Studytubers. Toxic or inspiring?

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Hi everyone.
Thought a thread should be started for study tubers in general.
I used to be a fan of them (eve bennett, unjaded jade, ruby granger, holly g) but i found that eventually they were massively stressing me out and there were some 'problematic' aspects of their channels.

Please share your opinions!!!
(I'm quite new to this website as you can probably tell, i left GG as the mods drove me crazy haha)
 
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such an interesting topic, thanks for that!
I loved studtubers (unjaded jade and ruby granger from the ones you mentioned) years ago as they inspire and motivated me to do my own work. now - a bit later and with one or two therapy sessions I see things little bit different. I really believe that these youtube/girls are doing it because they have fun and like to inspire people but for me I find it more problematic from my point of view now.

- we are living in a society where the quality and worth of a person is measured by productivity and success. being "so tired" and "stressed out" because you are "busy" or "worked so much" is connotated with proud and success and positive things by now. late capitalism, efficience, productivity - you are what you achieve. And I struggled A LOT with this. I couldn't "just rest" without feeling guilty because I thought I have to do and achieve things to become worthy and be proud of myself. and studytubers are not to blame because of my problem but I think the success of them is a symptom of this problem. I know a lot of people in my environment who have the guilty and shameful feeling that "everyone around them are SO successful and are doing so much more" so they feel less, little, lazy or worthless (in some degree) and therefore guilty.

- on another point. with some of these studytubers I have the feeling that they aren't doing it any more because they really have to do it for school/uni/college/whatever and have fun with it, but because for its sake. so they can push another extreme video like "STUDY FOR ME 14 HOURS STRAIGHT" or "reading 200books in one year!" - and this has nothing to do with my ideal of having fun by learning something, motivation or interest in the content/subject/topic/language but with pushing their ego because they want to be seen as the extreme diligent, smart and disciplined ones. what a bummer.

these are my two cents for now. - sorry for my english, I had to give my opinion as fast as I could :D
 
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such an interesting topic, thanks for that!
I loved studtubers (unjaded jade and ruby granger from the ones you mentioned) years ago as they inspire and motivated me to do my own work. now - a bit later and with one or two therapy sessions I see things little bit different. I really believe that these youtube/girls are doing it because they have fun and like to inspire people but for me I find it more problematic from my point of view now.

- we are living in a society where the quality and worth of a person is measured by productivity and success. being "so tired" and "stressed out" because you are "busy" or "worked so much" is connotated with proud and success and positive things by now. late capitalism, efficience, productivity - you are what you achieve. And I struggled A LOT with this. I couldn't "just rest" without feeling guilty because I thought I have to do and achieve things to become worthy and be proud of myself. and studytubers are not to blame because of my problem but I think the success of them is a symptom of this problem. I know a lot of people in my environment who have the guilty and shameful feeling that "everyone around them are SO successful and are doing so much more" so they feel less, little, lazy or worthless (in some degree) and therefore guilty.

- on another point. with some of these studytubers I have the feeling that they aren't doing it any more because they really have to do it for school/uni/college/whatever and have fun with it, but because for its sake. so they can push another extreme video like "STUDY FOR ME 14 HOURS STRAIGHT" or "reading 200books in one year!" - and this has nothing to do with my ideal of having fun by learning something, motivation or interest in the content/subject/topic/language but with pushing their ego because they want to be seen as the extreme diligent, smart and disciplined ones. what a bummer.

these are my two cents for now. - sorry for my english, I had to give my opinion as fast as I could :D
This. I have followed Unjaded Jade, Eve Bennett, Ruby Granger and IbzMo, and Holly Gabrielle.

I graduated 7 years ago but I guess Im nosy and the study tube thing hit off big time last year. Watching them sort of brought nostalgia and intrigue. I like productivity videos etc.

I liked Unjaded Jade because she seems humble though Id be interested to see how she progresses as she gets more opportunities. I do worry that she will come across as a bit toooo perfect or tooooo 'goals'. By comparison, IbzMo makes me laugh, he's down to earth, grounded, cares about community and is pushing boundaries. He comes from a position of non privilege, and from his videos I gather he has had trials and difficulties at home, which has meant he approaches success differently to say unjaded jade. He enourages people to strive, push boubdaries but also that failure is ok. He shows you dont have to get A* and 1sts to be a valid person.

Eve is living her best life at Oxford, she worked hard so fair play to her. At the moment she likes to mention Oxford at evey opportunity which I see is starting to grate on her fans a bit now, but she is a first year and it is a novelty still.

Ruby used to make me cringe with the Hermione stuff but I've been pleasantly surprised by her uni vlogs, she's becoming more mature and I quite like her reflective character.

Holly I check every so often if Im working through my sub box, but Im not sure her content is for me.

I do see lots of studytubers also pushing their diets though (mostly vegan), as filler content. I do worry that diet combined with study being seen as the ideal might alienate kids in families where they arent in control of the family food shop, and perhaps cant commit to so many hours of study.

In all though, I get more out of productivity videos than i do hauls or tutorials.

I expect each year new studytubers will appear to document/capitalise on their learning journeys.
 
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Thanks for this thread :)

I've followed Eve for the longest (since her GCSEs) and it's nice to see her succeed and I'm also really glad that she's enjoying Oxford and it's everything she hoped it would be. Her vlogs can be a little dull at times cos there's a lot of time lapses but in general I enjoy following along with what she's up to. Like you @emmer_mo I graduated quite a few yrs ago so I'm glad I'm not her only older viewer!

I only discovered Ruby and Jade when they were doing their Oxford videos. I do find Jade sweet but she's a little tooo positive and her healthy lifestyle and gap year dont interest me. I tend to watch Ruby in the mornings when I'm getting ready cos she's got a calming voice. It'll be interesting to see how she gets on. I sometimes get the feeling she's not enjoying the social side of uni that much. Maybe it's cos her kitchen is in her room so you never see her in a communal living space or with friends/flatmates.

Not sure if this is the right place but she doesnt have her own thread. Does anyone watch Molly/beauty_spectrum? She did some study type videos when she was at school and is close with Eve. Her uni vlogs are probably my fav out of all of them.
 
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Really liked UnJadedJades new video! Finally a studytuber video with an honest and kinda different perspective
 
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It’s been sad to see Eve struggling with mental health/eating disorder. I think the summer will do her the world of good , if she slows down a bit. Her summer schedule seems very hectic, with Majorca, Peru,
Spain etc.
 
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It’s been sad to see Eve struggling with mental health/eating disorder. I think the summer will do her the world of good , if she slows down a bit. Her summer schedule seems very hectic, with Majorca, Peru,
Spain etc.
After watching her recent video I couldn’t help but feel all these trips are just her running away from her problems. She’s gonna burn herself out with all that travelling around.
 
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I got the feeling that Eve is scared to stop and slow down. Scared of what will happen if she doesn’t fill her life with these distractions.
 
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Eve is lovely but she‘s definitely torn between wanting to be super successful but also a social light so she burns herself up.

I don‘t like Ruby or Jade (anymore) as they are too „perfect“ and „above it all“. Jade especially annoy the crap out of me lately

On the other hand I quite enjoy Jack Edwards and Luke Birch! They are real fun to watch and are always quite honest when they are struggling etc.
 
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Eve is lovely but she‘s definitely torn between wanting to be super successful but also a social light so she burns herself up.

I don‘t like Ruby or Jade (anymore) as they are too „perfect“ and „above it all“. Jade especially annoy the crap out of me lately

On the other hand I quite enjoy Jack Edwards and Luke Birch! They are real fun to watch and are always quite honest when they are struggling etc.
I really enjoy watching Ibz Mo and Jack Edwards.
Ibz Mo always cheers me up and I think his ‘journey’ to being a Cambridge graduate is definitely inspiring. Really admire his honesty about difficult topics aside from studying...break up/drinking alcohol/belonging at Oxbridge.
I love Jack Edwards for his candid approach to uni/studying/launching his company. I hope he succeeds in expanding his brand and great to see him on his travels.
 
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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.
 
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What is interesting is how insecure they come across. Eve B is very insecure but seems to thrive off the attention. Jade seems lost and trying hard to make everything spontaneous. I think they started with good intentions but over time they get sucked into the ads, the social media presence and become entertainment for views. Students watching then tend to copy their personalities and lives, not just their study tips, for example when they bring out study merch...
 
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I used to enjoy Jade but ever since her gap year and first year at Minerva she’s come off as more and more cringey and fake to me and is no longer relatable. The fact that she’s paying so much for what is basically an online university and where the accommodations are tiny and they get dumped in a new city every few months is a major red flag for me but if she really enjoys it, good for her I suppose.

Ruby seems to value quantity over quality, everything has to come down to a number with her, ‘Study with me for x hours’, ‘I read x books in x hours’, I find that mentality especially toxic for her younger, impressionable viewers who feel that they need to do as much work as she does and be “productive” at every hour of the day down to brushing their teeth. I do find some of her videos quite cosy and enjoyable to watch but she seems kind of silly and detached from the world a lot of the time (and is very clearly privileged).

Holly Gabrielle is really sweet but I don’t think she’s fully over her eating disorder and her obsession with fitness and her need to always be working on something and going on runs, even when on holiday, is concerning to me. Eve I have mixed feelings about, mostly she annoys me and comes off as rather entitled but I do find her more watchable and honest than Jade or Ruby. Jack is okay but I’ve never found him that interesting.

I must say, I am liking the StudyTube project so far, there is a good mix of different smaller studytubers with more of a range of different backgrounds like Lydia Violetta, PaigeY and Vee Kativhu that have useful information and aren't just all study tips or study with mes.
 
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Ugh Jade has gotten SO annoying. I had to unfollow a couple of weeks ago because I couldn‘t cope with her way of making everything seem so special. Minerva‘s the biggest scam I‘ve ever seen tbh.

Ruby‘s behavior is super worrying lately. She‘s eating so little and doing 5 (!!!!) hours of exercise?

Definitely agree that Holly isn‘t over her ed. Which is also worrying. She seems so sweet.

I personally really enjoy Lydia (and sometimes Eve, although I agree she‘s very entitled but at least a bit more relatable?)
 
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Hollys family dynamic seems very cult like and i think she has some major issues with restrictive eating and overexercising. I reckon she might even have RED's as she seems very underdeveloped for a 22 ? year old woman.

I think Lydia from what ive seen is more realistic and down to earth
 
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I can’t stand Jade since she went to Minerva, whereas I would once say she was my favourite.

I’m really enjoying Lydia and Eve’s content at the minute
 
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I am also worried about Holly Gabrielle and Ruby Granger's eating and exercise. If they were not 'studytubers', they would come across as being 'pro ana' accounts (which are mostly banned now :unsure:). If I had watched these two at a younger age, they would have been so triggering for me and I would definitely be influened by their restrictive diets. I feel so bad for any super young followers they have that might be copying their diets/exercise, thinking that is what they also should be doing :(.
 
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