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I've always wondered, who (demographically) actively goes to YouTube and watches videos/subs to channels? Among my friend group (mid-20s tech people in Seattle

by xxpor 9y ago

I've always wondered, who (demographically) actively goes to YouTube and watches videos/subs to channels? Among my friend group (mid-20s tech people in Seattle for the most part), YouTube is a non-entity. It never comes up in conversation. I personally never go to the front page of youtube to actually look at anything, I'm always searching for something specific. OTOH, we talk plenty about Netflix and podcasts.

jbreckmckye 9y ago
Anec-data-ly: it seems to be very popular with children and teens. The sons and nephews of several friends really look forward to the next episodes of their favourite YouTube series. Don't know if girls have the same degree of interest, though.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
k-mcgrady 9y ago
I wondered the same thing and asked on a popular post a while back[1]. That thread might interest you. Personally I've been spending more and more of my leisure time on YouTube, particularly on travel vlogs. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13968243 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13968243
tylermac1 9y ago
I'm a software developer in my mid-20s and I subscribe to and regularly watch videos on YouTube. It's probably in the top 10 most visited sites for me. I mainly subscribe to woodworking and programming channels. It's generally something where I'm hoping to learn new skills and techniques, and for that, YouTube is incredible. I also purchased my first home last year (100 years old) and channels like This Old House have been incredibly helpful with many maintenance tasks.
- mturmon 9y ago
  Same here. YouTube is really good for specialist "common knowledge." Woodworking can monetize this, so it's a natural fit for YouTube. But even in non-monetizable domains, it's useful. It has been helpful for various home projects. For instance, electrical techniques like pulling wire through conduit, or car or appliance fixes.
beefsack 9y ago
As a counter-anecdote, frivolous as it is, most of my mates and I are early-30s tech people and most of us sub to channels and actively go to YouTube to watch them. I'd say quite a number of people here would really enjoy Numberphile[1] and Computerphile[2] and I'd heartily recommend subscribing to and keeping up with them. I'm also heavily interested in tabletop and video gaming and I keep up to date with both of those through a combination of YouTube and podcast subscriptions. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/user/numberphile https://www.youtube.com/user/numberphile [2]: https://www.youtube.com/user/Computerphile https://www.youtube.com/user/Computerphile
- theonemind 9y ago
  I'm 37. I subscribe to a number of channels. Really, if you have an interest, someone probably makes videos about it and puts them up on youtube. For example, picking a channel I subscribe to that might appeal to a generic HN taste, take a look at https://www.youtube.com/user/ThoughtbotVideo https://www.youtube.com/user/ThoughtbotVideo
  - beefsack 9y ago
    You're right, there are some incredibly niche channels around. I collect poker chips and there's even a channel for that: Jon Hobby's Great Poker Chip Adventure[1]. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/user/Hobbyphilic https://www.youtube.com/user/Hobbyphilic
- voltagex_ 9y ago
  While we're mentioning channels, try: LGR TechMoan 8 Bit Guy This Does Not Compute Big Clive AvE
SkyMarshal 9y ago
For another datapoint, I regularly watch and subscribe to YouTube and occasionally podcasts (only when driving), but have no interest in Netflix. User generated content is usually more real and interesting to me.
mrkrab 9y ago
I agree with you. I think the site caters mostly to children and young teenagers. Most popular videos, those shown on the home page, are of guys talking to a camera loudly and making silly jokes about videogames and current events, or very bad pop music. And video thumbnails are the most cringy thing you can see on the Internet. http://buyviewsreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/custom-youtube-thumbnails-good-examples.png http://buyviewsreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/custom-... It's sad to admit it but I avoid youtube whenever I can.
- theonemind 9y ago
  If you log in and watch what you like, what shows up on your page really adapts. You can think of it sort of like reddit, many siloed communities. I wouldn't judge what you can get out of it by the default front page.
- vacri 9y ago
  If you think that the front page is representative of all the content on youtube, you're very much mistaken. There are swathes of content for a vast array of topics. Just accept that you're not a majority-demographic viewer and ignore the front page pitched to them.
- antod 9y ago
  I'm in my mid 40s and the youtube front page just offers me punk and 80s thrash metal videos plus some windsurfing and mountain biking - suits me fine. I get a weird culture shock whenever I ever see what it looks like to my kids though.
DanBC 9y ago
I'm > 45 and I watch a couple of YouTube videos per day, more if I'm seeing if something is suitable for my child to watch.
azeirah 9y ago
There's a huge diversity of content on YouTube. The "default" content on YouTube is indeed low-quality crap like what you mention, but there is a lot of great content on there. On YouTube, you can learn about any skill, the quality of "teachers" varies greatly, but there really are some exceptionally good ones out there. I'd suggest you check out some of these channels 1. Adam Neely - a (bass) musician, he hosts Q/A videos very regularly, responding to comments in previous videos. The quality of his comments section is unlike anything I've ever seen before, real, in-depth questions, insights, recommendations etc... Exceptional channel in so many ways 2. 3blue1brown - a mathematician who focuses on helping viewers build an intuition for various dry mathematical concepts. 3. Yoshiki Oshima - this one is very niche, but I mention it because there are uncountably many high-quality niche channels. His channel basically archives old computer research videos, lots of stuff on Alan Kay, Ivan Sunderland, PARC, Douglas Engelbart, Seymour Papert and others. Many many many many many channels with different focuses out there. YouTube has a lot more to offer than what the frontpage shows.
sotojuan 9y ago
Honestly it depends on you and your group. My group doesn't care for Netflix or podcasts, but we watch a lot of YouTube channels revolving around video games. As others have said, YouTube is huge with people around ten years younger than you and more.
cableshaft 9y ago
I watch videos on Youtube all the time (literally just came back from watching one). My main hobby is board games. An excellent way to see how a new game plays is by watching videos of other people playing it and giving reviews on it. The hobby isn't big enough that you'll see shows about this on mainstream TV, but pretty much anyone into modern board games I'd almost guarantee uses Youtube on a regular basis. A few of the bigger channels just for board games include: The Dice Tower, Rahdo Runs Through, DriveThruReviews, Shut Up Sit Down, the BoardGameGeek, and Game Night. Incidentally I was just in Columbus, Ohio for one of the larger board game conventions (Origins) and spotted most of these people working or hanging out.
frgtpsswrdlame 9y ago
I watch a fair amount of youtube, the problem is getting to the good stuff. For example here's a great channel, it just doesn't get many views: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClcE-kVhqyiHCcjYwcpfj9w https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClcE-kVhqyiHCcjYwcpfj9w But I also go there for lectures. All sorts of conferences and talks and debates and lectures are up on youtube, it's just a matter of using the correct search terms. Most serious videos I watch are related to politics so then my challenge is in stepping outside of the mainstream people. No Noam Chomsky for example. When I want to challenge my views I might go to Bill Kristol's channel which is small but good or lookup some libertarian or alt-right stuff. Youtube is one of the greatest things about our current technological age, it just requires a bit of finesse to get past all the crap.
bane 9y ago
I watch tons of youtube, easily as much as other media. But I've spent a lot of time over the years curating my subscription list. I don't really talk about youtube with anybody unless it's to search for something very specific like you mention. I think it's because "my" youtube is such a map to my interests that it's likely to be almost entirely non-interesting to anybody else, so there's really no point.
- skinnymuch 9y ago
  I'm interested. What are some of your favs?
  - bane 9y ago
    I mostly watch youtube to unwind and not think so hard, a few I tend to get really into: On cooking & food: jastownsendandson - 18th century history and recipes foodwishes - nice succinct no fuss recipes, focus on the recipes TabiEats - casual/fast food reviews and stuff from Japan gundog4314 - reviews of military rations Global news and Culture: PBS NewsHour - public news, nice balanced and thoughtful news without lots of histrionics ARIRANG TV - korean state cultural TV, mostly because I have Korean family members, but some interesting shows from time to time also "ARIRANG NEWS" for regional news and local Korean politics and ARIRANG CULTURE for more specific Korean arts stuff Great Big Story - hard to explain, but brilliant short videos from all over that make you feel better about the world after a hard day Big Think - another hard to explain channel TheJapanChannel - mostly interesting vignettes from Japan, I find them kind of soothing for some reason Talk to me in Korean - supposed to be a language learning course, but interesting insights into Korean culture, sometimes some interesting walks around different parts of Korea, skip the language stuff and enjoy the rest Abroad In Japan - an Englishman in Japan, very dry humor, endlessly entertaining Korean Englishman - an Englishman in Korea, less dry humor, also endlessly entertaining OsiyoTV - Cherokee Nation TV, well produced show on Cherokee topics 2hearts1seoul - nice fairly calm looks at stuff in Korea NHKWorld - Japanese national shows Simon and Martina - two hyper hipsters in Asia, I like them, but they can be polarizing TheKoreaSociety - serious talks on Korea and regional issues Retrocomputing and gaming and stuff: Kim Justice - some incredible histories of the UK computer gaming scene, fantastically produced all around, an actual hidden gem on youtube TNT Amusements - business advertisement for a company that refurbs arcade games, fun crew and can be entertaining and informative from time to time Pixelmusement - old games, my favorite show is "Shovelware Diggers"...strangely relaxing review of crapware dos and early windows games from a 1000 games CD. Retro Core - English reviews of retro games from Japan. The guy who does it is kind of infectious and opinionated, but has a definite voice. Computerphile - interesting old to new light computing topics The Ben Heck Show - various electronics and retro gaming/computing topics, serious hardware hacking Top Hat Gaming Man - reviews of various games and stuff, puts a bit of effort into production Grand Illusions - weird toys and nick-nacks, infectious host Techmoan - odd old things, just watch it EEVblog - intense teardowns of everything Game Sack - great, well produced retro gaming Metaljesusrocks - another great, well produced retro gaming show Matt Barton - his show "Matt Chat" has interviews with some absolute gaming legends, amazing stuff Jeremy Parish - one of the "old men" of gaming journalism, has lots of on-line presence, but does tons of interesting reviews Cars: Motor Trend Channel - you know what this is about fullychargedshow - electric cars Music: NewRetroWave Generic Male DJs A Tribe Called Red WinhamhillLovers Movies: RedLetterMedia - sarcasm at its finest Nerdwriter1 - great analysis of films
jeffmould 9y ago
My girlfriend's son (12) & daughter (10) watch YouTube more than they watch TV. Her son is into gaming and watches mostly gaming channels. Her daughter likes some of the younger YouTubers who cater to her age/demographic in content. I hear them around their friends and that is a lot of what they talk about.
manigandham 9y ago
People don't discuss "youtube" - they talk about specific channels and subscriptions as they would tv shows or movies. Because of vast amount of content on youtube, outside of the top channels in any specific topic, you might not even share any subscriptions with any of your friends.
Semaphor 9y ago
My fiancée is 28 and loves watching YT. From Cinema Sins and horror movie reviews, over makeup / hair styling tips, to talk shows and music videos. She's an astrophysicist and works as a data scientist. I, 31 and a computer scientist working as a software dev, on the other hand, hate almost everything that's not in text form.
tyfon 9y ago
I am 36, living in Norway working as an analyst. We do not have regular TV and my wife and I usually watch youtube if we watch something at all. The evenings we have spare time, we fire up the PS3 or PS4 and play something. Much more engaging than TV :) The kids use netflix etc though, but also a lot of youtube. There is one thing I miss about youtube from the earlier days though. People uploading and creating stuff because they wanted to do it, not because they wanted to make money. It makes such a huge difference.
- j2bax 9y ago
  I still follow a handful of channels that don't feel like they exist to advertise/monetize. They are far too passionate about their content matter for that to be the case. That said I hope the creators are being compensated well for their efforts.
  - pc86 9y ago
    Many of them are probably on Patreon even if they don't shill it constantly in the videos. If you enjoy their content you should try to give them something - I follow several content creators who make over a thousand dollars a month, almost entirely from $1-5/video donations.
rocqua 9y ago
I really find the 'trending' page of youtube to be horrible. However, the personalized suggestions are great, youtube is pretty good at showing me stuff I want to see. Combine this with a few channels I actively follow, and there goes another afternoon.
lostboys67 9y ago
well I use youtube for Reviews of tech hardware e.g. researching soundcards pc components and the like and also game play guides eg GOW4 horde mode. Oh and Red VS Blue :-)
kowdermeister 9y ago
YouTube is my second most visited site. I don't even watch TV, I love my channels I subscribed to. It's 50%-50% dev / entertainment related.

by xxpor 9y ago

jbreckmckye 9y ago

Anec-data-ly: it seems to be very popular with children and teens. The sons and nephews of several friends really look forward to the next episodes of their favourite YouTube series. Don't know if girls have the same degree of interest, though.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

k-mcgrady 9y ago

I wondered the same thing and asked on a popular post a while back[1]. That thread might interest you. Personally I've been spending more and more of my leisure time on YouTube, particularly on travel vlogs. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13968243 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13968243

tylermac1 9y ago

I'm a software developer in my mid-20s and I subscribe to and regularly watch videos on YouTube. It's probably in the top 10 most visited sites for me. I mainly subscribe to woodworking and programming channels. It's generally something where I'm hoping to learn new skills and techniques, and for that, YouTube is incredible. I also purchased my first home last year (100 years old) and channels like This Old House have been incredibly helpful with many maintenance tasks.

mturmon 9y ago
Same here. YouTube is really good for specialist "common knowledge." Woodworking can monetize this, so it's a natural fit for YouTube. But even in non-monetizable domains, it's useful. It has been helpful for various home projects. For instance, electrical techniques like pulling wire through conduit, or car or appliance fixes.

beefsack 9y ago

As a counter-anecdote, frivolous as it is, most of my mates and I are early-30s tech people and most of us sub to channels and actively go to YouTube to watch them. I'd say quite a number of people here would really enjoy Numberphile[1] and Computerphile[2] and I'd heartily recommend subscribing to and keeping up with them. I'm also heavily interested in tabletop and video gaming and I keep up to date with both of those through a combination of YouTube and podcast subscriptions. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/user/numberphile https://www.youtube.com/user/numberphile [2]: https://www.youtube.com/user/Computerphile https://www.youtube.com/user/Computerphile

theonemind 9y ago
I'm 37. I subscribe to a number of channels. Really, if you have an interest, someone probably makes videos about it and puts them up on youtube. For example, picking a channel I subscribe to that might appeal to a generic HN taste, take a look at https://www.youtube.com/user/ThoughtbotVideo https://www.youtube.com/user/ThoughtbotVideo
- beefsack 9y ago
  You're right, there are some incredibly niche channels around. I collect poker chips and there's even a channel for that: Jon Hobby's Great Poker Chip Adventure[1]. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/user/Hobbyphilic https://www.youtube.com/user/Hobbyphilic
voltagex_ 9y ago
While we're mentioning channels, try: LGR TechMoan 8 Bit Guy This Does Not Compute Big Clive AvE

SkyMarshal 9y ago

For another datapoint, I regularly watch and subscribe to YouTube and occasionally podcasts (only when driving), but have no interest in Netflix. User generated content is usually more real and interesting to me.

mrkrab 9y ago

I agree with you. I think the site caters mostly to children and young teenagers. Most popular videos, those shown on the home page, are of guys talking to a camera loudly and making silly jokes about videogames and current events, or very bad pop music. And video thumbnails are the most cringy thing you can see on the Internet. http://buyviewsreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/custom-youtube-thumbnails-good-examples.png http://buyviewsreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/custom-... It's sad to admit it but I avoid youtube whenever I can.

theonemind 9y ago
If you log in and watch what you like, what shows up on your page really adapts. You can think of it sort of like reddit, many siloed communities. I wouldn't judge what you can get out of it by the default front page.
vacri 9y ago
If you think that the front page is representative of all the content on youtube, you're very much mistaken. There are swathes of content for a vast array of topics. Just accept that you're not a majority-demographic viewer and ignore the front page pitched to them.
antod 9y ago
I'm in my mid 40s and the youtube front page just offers me punk and 80s thrash metal videos plus some windsurfing and mountain biking - suits me fine. I get a weird culture shock whenever I ever see what it looks like to my kids though.

DanBC 9y ago

I'm > 45 and I watch a couple of YouTube videos per day, more if I'm seeing if something is suitable for my child to watch.

azeirah 9y ago

There's a huge diversity of content on YouTube. The "default" content on YouTube is indeed low-quality crap like what you mention, but there is a lot of great content on there. On YouTube, you can learn about any skill, the quality of "teachers" varies greatly, but there really are some exceptionally good ones out there. I'd suggest you check out some of these channels 1. Adam Neely - a (bass) musician, he hosts Q/A videos very regularly, responding to comments in previous videos. The quality of his comments section is unlike anything I've ever seen before, real, in-depth questions, insights, recommendations etc... Exceptional channel in so many ways 2. 3blue1brown - a mathematician who focuses on helping viewers build an intuition for various dry mathematical concepts. 3. Yoshiki Oshima - this one is very niche, but I mention it because there are uncountably many high-quality niche channels. His channel basically archives old computer research videos, lots of stuff on Alan Kay, Ivan Sunderland, PARC, Douglas Engelbart, Seymour Papert and others. Many many many many many channels with different focuses out there. YouTube has a lot more to offer than what the frontpage shows.

sotojuan 9y ago

Honestly it depends on you and your group. My group doesn't care for Netflix or podcasts, but we watch a lot of YouTube channels revolving around video games. As others have said, YouTube is huge with people around ten years younger than you and more.

cableshaft 9y ago

I watch videos on Youtube all the time (literally just came back from watching one). My main hobby is board games. An excellent way to see how a new game plays is by watching videos of other people playing it and giving reviews on it. The hobby isn't big enough that you'll see shows about this on mainstream TV, but pretty much anyone into modern board games I'd almost guarantee uses Youtube on a regular basis. A few of the bigger channels just for board games include: The Dice Tower, Rahdo Runs Through, DriveThruReviews, Shut Up Sit Down, the BoardGameGeek, and Game Night. Incidentally I was just in Columbus, Ohio for one of the larger board game conventions (Origins) and spotted most of these people working or hanging out.

frgtpsswrdlame 9y ago

I watch a fair amount of youtube, the problem is getting to the good stuff. For example here's a great channel, it just doesn't get many views: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClcE-kVhqyiHCcjYwcpfj9w https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClcE-kVhqyiHCcjYwcpfj9w But I also go there for lectures. All sorts of conferences and talks and debates and lectures are up on youtube, it's just a matter of using the correct search terms. Most serious videos I watch are related to politics so then my challenge is in stepping outside of the mainstream people. No Noam Chomsky for example. When I want to challenge my views I might go to Bill Kristol's channel which is small but good or lookup some libertarian or alt-right stuff. Youtube is one of the greatest things about our current technological age, it just requires a bit of finesse to get past all the crap.

bane 9y ago

I watch tons of youtube, easily as much as other media. But I've spent a lot of time over the years curating my subscription list. I don't really talk about youtube with anybody unless it's to search for something very specific like you mention. I think it's because "my" youtube is such a map to my interests that it's likely to be almost entirely non-interesting to anybody else, so there's really no point.

skinnymuch 9y ago
I'm interested. What are some of your favs?
- bane 9y ago
  I mostly watch youtube to unwind and not think so hard, a few I tend to get really into: On cooking & food: jastownsendandson - 18th century history and recipes foodwishes - nice succinct no fuss recipes, focus on the recipes TabiEats - casual/fast food reviews and stuff from Japan gundog4314 - reviews of military rations Global news and Culture: PBS NewsHour - public news, nice balanced and thoughtful news without lots of histrionics ARIRANG TV - korean state cultural TV, mostly because I have Korean family members, but some interesting shows from time to time also "ARIRANG NEWS" for regional news and local Korean politics and ARIRANG CULTURE for more specific Korean arts stuff Great Big Story - hard to explain, but brilliant short videos from all over that make you feel better about the world after a hard day Big Think - another hard to explain channel TheJapanChannel - mostly interesting vignettes from Japan, I find them kind of soothing for some reason Talk to me in Korean - supposed to be a language learning course, but interesting insights into Korean culture, sometimes some interesting walks around different parts of Korea, skip the language stuff and enjoy the rest Abroad In Japan - an Englishman in Japan, very dry humor, endlessly entertaining Korean Englishman - an Englishman in Korea, less dry humor, also endlessly entertaining OsiyoTV - Cherokee Nation TV, well produced show on Cherokee topics 2hearts1seoul - nice fairly calm looks at stuff in Korea NHKWorld - Japanese national shows Simon and Martina - two hyper hipsters in Asia, I like them, but they can be polarizing TheKoreaSociety - serious talks on Korea and regional issues Retrocomputing and gaming and stuff: Kim Justice - some incredible histories of the UK computer gaming scene, fantastically produced all around, an actual hidden gem on youtube TNT Amusements - business advertisement for a company that refurbs arcade games, fun crew and can be entertaining and informative from time to time Pixelmusement - old games, my favorite show is "Shovelware Diggers"...strangely relaxing review of crapware dos and early windows games from a 1000 games CD. Retro Core - English reviews of retro games from Japan. The guy who does it is kind of infectious and opinionated, but has a definite voice. Computerphile - interesting old to new light computing topics The Ben Heck Show - various electronics and retro gaming/computing topics, serious hardware hacking Top Hat Gaming Man - reviews of various games and stuff, puts a bit of effort into production Grand Illusions - weird toys and nick-nacks, infectious host Techmoan - odd old things, just watch it EEVblog - intense teardowns of everything Game Sack - great, well produced retro gaming Metaljesusrocks - another great, well produced retro gaming show Matt Barton - his show "Matt Chat" has interviews with some absolute gaming legends, amazing stuff Jeremy Parish - one of the "old men" of gaming journalism, has lots of on-line presence, but does tons of interesting reviews Cars: Motor Trend Channel - you know what this is about fullychargedshow - electric cars Music: NewRetroWave Generic Male DJs A Tribe Called Red WinhamhillLovers Movies: RedLetterMedia - sarcasm at its finest Nerdwriter1 - great analysis of films

jeffmould 9y ago

My girlfriend's son (12) & daughter (10) watch YouTube more than they watch TV. Her son is into gaming and watches mostly gaming channels. Her daughter likes some of the younger YouTubers who cater to her age/demographic in content. I hear them around their friends and that is a lot of what they talk about.

manigandham 9y ago

People don't discuss "youtube" - they talk about specific channels and subscriptions as they would tv shows or movies. Because of vast amount of content on youtube, outside of the top channels in any specific topic, you might not even share any subscriptions with any of your friends.

Semaphor 9y ago

My fiancée is 28 and loves watching YT. From Cinema Sins and horror movie reviews, over makeup / hair styling tips, to talk shows and music videos. She's an astrophysicist and works as a data scientist. I, 31 and a computer scientist working as a software dev, on the other hand, hate almost everything that's not in text form.

tyfon 9y ago

I am 36, living in Norway working as an analyst. We do not have regular TV and my wife and I usually watch youtube if we watch something at all. The evenings we have spare time, we fire up the PS3 or PS4 and play something. Much more engaging than TV :) The kids use netflix etc though, but also a lot of youtube. There is one thing I miss about youtube from the earlier days though. People uploading and creating stuff because they wanted to do it, not because they wanted to make money. It makes such a huge difference.

j2bax 9y ago
I still follow a handful of channels that don't feel like they exist to advertise/monetize. They are far too passionate about their content matter for that to be the case. That said I hope the creators are being compensated well for their efforts.
- pc86 9y ago
  Many of them are probably on Patreon even if they don't shill it constantly in the videos. If you enjoy their content you should try to give them something - I follow several content creators who make over a thousand dollars a month, almost entirely from $1-5/video donations.

rocqua 9y ago

I really find the 'trending' page of youtube to be horrible. However, the personalized suggestions are great, youtube is pretty good at showing me stuff I want to see. Combine this with a few channels I actively follow, and there goes another afternoon.

lostboys67 9y ago

well I use youtube for Reviews of tech hardware e.g. researching soundcards pc components and the like and also game play guides eg GOW4 horde mode. Oh and Red VS Blue :-)

kowdermeister 9y ago

YouTube is my second most visited site. I don't even watch TV, I love my channels I subscribed to. It's 50%-50% dev / entertainment related.