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This strikes me as an unfair characterization of those YouTubers. I’ve followed them for a while and have quite a different impression. Today’s video from Laow

by _iyig 7y ago

This strikes me as an unfair characterization of those YouTubers. I’ve followed them for a while and have quite a different impression. Today’s video from Laowhy86 is a good short summation of his time in China, and how his perspective has shifted over time while living there and running a business, marrying a Chinese woman, starting a family, etc: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ed4ryYokLzU https://youtube.com/watch?v=ed4ryYokLzU

zhhkthrow 7y ago
No, I think it's a completely fair assessment. In fact, it probably doesn't even go far enough in terms of criticism. These two expats are notorious in the non-expat world for perpetuating unsubstantiated stereotypes and myths about China for the sake of views. They know there's an audience for it and they've adjusted their content accordingly. Somehow, they've managed to convince a vast number of people that they are experts on the subject matter despite all evidence to the contrary. If you listen to what they say you'll end up with a very distorted view of reality. As the parent commenter said, there are plenty of higher quality Youtubers and vloggers who do a much better job at describing what life is really like for expats living in China. In general, the more reliable and accurate sources are the people who don't make their living from producing clickbait videos.
- _iyig 7y ago
  You’ve offered a very general critique. In contrast, the video I linked mentions many specific events and incidents which informed the speaker’s impression of China. Give that you’re making vague assertions on a throwaway account, and given that I’ve followed these YouTubers for years and corroborated the kinds of things they’ve said with friends who visit China or are Chinese, I’m not inclined to agree with you. If you believe there are “higher-quality” China YouTubers with a different view, don’t just allude to them, please share links.
  - eznoonze 7y ago
    >If you believe there are “higher-quality” China YouTubers with a different view, don’t just allude to them, please share links. I hope they don't say "Nathan Rich". ;-)
dirtyid 7y ago
I found Laowhy86 slightly more genuine. I have not viewed their videos in a while, maybe I got an unfair representation seeing their content at the height of clickbait YouTube titles and expats flunking out of China. Regardless, per my comment below, these are youtubers who optimize(d?) content that often distorts reality (as another user describes) and should not form the basis of understanding and discussions on China. But for many lay users, they are. The Chinese perspective from an expat lens will be vastly different from the Chinese perspective from a Chinese lens etc. I'll go through his summation video after work, someone else linked to his wife's channel. I'll be upfront and say regardless of how my opinion changes of them as people, I still don't believe they should be dominant sources for informing views China. There aren't any dominant sources just like 2 vlogs shouldn't form your opinion on US.

by _iyig 7y ago

zhhkthrow 7y ago

No, I think it's a completely fair assessment. In fact, it probably doesn't even go far enough in terms of criticism. These two expats are notorious in the non-expat world for perpetuating unsubstantiated stereotypes and myths about China for the sake of views. They know there's an audience for it and they've adjusted their content accordingly. Somehow, they've managed to convince a vast number of people that they are experts on the subject matter despite all evidence to the contrary. If you listen to what they say you'll end up with a very distorted view of reality. As the parent commenter said, there are plenty of higher quality Youtubers and vloggers who do a much better job at describing what life is really like for expats living in China. In general, the more reliable and accurate sources are the people who don't make their living from producing clickbait videos.

_iyig 7y ago
You’ve offered a very general critique. In contrast, the video I linked mentions many specific events and incidents which informed the speaker’s impression of China. Give that you’re making vague assertions on a throwaway account, and given that I’ve followed these YouTubers for years and corroborated the kinds of things they’ve said with friends who visit China or are Chinese, I’m not inclined to agree with you. If you believe there are “higher-quality” China YouTubers with a different view, don’t just allude to them, please share links.
- eznoonze 7y ago
  >If you believe there are “higher-quality” China YouTubers with a different view, don’t just allude to them, please share links. I hope they don't say "Nathan Rich". ;-)

dirtyid 7y ago

I found Laowhy86 slightly more genuine. I have not viewed their videos in a while, maybe I got an unfair representation seeing their content at the height of clickbait YouTube titles and expats flunking out of China. Regardless, per my comment below, these are youtubers who optimize(d?) content that often distorts reality (as another user describes) and should not form the basis of understanding and discussions on China. But for many lay users, they are. The Chinese perspective from an expat lens will be vastly different from the Chinese perspective from a Chinese lens etc. I'll go through his summation video after work, someone else linked to his wife's channel. I'll be upfront and say regardless of how my opinion changes of them as people, I still don't believe they should be dominant sources for informing views China. There aren't any dominant sources just like 2 vlogs shouldn't form your opinion on US.