Viral Video Effect on Modern Society
Technology is constantly becoming more advanced as time goes on and with these advancements new forms of communication and expression are created. One of these new forms of communication is the viral video, which is “a video that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing” (Wikipedia, 2011). The term “viral” came about because these popular videos spread around the internet in a virus fashion. But, how do you get your very own video to become “viral” and what impact do viral videos have in society?
In 2005 a website by the name of YouTube first made its appearance on the internet. The website allowed internet users to create a free account and post videos up directly on the website for the internet world to see. YouTube was so popular that in 2006 just a year after it was launched onto the internet it was bought by one of the most popular websites in existence, Google (Wikipedia, 2011). Google saw the potential that YouTube had and immediately acted on it. If you have a Google mail account than you also have a YouTube user account which are both free and very useful. The two sites together are a real powerhouse on the internet. The videos themselves though are what make YouTube so popular and Google could not have made a better investment.
The very first video ever posted on YouTube was very short and basic; it was a man at a zoo talking about elephants in front of an elephant exhibit. There was nothing really exciting about it at all but something about YouTube made people interested in it. Today, YouTube is a huge part of the internet and has advanced drastically over the years. Instead of just being a website for videos it is a communication hub on the internet.
The most popular video of all time is Charlie Bit My Finger which has a total view of 301,144,376 as of April 7, 2011. That is over 301 million views since it was posted on YouTube May 22, 2007 and as the time goes on that number is surely going to increase. But, what exactly does that mean? The video which depicts two brothers the older one about four years old and the younger one about one years old and the younger one bites the older one. The older one is indeed upset and the younger one could not help but laugh finding the situation hilarious (Fletcher). Though the video is definitely cute, what makes it so popular?
There is a chain affect or “viral” affect that comes with these types of original and cute videos. The key to having a viral video is being authentic (CNN). All it takes is one viewer to think a video is cute and to send it to people they know. From there the video spreads like wildfire or like a virus. Unfortunately this does not happen to all videos. The more unique and funny they are the more likely they are to spread around the internet and it is hard to tell if your video is the next one to become viral. Some people post videos for years and will never get one single viral video out of it. Most of the videos that go viral the users who posted them are not looking for them to go viral but rather thought it was a good video that other people might enjoy.
Videos like Charlie Bit My Finger and the Evolution of Dance have done more than just go viral. The videos in some cases have made their users internet sensations or even the title of celebrity. There have been many huge stars that got their break from a YouTube video they posted an example of this would be a comedian named Bo Burnham. He started making his YouTube videos at the age of sixteen and now at the age of twenty he has his own comedy tour where he performs his comedic songs from YouTube. The profit that these internet celebrities are making off of their viral videos is incredible.
Online videos have also enabled internet users to create almost their own show or series. The website CollegeHumor.com has been making different online video series that have become extremely popular over the years. College Humor even got its own pilot show on MTV in 2008. Many of these online series have dedicated followers that are anxiously waiting for the next video to be posted just as if it was a favorite television series (College Humor).
Some of these web series are not scripted but instead are video blogs or better known as “vlogs”. YouTube has been the main site for internet users looking to make vlogs. Some of these vlogs have also gone viral like vlogger, Chris Crocker, who has gained the title of internet celebrity. He is the perfect example of a vlog that has gone viral. The only thing wrong with that is most of his viewers are making fun of him. The reason they watch his vlog is not because they believe what he is vlogging about but rather they find humor in the things he does or says. With saying that not all of his watchers are watching because of negative intentions some actually support his view which allows his video to reach out to an internet communities with similar interests.
Vlogs like this and other viral videos in general do something that most other things cannot, it brings people together from all over the world. It allows people to communicate face to face or rather video to video if they would like by having video replies and comments for these videos. These forms of commenting on videos are bringing people together. Yes, not all are positive but the internet users more specifically users of YouTube and other similar sites are being brought together for one common reason. They are watching these videos and relating to them, talking about them, and passing them along. The users are what make viral videos, viral.
Without the users and the easiness of uploading these videos to the internet there would be no social networking. Together Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are what make up social networking and multimedia communications. Society has left old communications like letters, phone calls, and even some initial internet communications and have moved on to social networking specifically with these three internet websites.
The days of American Online Instant Messenger have become almost completely obsolete in today’s society. People talk through comments whether it is underneath a video or on someone’s YouTube wall directly. People are speaking with people from different countries and the only thing they may have in common is seeing the same YouTube video. Viral videos have become part of daily life and modern society. Viral videos have been used as an ice breaker or the start of a friendship even in the non-internet world.
People relate to each other in ways never thought possible before viral videos. Almost everyone in America has seen Charlie Bit My Finger and if they have not they have probably heard of it even if they do not know exactly what it is about. Just basic knowledge of something brings people together. They can relate because most of the people watching these videos are sharing the same emotions. The spread of these videos not only allows people to become closer based on common interest but also has started an internet phenomenon known as video parodies.
If you go to YouTube’s home page and type into the search bar Charlie Bit My Finger not only will the original video pop up but there will be many others that will pop up. There is every kind of video from remixing it into music to people acting out the video on their own. It is amazing that one little video not even two minutes long has created this huge following of people so in awe of it that they find things to do with it.
Though for the most part viral videos have been a good thing for technology and communication they also have an evil side to them. Most viral videos like in Chris Cocker’s case become viral because people like to laugh at them or think they are interesting for whatever reason. With saying that humans are inherently curious and some of the videos that are posted onto the internet and website like YouTube should not be there at all let alone go viral.
A specific case of a viral video that almost went viral but was stopped in the courts was that of a Sea World trainer getting killed by one of the killer whales during a show. The parents of the trainer made sure that they made the proper arrangements through the courts so that the video of their daughter being killed was not plastered all over the internet. They claimed that it would be too traumatizing to have that video of their daughter dying available to the general public. The parents of the trainer won that case in court and thankfully the video can not be found on the internet or at least not on YouTube.
The fact that people like seeing disgusting things like that video is very disturbing to the general public. Humans are naturally interested but where should the line between interesting and disturbing be drawn? For many that line is almost non-existent because people do not care how disturbing it is to watch something that wants to watch it. In some cases the more gruesome or ridiculous a video was the more likely it was to go viral (AJC). And many people believe that is wrong and there needs to be some type of rules that are enforced when it comes to watching and posting online videos.
Besides that little flaw viral videos have made an incredible impact on society. It is going to be interesting where they are headed next. Are viral videos going to keep going the way they are headed now or is something else going to come along and completely make them useless? Right now it appears that viral videos and internet videos as a whole are becoming more popular at every waking second. They are changing the way people communicate and they are changing the way people watch programs in today’s society. Viral videos are so much more than popular online videos. They are just an example of an ever changing society whose technology is constantly becoming more advanced and changing a big portion of the world’s way of life. It will be interesting to see what will happen to viral videos in the next five years. Will there be some new form of communication that will make viral videos obsolete?
Works Cited
Fletcher, Dan. "YouTube's 50 Best Videos". Time. Published: 21 Mar.
2010. Accessed: 11 Feb. 2011.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1974961_1974925_1974954,00.html
Leopold, Todd. "What makes videos go viral? Hint: Be authentic". CNN.
Published: 8 Jan. 2010. Accessed: 1 Feb. 2011.
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-06-08/tech/viral.videos_1_viralvideosyoutube- uploadeds=PM:TECHyoutubeuploadeds=PM:TECHyoutubeuploadeds=PM:TECH
Murchison, Adrianne. "The Influence of Viral Videos". AJC. Published: 30
Mar. 2010. Accessed: 28 Feb. 2011.
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