YouTube’s Global Impact Social Media is forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, messages, and other content (Merriam Webster, 2015). It is clearly the future of communications as it provides an infinite number of platforms for individuals, businesses, and governments to connect and share with the entire world. According to a global snapshot of the world, there were over 2.078 billion active social media accounts in 2014 (Kemp, 2015). YouTube is a video sharing website that was created in 2005. It allows billions of people to discover, watch, and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small (YouTube, 2015). YouTube’s global impact on society and culture is visible daily. It has significantly reduced the size of the world, unlocked talent and expanded education opportunities.
YouTube Impact on Distance Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations (Globalization 101, 2015). YouTube enables this process by providing an attractive platform where over 300 hours of video is being uploaded every minute to the site by over a billion active users. Before YouTube, people could spend hours searching the internet or on television to find specific articles providing photos or videos about other regions of the world, space, topics of interest, etc. However, once YouTube came to fruition, it began to grow rapidly as users from around the globe uploaded videos from all over the world. Today, you can take a tour of Africa, see bands playing music in Russia, walk the Great Wall of China, or skydive over Hawaii from the comforts of your home. The global reach of YouTube has drastically reduced the size of the world to a platform that fits into the palm of your hands.
YouTube Impact on Talent YouTube has made an impact on the multibillion-dollar music industry. People from every walk of life and region of the world can quickly upload their singing videos, dancing videos, artwork, and opinion segments to reach billions of viewers instantly. It can simply be accomplished from home with a computer and camera. In millions of cases, this has resulted in new talent being discovered or someone launching a new and trending video that generated millions of dollars without the help of a representative. One of the best examples of YouTube fame is Justin Bieber. Justin’s mom uploaded some videos of her son singing to YouTube to share with family and close friends. She had no idea that the videos would be seen by music manager Scooter Braun and that he would have the opportunity to meet Usher and become a pop icon (Oneil, 2010). It has been truly transformational in our society.
YouTube Impact on Education YouTube has also had an impact on education. Today, it is being used as a method to teach people from all walks of life and education levels through both educational and do it yourself videos. You are able to find everything from math and science to car repair on YouTube. The ability to quickly acquire knowledge and free professional training has changed the landscape
