# Popularity of YouTube Videos **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 28, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-youtube-videos/775804 "2016-12-28T23:31:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-youtube-videos/775804/1 "2016-12-28T23:31:03Z")
It seems videos of kids and teenagers doing potentially painful / degrading / disgusting challenges are immensely popuplar, like two people putting gross stuff on pizza or in smoothees and then attempting to eat it, or the “eat it or wear it” challenge, The Pizza Challenge: (51 Million Views) Eat it or Wear it (8 Million View) There’s also things like the “Beenboozeled” challenge with gross jelly beans Some videos with kids getting their ears pierced have a surprising number of views. [Shylynn getting her ears pierced a second time - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=869CF7CdEYk) (900K views) And here’s one where a teenager wanted her Tragus pierced despite being afraid of needles and got 26,000 views. The mom thought it was a funny, fun family outing to “Pay someone money to torture my daughter” and posted the video. Are people that enjoy this stuff necessarily sadist or pedophiles, or does getting a laugh out of people voluntarily torturing themselves transcend that into normalcy. Does it make a difference if the pain isn't voluntary, like getting immunizations or hurting your ankle in gymnastics? Here's a girl freaking out about getting her shots that got 4 million views and her parents are offering it for licensing. Or if you're scared out of your mind in a haunted house This one is interesting in the light of my comments a year ago Halloween about the psychology of suspending your belief in these situtations- the girls seem to flip back and forth between understanding that there's just people in the costumes that can respond to requests ("don't scare us or we'll get made at you") and freaking out when they do anyway. I’m assuming if the videos are online it’s implied consent that they want people to view and laugh at them? Most of them are filed under the “comedy” category. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-youtube-videos/775804/2 "2016-12-28T23:39:46Z")
Was there a question here? ---
**Author:** ![albino\_manatee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/albino_manatee/32/2_2.png) [@albino\_manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/albino_manatee)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-youtube-videos/775804/3 "2016-12-29T13:49:13Z")
the younger generation is the catalyst behind youtube’s long-term viability … teenagers think they are invulnerable … fifty years later those same youths find out differently. there are, however, side-effects to this madness … bullying and peer-pressure are such indicators. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-youtube-videos/775804/4 "2016-12-29T14:03:19Z")
Okay, show of hands–who else had to google “tragus”? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-youtube-videos/775804/5 "2016-12-29T14:07:55Z")
Your examples are only a few of many previously unfulfilled niches that Youtube has managed to satisfy. Some other examples are cat videos, unboxing videos (watching people take things out of the packaging after a shopping trip - usually aimed at girls) and pimple popping videos. Many of the most profitable channels on Youtube are about watching other people play video games. Some of the latter get millions of views _per month_. There is nothing very odd going on. Those are just niches that were hard to fill with general audience TV shows. Still, before Youtube, there was Fear Factor, America’s Funniest Home videos and COPS which tried to exploit some of the same fascination. Now you can watch any of it on demand and plenty of people do. My officemate for example can’t get enough videos of people hurting themselves in weird ways. I often find my daughters in front of the computer on Saturday morning watching one unboxing video after another. I don’t get it but they aren’t made for me. I have my own preferences like watching airplane procedure and Air Traffic Control videos that don’t appeal to the vast majority of people. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-youtube-videos/775804/6 "2016-12-29T14:26:27Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > pimple popping videos. Also, botfly extraction videos. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-youtube-videos/775804/7 "2016-12-29T14:32:09Z")
Since this is about entertainment, let’s move it to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-youtube-videos/775804/8 "2016-12-29T15:43:49Z")
My YT cache of suggested videos is full of cooking videos, music videos, and critters being funny. Not a single one of them is about teenagers doing stupid teenager stuff. Doesn’t YT suggest videos based on your browsing history rather than what’s “popular”? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-youtube-videos/775804/9 "2016-12-29T16:10:51Z")
If you like that kinda stuff, go check out youtube for fail/instant karma/dashcam videos. I can watch those for hours, though I’ll usually skip a few seconds ahead if I see people arm wrestling. Also, you can get some balance in your life by watching Win videos. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-youtube-videos/775804/10 "2016-12-29T19:37:18Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > My YT cache of suggested videos is full of cooking videos, music videos, and critters being funny. > Not a single one of them is about teenagers doing stupid teenager stuff. > Doesn’t YT suggest videos based on your browsing history rather than what’s “popular”? I think it might depend upon the source. I watch YT via ROKU and there are different ways for it to present potential videos to you. i.e. Popular/Recently Uploaded/Humor/Music etc. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-youtube-videos/775804/11 "2016-12-29T21:50:24Z")
My YouTube suggestions are mostly math stuff (Numberphile and Vi Hart) and maker stuff (mostly KingOfRandom, plus a few others). ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popularity-of-youtube-videos/775804/12 "2016-12-29T22:23:06Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Also, botfly extraction videos. There’s something inexplicably fascinating about “mango worm” videos. Anyways, a majority of my yt subscriptions are indeed about video games, but not the popular “let’s play” variety, but in-depth histories & critiques of software, hardware & developers/publishers – Channels like SuperBunnyHop, Guru Larry, Mathewmatosis, Digit Foundry, Extra Credit, etc.