The student news site of Westwood High School.

Westwood Horizon
The student news site of Westwood High School.

Westwood Horizon
The student news site of Westwood High School.

Westwood Horizon

Why 2015 was the Year of the YouTubers

Mae Bruce, A&E Editor
November 12, 2015

YouTube-640x391When YouTube started in 2005, no one expected it to be the media market that it is now. Ten years after the first video was uploaded, it’s grown even more. 300 hours of content are uploaded every minute, and users tune in to their favorite YouTubers every day. And yet, people still don’t believe that YouTubers are regular celebrities. Just because they don’t star in movies or sign on to a major label for music, doesn’t mean they aren’t celebrities. Plus, YouTubers do much more than make daily videos for their millions of fans.

In 2015, many YouTubers let their fans into their personal lives. YouTubers like Joey Graceffa, Connor Franta, Tyler Oakley, Zoe Sugg, Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart, Mamrie Hart, Pewdiepie, and many more wrote books. Most of them were autobiographies, some were cookbooks, or even fictional stories. They also let people into their lives in a different way. Many YouTubers were finally open about their sexuality and made inspirational coming out videos that helped many of their fans struggling with the same problems have a mentor. These videos blew up on the internet, and helped their fans realize who they really are, and that they aren’t alone.

Before 2015, YouTubers weren’t considered celebrities, even though they had as many fans as regular celebrities. In 2015, YouTubers started going on TV shows and went on tours. YouTubers like Tyler Oakley and Lilly Singh (iiSuperwomanii) went on world tours for their fans. Since many of the YouTubers have fans in different countries, it’s a unique fan base and they are able to meet many more diverse fans. Talk shows were the first to realize this new and growing market. They invited YouTubers onto their shows to talk about their origins to a whole new group of people that may not know about YouTube. The greater population is starting to realize that YouTubers are stars too, just in a different and unique way.

YouTubers are also starting to get recognized in 2015. At the Teen Choice Awards, Bethany Mota won Choice Web Star: Female, and Cameron Dallas won Choice Web Star: Male. Colleen Ballinger won Choice Web Star: Comedy and Zoe Sugg won Choice Web Star: Fashion/Beauty. Plus, the Streamys is a whole awards show dedicated to everything about the internet, so many YouTubers got recognized. YouTubers like Troye Sivan and Shawn Mendes released songs. “Wild,” by Troye Sivan debuted at number five in the United States and “Stitches,” by Shawn Mendes reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100. And as if that wasn’t enough, many YouTubers also found time to create podcasts for their fans. Tyler Oakley has a podcast called Psychobabble and Shane Dawson has a podcast called Shane and Friends where he invites different celebrities onto his show to talk. YouTube is helping creative and unique people release their talents to the world. It’s where Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen, and 5 Seconds of Summer started their celebrity careers. YouTubers have millions of fans that watch them every day because they show off their creativity and abilities.

2015 was a revolutionary time for YouTubers. They found time to create content for their fans, but still produce many other things like books and podcasts. Even though much of the greater population still doesn’t believe that YouTubers are celebrities, in a couple years, they just might be proven wrong.

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About the Contributor
Mae Bruce
Mae Bruce, A&E Editor
 I enjoy listening to music, singing, and writing. I have two cats and a tortoise that I love the most. I strongly believe in ghosts and spend most of my free time watching true crime documentaries. I can't wait to pursue a career in journalism.