Hello!

I had an idea a while back for a series on YouTube called ‘The Parent Perspective’ where I’d interview my mum on matters that are generally not asked of adults – I wanted to start with YouTube because both me and my sister love YouTube and my mum knows more about it than your average parent, but I wanted to see whether being a parent changed her perspective on the matter.

Hence – The Parent Perspective. Also, it’s alliterative.

So I made a list of ten questions – some more serious than others – and asked my mum to send me her responses. 

Name 3 (or more) YouTubers
Carrie Fletcher, Sprinkle of Glitter, Zoella, Dan and Phil, Dan is not on fire, Sacconejolys, Eduardo someone? In tyler we trust, Alfie Days, and that American family – the Shaytards or something like that??

I’m very impressed – apart from some questionable spelling, naming Dan Howell twice and saying Eduardo Sacconejoly (a 1 year old child of the Sacconejolys) is a YouTuber that was a pretty good list! Also In Tyler We Trust are a band I don’t really follow anymore… awkward.

What kind of videos do people make on YouTube?
Vlogs about anything and everything – beauty, hauls, look books. (have I understood the question properly??)

Yeah, Mum, you’ve got it – you’re showing a great understanding of YouTube. Proud of you.

Do you think YouTubers can be considered ‘celebrities’?
The meaning of the word ‘celebrity’ is “One who is widely known and of great popular interest.” So I guess yes, YouTubers are celebrities as the big ones have thousands and thousands of ‘followers’

Exactly what I think – the biggest YouTubers have tens of millions of subscribers all over the world, I think ‘traditional’ celebrities are intimidated by YouTubers because they’re just as successful.

What did you think of YouTube when I first started watching it?
I was very wary as, obviously only 52 year old paedophiles used the internet and were lurking there to entrap innocent young girls! But I soon learnt this was not the case and my views have changed

I’m glad. I don’t think Zoella would be too fond of being referred to as a 52 year old man, ‘lol’.

What do you think of YouTube now?
I think it is an extremely powerful force, often under estimated, and can be a huge influence on society today. I have been constantly surprised by the knowledge that you have and things that are discussed and debated on YouTube – it can be a huge positive influence. Obviously it does have a dark side but I think as long as people are educated to the dangers it is possible to be safe by using common sense.

There’s a lot of internet safety awareness online nowadays and a lot of big YouTubers help promote that – I’ve seen so many videos about dealing with hate online and warning people about meeting up with strangers they met on the internet that I think the internet is generally a much safer place than it was six years ago when I started using it independently.

What do you think of YouTube as a money making platform?
I think access to it should always remain completely free – that is why it was so successful as anyone can access anything. Advertising is the obvious way to make it a paying option for the larger YouTubers and from a marketing point of view it is the ideal way to meet your target audience so I think it could benefit everyone. I always support intiative, good business and making money!

Exactly, I think that people who are completely devoting their lives to YouTube deserve to be able to live off it. I don’t mean that someone with minimal viewership should be able to claim money from YouTube because it’s their life, I mean that YouTube should be giving money to high-interaction YouTubers so that they can continue to provide content for their viewers while earning enough to continue living. I think that makes sense.

Do you think YouTube will ‘phase out’ or grow into something bigger?
Definitely grow into something bigger – the generation being brought up on it are just reaching working age and I am sure they will use it to reach target audiences – I don’t think there has ever before been such an effective way of reaching so many people within particular genre. I think the influence of it is severely underestimated at the moment but will be realised in time. I don’t think it is just a fad or a gimmick – I think used correctly it is an ideal vehicle for mass communication.

Answers like this are the reason I wanted to write this blog post – YouTube is a big thing and people are starting to realise how influential it can be. I wanted to show that YouTube isn’t just a young peoples thing – my mum gets YouTube and it’s not like she’s part of the generation that is way beyond computers and technology, she gets most things and is pretty good at it but she didn’t grow up with it like I did. I just think it’s interesting and I’m desperately trying not to offend my mum at the same time.

Are there any YouTubers you think you might be interested in watching?
I have watched some ‘how to’ videos when I need to do something – most recently ‘How do remove a drawer from a filing cabinet’! I’ve also watched several music videos – I love the fact I can call up anything from any time and watch it. And of course I watch the amazing SophieCountsClouds every week!

I don’t even have to self promo today. (two videos a week for the next couple of months, how exciting)

Any additional comments on YouTube?
Think I’ve said it all really – and I mean, where else could you watch Goths dancing to Thomas the Tank Engine??

That’s my mother, really showing off her internet knowledge here.

Lastly, how do you spell the name of the family of Irish daily vloggers that I love?
Sacconejoly (Google was around long before YouTube!!)

She knows how to cheat the system. Fabulous.

And there’s my mum’s views on YouTube – I was very impressed with her answers and maybe one day I’ll convince her to make this into a YouTube video but for now – she’s quite enjoying blogging, I think!

Please leave opinions and other stuff in the comments, this could get really interesting.

Thank you for reading,

Sophie xx

That’s where you’ll find me:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-3CmMYbZuSV5eSvGgkW5Cg
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiealuckett
Tumblr: http://lost-in-a-nebula.tumblr.com/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/sophiealuckett
Snapchat: @SophieALuckett