An Anthropological Look at YouTube

Michael Wesch's "An Anthropological Look at YouTube" lecture gives an interesting perspective on what YouTube has brought to the world. With the constant expanding of the environment around us, a loss of community has been created. People have become more individualized over the years, but as a result are seeking out connections with others. YouTube provides a space for people to potentially reach millions, being anywhere at any time. The platform allows for self expression and a place to create personas and identities. Along with this comes the perfect setting for storytelling, such as a web series. With these stories though comes a potential for fictional situations being presented as reality, with a good example provided by Wesch being the Lonelygirl15 web series. So while the platform establishes fast connections, a space for creativity, and a sense of community, it can be a challenge for some to distinguish what content is fact or fiction. Still, the website has changed media and life through technology for people across the globe.