By MACY BAGBY/Contributor
YouTube, a video-sharing platform known for tutorials, viral challenges, vlogs and live events, is popular among college students.
Carter Phillips, a senior health science major, spends at least four hours a day on YouTube.
“I mostly watch YouTube for entertainment and educational purposes,” he said.
Jada McGee, a senior health science major, has increased her time on YouTube recently due to a new interest: watching hoarders get their houses cleaned.
“I have spent five-to-10 hours on YouTube, if I am being honest,” McGee said. “Recently, I have been watching hoarders. I was so intrigued once that one [episode] was over, I started watching episode after episode after episode.”
According to a study by the Pew Research Center released in February, 85% of all adults and 90% of adults under 50 watch content on YouTube, which uses an algorithm that recommends videos to the user based on content they previously watched.
Pew Center researchers also found:
- More people use YouTube than Facebook (70%), Instagram (50%) and other social media sites;
- 65% of adults 65 and older use YouTube;
- Around a third of users regularly get news on the platform.
“I love to use YouTube Music to help with my studies,” Bryant Dukes, a junior mass communications major, said.
Dukes has watched content on YouTube over the years.
“I remember watching ‘Smosh Games,’ PewDiePie, Markiplier,” Dukes said. “I still watch him to this day. People make a brand or something of themselves off of that and a lot of good things to many people.”
YouTube is often Duke’s go-to platform.
“I used to watch it on my TV a lot when I was in high school,” Dukes said. “Now I have a proper gaming PC built, so I just watch it on my PC as well because that is where I do my work.”
Michael McKelvey, a senior health science major, watches things on YouTube when he eats.
“Ninety percent of the time, when I am fixing to eat something,” McKelvey said.
YouTube is free unless users pay for a premium subscription, which provides videos without interruptions from advertisements. This is another reason college students, including McGee, often prefer it over other streaming services.
“You can watch a full movie or a full episode for free,” McGee said. “Given that there are ads, it is still free. It is great, especially for college students or people in general that cannot pay $30 a month (for streaming).”
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