The History And Impact Of YouTube

Social Impact

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Since the beginning of YouTube, it has been an influence on our society, acquiring a major impact through the passing of the years, reaching today’s mark of more than 800 million unique user visits to the search engine monthly. One of the greatest contributing factors to this number is the vast amount of diverse content produced on YouTube daily, ranging from educational videos to humoristic entertainment, political campaigns, social movements, music, videogames, health, and much more. It is important to note that as much as YouTube can have a positive impact on society, it can generate the opposite effect, and harm society in multiple ways, one of them being the spread of false information. Critics state that YouTube’s extreme freedom when publishing videos works as a double-edged sword by allowing the spread of misinformation with little to no consequences. YouTube’s impact on society can be divided into several sections:

Communities

One of the most important aspects of life is socialization, which normally would be with groups with similar interests. These groups with one or more common interests are called Communities. Communities are critical because they are often an important source of social connections and a sense of belonging, and the absence of communities in a person’s life can lead to serious mental health issues.

YouTube nowadays plays a very important role in this aspect. Once again, thanks to the immense variety of content, communities of all types, forms, and sizes have formed. These communities are an important resource for individuals who are part of underrepresented groups and may not have access to or feel comfortable in traditional organizations rooted in inequity.