures of myself with motivational quotes for exposure or to promote a certain philosophy in life and chuckle over the fact I wrote this anonymous waffly post that nobody read. Who knows? We are all just stumbling around in the dark at the end of the day.