The Majority of Gen Z Describe Themselves as Video Content Creators

For the first two decades of the social internet, lurkers ruled. Among Gen Z, they're in the minority, according to survey data from YouTube. From a report: Tech industry insiders used to cite a rule of thumb stating that only one in ten of an online community's users generally post new content, with the masses logging on only to consume images, video or other updates. Now younger generations are flipping that divide, a survey by the video platform said. YouTube found that 65 percent of Gen Z, which it defined as people between the ages of 14 and 24, describe themselves as video content creators -- making lurkers a minority.

The finding came from responses from 350 members of Gen Z in the U.S., out of a wider survey that asked thousands of people about how they spend time online, including whether they consider themselves video creators. YouTube did the survey in partnership with research firm SmithGeiger, as part of its annual report on trends on the platform. YouTube's report says that after watching videos online, many members of Gen Z respond with videos of their own, uploading their own commentary, reaction videos, deep dives into content posted by others and more. This kind of interaction often develops in response to videos on pop culture topics such as "RuPaul's Drag Race" or the Fallout video game series. Fan-created content can win more watch time than the original source material, the report says.

like the local band scene

[crgrace]

It's like the local band scene when I was still playing back in the 2000s. There were a lot of shows where 80% of the audience were people in other bands in a similar genre.

Cat chasing its own tail.

Wrong metric - need 5 year cohort

[will4]

Are you a video content creator?
Were you a video content creator 5 years ago?
What is your age, gender and country of residence?

Expect to see that lots of video content creators stop uploading content from ages 26-30 due to aging out of the early 20s post-teenager age group.

It may just be the dividing line where the mass of youth finds out that getting a few trivial rungs up on the social media popularity scoreboard does not matter.

Re:

[MacMann]

I was about to make a similar comment. I remember going out drinking with friends and looking for a bar that hadn't yet reached capacity. We got to a bar that was "full" but had room yet for us. The guy at the door checking ID and taking admission made a big deal about how many bands were going to play that night. As the night ran on I realized that most of the people in the bar were those that had appeared on stage. All of the bands were forgettable. All I really remember is that the worst bands were

Re:

[dimko]

But in reality they are... NPC...

Re:

[TrentTheThief]

Nailed it.

The "I'm a Syndrome" never took over an entire generation before. Shit's gonna decline pretty fast, now.

It's too bad civilization is circling the drain. Glad I won't see what it'll be like in 20 years.

You younger people are really screwed.

If everybody does it

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

I guess the real creative types are the ones that don't "create content".

i am a content flusher

[znrt]

i create content every morining. though i just look at it and the flush it rather than sharing it.

(may any gen z please indulge, no offense, i love that they use tech to communicate, it's just that the term "content creator" is so borderline retarded that i just felt like throwing a pun. i had to. ok, now ... flushhhhhhh)

Who's watching all of those?

[Quinn_Inuit]

This brings to mind a speech from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead:

We're actors... We pledged our identities, secure in the conventions of our trade; that someone
would be watching. And than, gradually, no one was. We were caught, high and dry. It was not until the
murder's long soliloquy that we were able to look around; frozen we were in the profil, our eyes searched you out,
first confidently, then hesitantly, then desperately as each patch of turf, each log, each exposed corned in
every direction proved uninhabited, and all the while the murderous King addressed the horizon with his dreary
interminable guilt... Our heads began to move, wary as lizards, the corpse of unsullied Rosalinda peeped through
his fingers, and the King faltered. Even then, habit and a stubborn trust that our audience spied upon us from
behind the nearest bush, forced our bodies to blunder on long after they had emptied of meaning, until like
runaway carts they dragged to a halt. No one came forward. No one shouted at us. The silence was unbreakable, it
imposed itself upon us; it was obscene.

1 in 10 was already too many.

[Petersko]

The idea that 1 in 10 people have something worth saying, online or not, is ludicrous. We're drowning in the generated noise of the irrelevant and the uninteresting.

I suppose that also includes me. I accept the label.

Re:

[jenningsthecat]

The idea that 1 in 10 people have something worth saying, online or not, is ludicrous. We're drowning in the generated noise of the irrelevant and the uninteresting.

I suppose that also includes me. I accept the label.

The difference between us and them is that we know we're ultimately irrelevant and uninteresting. They don't realize that they are, and if they did they wouldn't admit it even to themselves because it's a core component of their identities.

Re:

[pauljlucas]

Even worse is that their chosen medium is video. For most things, I prefer text: easier to search and random access.

I read programming blog sites and unfortunately most people can't write well either. (Shocker, I know.)

Reminds me of bloggers a few years back

[Robert Goatse]

99% of them have an audience of one. I have a feeling the vast majority of "content creators" might have a handful of subscribers, but mostly are doing it for themselves with hopes to someday go viral. lol

Re:Reminds me of bloggers a few years back

[timeOday]

Or, maybe this means creating video no longer carries the expectation of that being a big deal or having a big audience. Just like posting to slashdot doesn't necessarily make you a wannabe celebrity.

Re: Reminds me of bloggers a few years back

[Fortnite_Beast]

Wait a sec. When did posting to Slashdot make you a wannabe celebrity? Is this a clever nickname joke?

Re:

[LazarusQLong]

some time ago, I posted a number of videos about a certain type of thing and it's history... They were short videos. I didn't post them because I felt no one else was, rather I posted them because I couldn't find anyone else doing it... So I presumed Youtube was making finding these things difficult, they do that with some topics sometimes, apparently. So I posted them so that other people who were interested in the topic may have a better chance of finding something on that topic.

I almost immediately had

Re:

[NoWayNoShapeNoForm]

Or to mooch free stuff from retailers & eateries by claiming to be An Internet Influencer

Kids in my midwest mid 90s town

[vrhelmutt]

Identified as 'Big Money Hustlas' and drank Faygo. Where was the news about that? The sad part is that they still had a 100% better chance of becoming well-adjusted contributing adults than whatever society is currently doing to kids.

I doubt it

[alta]

Let me guess. This was an online survey. Using online tools. From people they, wait for it, found online...

Prove to me you have a good population that includes people who are low income, people who work on farms, throw in a few Amish. And I'm assuming they're only talking about the US. Otherwise, if you're expanding this to be world wide, I REALLY doubt it's accuracy.

Not all content is created equal

[Smonster]

Anyone can upload a video to a website, but the majority of these folks are content creators the same way someone who practices guitar a few times every month is a musician. Technically true. But still...... Though I will say this, it is far better to create that just consume. Even if most of the creating does nothing more of greater value than bring the creator joy.

Re:

[Smonster]

indeed

In the 90s, everybody was a web site creator

[Tony Isaac]

Remember Geocities?

This is the same sense in which "everybody" is now a video creator. Your phone has a little button on it to record video. If you can push that, you're a video creator. It doesn't mean that it's worth watching.

Re: In the 90s, everybody was a web site creator

[Fortnite_Beast]

Geocities. Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Would it surprise you to learn that Angelfire [lycos.com] is still around?

Re:

[NoWayNoShapeNoForm]

Wish I had mod points - +1 for 'Insightful' comment

Not a great signal.

[Eunomion]

It means they see online content creation as the main mode of self-expression, if not the only one. So they're basically being pimped by social media.