How many times have you walked by your library’s bank of computers and seen teens laughing hysterically at Youtube clips? Have you ever passed a group of teens huddling over a phone watching someone commentating a video game? Do you hear the words Nerdfighters or Brofist but you don’t know what that means? Wonder no more; it’s just Youtube celebrities.
Youtube is free and easily accessible with a mobile device so many teens watch Youtube more than TV. Because of this, popular Youtubers have become mainstream and have even attained celebrity status. You’ll find Youtube celebrities in commercials and movies and you’ll also find them at library/book conventions. You might even see their face or slogans on t-shirts and other merchandise. Who are these Youtube celebrities and why are they so popular?
Pewdiepie-Swedish Youtube with over 39 million followers.
Pewdiepie to date has the most Youtube subscribers. (A subscriber is someone who follows a particular channel and receives email updates of that channel’s new videos.) Pewdiepie’s channel originally featured the Youtuber making comments as he played horror-based video games. His channel now features a daily vlog and animated videos. Pewdiepie ends many of his videos with a brofist which is simply a fist bump. Pewdiepie has a new book and has been a guest on Late Night with Stephen Colbert.
Tyler Oakley-“Well hello, everyone!”
Tyler Oakley is known for his very colorful hair and bubbly personality. He’s an openly gay Youtuber who has found inspiration on Youtube and inspires others to be out and proud. He is an advocate of suicide prevention of LGBT youths and has raised several thousand dollars for the cause. He has won numerous awards including Teen Choice Awards and has appeared on Entertainment Tonight, The Talk, and the VMA’s red carpet show. Tyler has also met with President Obama to discuss effective ways to communicate with teens. Tyler also has a book titled, Binge.
iiSuperwomanii-AKA Lilly Singh is an Indian/Canadian comedian.
iiSuperwomanii began Youtube because it not only brought her happiness but she noticed the lack of South Asian woman on the website. Her motto is that everyone is capable of being their own superhero, hence her name, Superwoman. Lilly is a rapper, an actress, and a motivational speaker.
Grace Helbig and the Holy Trinity
Grace Helbig is one of the more recognizable Youtube celebrities and has even procured at TV show on the E Network called The Grace Helbig Show. Grace’s Youtube channel features celebrity interviews and games with other Youtubers. She also has a podcast and is set to release her second book.
The Holy Trinity includes Grace and her good friends, Hannah Hart and Mamrie Hart. Hannah is also a very popular Youtuber with her vlog called My Drunk Kitchen.
John and Hank Green-DFTBA
Before John Green was a New York Times Bestselling author, Printz Award winner, and obsession of fangirls all over the world, he had a vlog with his brother Hank called Vlogbrothers. It all started in 2007 when John and Hank decide to send videos to each other instead of text for one year. They began and ended their videos with personal hellos and goodbyes. John and Hank extended their video correspondence beyond that year and it has grown into a movement that includes videos about social justice and Nerdfighters. Nerdfighters are fans of John and Hank who try to be awesome (DFTBA-Don’t Forget to be Awesome).
While Hollywood celebrities are unrealistically beautiful, wealthy, and far away, Youtube celebrities possess attainability. People relate to them because they often share similar attributes such as nerdiness or annoying parents. Youtube celebrities are also revered because all it takes is a camera and a Youtube account to showcase, inspire, or share and although not everyone can be a movie star, anyone can can be a Youtube star.
Here is the list of Youtube channels of the above mentioned.
If YouTube celebrities are popular with your teens, you may want to add some of these eight books by famous YouTube stars to your collection.
— Dawn Abron, currently reading Passenger by Alexandra Bracken