We’ve discussed YouTube a lot in class, and about the communities and “celebrities” that have come received international recognition from going viral on the web. Often this “fame” doesn’t amount to more than recognition, unless one is a singer. However, some have found a way to cash in on their fame.
A very popular video “David After Dentist”, which shows a young boy being taped by his father while still under the affects of the anaesthetics, was the second most viewed video on YouTube in 2009. This video has turned into a cash cow for the family of the boy. The family earns revenue from the ads that run beside the video, as well as from a website the family know runs that sells T-shirts and stickers. The video has led to David and his father appearing on many television shows, and the father, also named David, recently made an appearance at SXSW. The money they have made has been enough for the father to quit his job. The family is saving money for David’s college tuition, and has also donated over $6,000 to charity.
A lot of people however, feel like the DeVore’s are exploiting their child. If the family came across this opportunity innocently (posting a video on YouTube so family members who didn’t have Facebook could see) and they have an opportunity to make money off of it, that can benefit their child is it really a bad thing? Or is there too much risk is placing their child in the spotlight?
So many people post things on the internet, and they are only watched by friends and family. Can we say we wouldn’t ourselves take a similar opportunity? Is this all innocent fun, or does it breed a hungry for any form of attention that leads people to make up their own opportunities, for example the boy in a balloon hoax.
It makes me wonder if our society is really changing, or if we are just doing things we have always done (ie filming funny moments of our children), but with an uncontrollable wider audience. Most likely the internet views and fame will fade with time and be forgotten. Whether or not the Devore’s will mind going back into their normal life remains to be seen.
Farewell, but not Goodbye!
14 years ago
Very interesting post! I would say that in cases where people are innocently placing funny or cute videos of their children on YouTube, whether for family members or just because it was funny, is harmless. Actually I feel it's no different then sending in a video to America's Funniest Home Videos. So I would agree with you that society in this case isn't really changing, we're still filming our children and sharing with others and the act of gaining money off this is just luck! Now for something like the boy in the balloon hoax, this falls under a completely different category as they directly lied to the police as a "way to fame". This was just ridiculous. In fact I blame some of the crazy Reality TV Shows that have come out recently, for people like this who think they could get their own show by saying their kid was lost in a balloon.
ReplyDeleteThis asks a tough question: i think that its kind of sad what people will do as a way to become famous and the lengths they will go to for their "15 minutes of fame". The boy in the balloon is pretty extreme since they made up a story like that and it's pretty pathetic just to get some attention especially considering the adults were the ones the orchestrated the whole thing. I didnt know a lot of the details of this incident and was really surprised that when clicking on your hyperlink that this incident has its own wikipeida page which shows just how interested we are in stories like this in spite of how exploitive they can be. I guess the parents got what they wanted but its pretty awful they would say something happened to their child for some media attention.
ReplyDeleteSome people do post on you tube just to show people funny videos of their kids or pets etc. but when it goes to the lengths where they are trying to sell stuff like the T- shirts like in the case of David After Dentist video and the case of the balloon boy i think its kind of low to use their kids to make that kind of profit. Even Americas Funniest Home videos some of the incidents with the kids look like they could have really gotten hurt and the parents still send them in.
Although they're entertaining as i am guilty of watching the popular videos that some parents have posted on you tube (charlie bit my finger comes to mind haha)
I think it's fair t assume that most people who are posting videos of their children, have ulterior motives then to just share a funny video with the rest of society. In my opinion, I believe that parents are exploiting their children online to make a quick buck. Although I enjoy a funny youtube video from time to time, I think that family video or videos of young children are meant for private viewing, and hold no place in the public eye. People are going to extreme lengths to indulge in their 5 minutes of fame, and i think society has their priorities all mixed up. I think we have lost a sense of privacy within society, where do we draw the line?
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