The Bieber Effect

In 2008, a music industry talent manager accidentally clicked on a video of a young teen performing at a recital. And BieberFever was born. Scooter Braun flew Bieber to meet with a musical mentor, they recorded an album, and Bieber history began. But really, it began with a YouTube video. There has never been a medium like the internet before, in terms of the ability to share self-created content quickly and easily with large numbers of people. A quick search on YouTube reveals an overwhelming number of young people creating videos of themselves singing, playing instruments, dancing, goofing off, mouthing off, and posing. The second most-subscribed channel of YouTube - seventeen year old Lucas Cruikshank, who writes and performs a series where he plays a six year old named Fred. The tenth most subscribed channel is nineteen year old Dave Days, who has been posting for four years.

But internet videos aren't all song and comedy - a racist video filmed by a UCLA student recently circulated, prompting nation-wide outrage. Videos are made mocking classmates and or slamming internet friends. I could go on listing examples of when YouTube videos have done harm to individuals or whole groups of people.

The instant accessibility of the internet and the wide availability of video recording technology has made it easier for all of us to be a little thoughtless in what we're sharing with the world. Although there is tremendous opportunity for amazing communication in YouTube and websites like it, there is also the potential for miscommunication and great harm. Understanding how video-sharing can function in the world is a vital literacy and skill that young people must develop so that we can engage in thoughtful, productive conversations in a variety of media.