She's great - very funny.
8
Ugh... All the videos I watched are vacuous and not funny. Not entertaining either. Not one little bit. Not meant as an insult to Ms Chamberlain, but more as a comment on the overall culture of the moment. Nothing but superhero movies in the theater (would someone please make a decent drama for a change), "influences" who are famous for being famous, "haul" videos on YouTube for what you were paid to shop for. Ugh. At least hers seems genuine and innocent. Not interesting, not original, but not (too) contrived either.
21
It's better than trying to make money with a lemonade stand or sell Girl Scout cookies or mowing the neighbor's lawn or baby sitting brats. She has more money than I do in my retirement account.
She's young. Plenty of time to ruin herself. She can become an alcoholic like most Hollywood stars and producers.
3
Emma Chamberlain did graduate high school, she just pursued her HS degree online to finish it earlier since her youtube career took off.
Whether someone likes it or not, she’s a smart and creative young girl who has made a lot of money before she’s even turned 18. I feel strange reading hate-filled comments towards her when she started at such a young age and is still only 18.
20
There's a lot of old-school judgment in these comments about how this work is not valid for some reason. We operate in the freemarket. Demand is what creates the value, period. This person - like many business people or others - found a demand and created a supply that has earned her a living relative to the value of that demand. I am in advertising. I go to an office and give away my time and creativity to sell more things to people. Is this what we consider good, valuable work? I don't think so. While I am not a Youtubber and I also have my reservations about self-promotion culture these days... it is culture, these days. Enough with the "get off my lawn-isms" veiled and "good old days" and "kids these days"-isms. Open your mind to a new avenue of work that could help to liberate people from the absolute numbing and counterintuitive, industrialized, Corporation-driven schedule forced upon us today.
20
Boomer here. I've watched some very boring YouTube videos over the years; I thought these would be more of the same.
Au contraire. Yes, some things are definitely too silly for me (highschool dropouts), but Emma's madcap humor in the others - plus her editing skill - are pretty impressive.
Lighten up - the kids will be ok!
26
I know a woman whose daughter was a YouTube "star". Her mother really didn't realize just how much of a star she was until her daughter (from a midwest city) was recognized by a pre-teen on a beach in MA while they were on vacation.
I've watched a few of these YouTube shows and they tend to show very insecure, but totally self-absorbed young women (and the occasional young man - usually gay), who have discovered that there are thousands of people who actually care how they get ready for school everyday, how their room is decorated, and what they got for their birthday and Christmas. They're all pretty interchangeable - the have the same "voice", overall tone. They're also incredibly boring to anyone over the age of 15-16.
What I don't understand is why the parents of these young people allow their child to become a YouTube star. The family I know certainly does not need the money. They have said that their daughter was always unhappy from the day she was born, but that this appeared to make her happy...until it didn't.
Many of these young people become totally isolated socially. They drop out of school, are home-schooled. All their "best friends" are their YouTube followers. They have little, in any interaction, even within their own family - just shut up in their room videoing away.
This is not good for the young YouTube celebrity and it's not good for our children watching. We need some adults somewhere in this equation.
25
YouTube celebrity is fickle and short-lived. Most "famous" YouTubers last two, three years, and then people become interested in somebody else. Remember Brookers? I thought she was funnier and a better filmmaker than Emma Chamberlain here, but her videos are no longer to be found on the internet (proving it's not true that nothing ever goes away on the internet; stuff you want to see again goes away all the time). And remember that guy that got 15 minutes of fame for crying hysterically and screaming, "Leave Brittany (Spears) alone?"
6
Well all you naysayers probably created a bunch of hits for her youtube channel, plus free publicity in the New York Times. Nice days work for her!
7
As for many a meaningless life.
5
What if a journalist posed a question as the title of his article, and then never answered it?
8
This is the funniest person on youtube? I couldn't even make it through 30 seconds of her birthday video.
Being a "Youtuber" is not a job. Get a real job.
13
The dumbing down of America, in spades.
Can anyone use a sentence any longer without interpolating the word "like" five times?
16
Like Autotune can only do so much to make a bad voice less bad, frenetic video editing can only do so much to make a boring topic less boring.
8
She is truly a modern day Performance Artist who has turned her whole life into a real time performance piece. And she's very good it ( and quite monetarialy successful.). I just hope she realizes before it's too late that she has become her own sacrificial lamb.
Yes ,the life of the artist is classically the basis of their own work, but I think you must carefully gauge how much you want to lay bare, and for how long. And possibly build in an escape hatch, should that become necessary. Control is everything.
Good luck Emma, I hope you continue to make a lot of great art, and continue making some good money doing it, unlike the bulk of starving artists out there. But I also hope you will be able to emerge from the other side intact, when and if you want to.
Make art, not war. It's more fun.
Is her soul worth living her life on a flagpole?
3
The story sounds like this: work is hard and to be successful you just work hard. Does that sum it up?
2
Per the article's suggestion I checked out the birthday video. When I started it I noticed it was 15 minutes. I thought I'd watch 2-3 minutes to get the gist. I wound up watching the whole thing. She really is funny, I love comedy and she is a natural. Good on her.
9
Nope. It is definitely not "backbreaking" and to even suggest so is an insult to everyone with real jobs. Plumbing and electrical work is backbreaking.
10
Emma, you are bright, creative and driven. Go to college!
Broaden your horizons. Switch it up. Challenge yourself. Learn new things. Meet cool new people.
YOUTUBE is not forever, but an education is.
12
Good Lord, more glorification of the inane, vacuous, and superficial.
Maybe this really is "culture", if so, I weep for what has been lost.
10
@Karl Heinz You don't think this is like Mozart in the 1700s? :)
5
Not funny. Not useful. Not anything but tedious.
9
Her best creative work will come with getting the monkey off her back that's constantly criticizing and accusing. That monkey is the world's commenters and they're endless and not friendly. She will have to learn to be satisfied with her work and to be fair to herself. Then she'll see major creative growth.
Imagine what Andy Warhol would do on YouTube!
5
Being a Youtuber is backbreaking work? The writer must have spent his entire working career behind a desk. Be careful lifting that coffee mug - you might pull a muscle.
10
Seems like a very nice young lady. As far as "backbreaking" -- a 20-30 hour workweek on a self-directed creative endeavor is not especially taxing in today's world. She has simply chosen to foreshorten her education to enter the workforce as an entertainer, and is seeing some success.
And that's great. But frankly these videos seem kind of pointless. Best advice -- cash out, to go back to school, build a body of knowledge, develop critical thinking, and work on becoming a productive member of society.
8
Emma, you rock. When I was in high school I made short (super-8) films that were marginally entertaining, took weeks to make, and no one saw. Then I went to the best film school in the world (USC) to learn how to make them better — and they were — but no one saw them.
It’s also excellent that Emma is focusing a critical eye on her editing — and experimenting with style, and content. I would be jazzed to see her re-edit some of her longer works into an abbreviated collection.
If she keeps developing her visual literacy, soon she may have the depth of experience as a young adult to make more profound observations that will be of interest to an even broader audience.
Keep exploring, save every penny, and blow us away in 10 years!
6
Emma Chamberlain talks and behaves on video more or less the way kids among friends have done, in one form or another, forever. The critical difference is that these days, many children -- not all, of course -- develop and sustain their "friendships" over the internet.
I used to work with a woman who told me that her daughter did not feel the need to walk two blocks down the street to hang out with her friends because she could do so on Facetime.
Emma is filling a need, and I applaud her devotion and hard work. But I dare say that Emma's efforts amount to a somewhat sad commentary on the way in which electronic communications has altered the way human beings interact.
9
Of course it is hard work. You essentially run a small business based on your image and personality - similar to the Hollywood stars, on a smaller scale. There are YouTubers who pour their heart and soul into what they do and have been very successful. This is just one niche of it that much of us like to degrade since it's what teenagers like. Personally, I find these videos grating. But I'm not going to say that it isn't hard work. There are YouTubers who make amazingly creative content too that will appeal to those who see themselves as more cerebral.
So many of us hate the 9-5 office life. When someone young has the ambition and takes that risk, why is she looked down upon for it? Regardless of the financial safety net her parents, I think that is encouraging. She has learned to edit videos. That is a transferable skill in a "real job" as is simply being being an entrepreneur. She has likely connected with other YouTubers - that is networking. She knows her audience and what they like - marketing. That is real work. Whether or not it is being used for something worthy is highly subjective. Those who think being successful in social media isn't work have never tried it.
12
Tears from the self proclaimed “older” crowd about what the young people are up to. I’m in my forties. I recall the strong influence of Andy Warhol or Jeff Koons on my high school peers whether they were aware of the connection or not and maybe it’s time to look at the way pop artists influenced us and our materialistic culture. There’s nothing wrong with the younger generations. They’re playing and making art in a new medium — making their own way. They’re often self aware and willing to be vulnerable. She seems responsible and motivated, trying to make a living and work in a complicated world. I’m truly inspired by the younger generations and how they’re dealing creatively with the world we’ve tried to ruin. I’m optimistic.
8
*Insert Dwight Shrute “that’s debatable” gif.*
Without discrediting the hard work it must take to be a youtuber full time, it’s very easy to name drop people funnier AND more successful. Maybe your article would have landed better had you said “one of the funniest” instead of THE funniest. Bc she ain’t it, bro.
2
Enjoy it while it lasts, kid. Because it won't. Save 90% of the money you are making and invest it wisely, lest you find yourself in 10 years serving up lattes to people who look at you and say, "Hey! Didn't you used to be someone?"
10
@The Poet McTeagle
Gosh. So cynical. Creativity comes with overflowing ideas to develop. She'll always have more than enough ideas.
1
Whenever I read an article like this I’m reminded that the single reason social media, influences, bloggers, voggers...whatever are worth any money is because of advertising...that’s it. Says more about our culture than this girls quirky videos
6
All of the older readers with comments denigrating this YouTuber’s product should take a look in the mirror. Many of the celebrities of yesteryear were obnoxious, narcissistic, often racist, often misogynist boors who nonetheless earned millions from being on tv screens or movie theaters. Now there’s a new format that kids like to watch. This one at least produces her own work rather than having a crew feeding her olives in the dressing room. You’re not so different.
9
Let me comment on a different point.
Yes, she spends a lot of hours to create these videos.
But filming and editing videos is not “back breaking work.” Let’s respect the people who do “back breaking work” and use that phrase properly.
17
A very smart, quick witted, and ambitious young woman. The style is a bit to frantic for me but I'm old. Some of it was quite funny. I wish she did not use the f word so often. Maybe I will check out some of her newer work to see how it has evolved. I really know nothing about this niche but she is as or more talented than many main stream actors/writers/producers.
8
These videos are definitely not my cup of tea, but she creates things that many people like and makes money doing so. I can't help but respect that.
It makes me think about Stephen King's opinion regarding talent in On Writing:
“If you wrote something for which someone sent you a check, if you cashed the check and it didn't bounce, and if you then paid the light bill with the money, I consider you talented.”
7
Image of Trump.
The future of America.
God help us all!
4
I watched the nose ring video and found her quite sharp and funny as she both mocked how we come to present ourselves as part of a certain subculture and showed us how it might happen. E.g. cute nose ring leads to ____. When so many people are taking a million selfies to find the one that makes them look the most "perfect," she's laughing, showing her zits, burping and basically rejecting a veneered public presentation while at the same time showing how such veneers are constructed. I found it kind of refreshing. She's bright, funny, and willing to work. She'll do just fine.
11
The fact that she is allegedly so popular is an indictment of the shallowness of today's culture. It's entertainment for the peanut gallery, unless you have a peanut allergy. Look at the "music". Taylor Swift is the richest entertainer in the world now. Justin Bieber is a multi millionaire.
13
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus Taylor Swift is whip smart. I don't like her, but I will give her that. She knows her audience. Justin's last album from 4 years ago was a solid pop album. Well produced, well written, and catchy. Adele is equally rich and also talented. Ariana Grande. Talented vocalist as well, but uses it in a different way for a different market. Childish Gambino/Donald Glover is great at all he pursues - producer, TV show writer, musician, actor. Kendrick Lamar - lots of social commentary there and talented at what he does. Look deeper.
4
@K
Yawn.
Taylor Swift is a propagandist who puts her messages to song. She can't sing worth squat. I actually predicted how her latest tune would sound and how she would deliver the refrain, it's so easily predicted and routine. She, and most of the others, are a product of effective marketing, also propaganda by another name. I'm used to listening to real musicians with real talent who don't need a gaggle of backup dancers to jump around on stage, which is as hackneyed as a can of Campbell chicken noodle soup.
I bet she can't even sing a proper version of the Star Spangled Banner, without the usual star studded histrionics.
2
If I create a YouTube Channel to watch paint dry can I get a sponsorship deal from Sherwin-Williams?
12
@Next Conservatism
Hey! That was my idea!
1
Nothing like the use of inappropriate hyperbole in the headline. I do hope that it was not 'backbreaking' work to write this article.
11
I'd like to think if I were her parent, I could support her dropping out of school to pursue this -- provided she's paying her own rent and mature enough to live on her own. She's extremely bright, and college will be there if she ever needs or wants it.
1
Thanks for the article. The you tubes were very funny and had an element of bathos to them. I watched a bunch more than were in the article. Then when I got up this morning to read the NYT, I could hear my mind reading all of the headlines in her voice. It was very infectuous. There is definitely a Mike Meyers Wayne’s World influence to the character she is cultivating.
34
I tried watching one of the videos. I could only take about 30 seconds.
Is it me, or is the desperation for attention off-putting? (I believe the kids would call it ‘cringy.’)
11
Yes, so I'm an old. Internet, such as it was in grad school in the late '80s, AOL, dial-up (god, that screech). If this is the future, god help us. I watched a few minutes of a couple of videos and just couldn't deal.
That said, I hope she goes back to school, as I did after quitting high school in '68, going back and finishing, and then going on to college. I know I don't have to say that there are worlds of knowledge in the past and in the world today that are more valuable than idiotic YouTube videos.
But yeah, I'm an old, and so in the end, I'm sure it doesn't even matter.
4
I understand this content is not made for me (40-something), but it is unbelievably low-brow and dull, shockingly unsophisticated and not at all clever. Certainly a “weep for the future” experience watching her content.
13
Wow, ten years ago Ryan Trecartin the video artist made videos with a shocking similar hyper manic editing technique but sans the ironic narcissism
5
Literally the dumbest thing I've watched and/or read. Actually, literally. Culture certain varies widely but this is mind-numbing. Go read a book instead.
8
Chamberlain is the funniest person on YouTube? That's a complete joke.
8
My son makes YouTube videos and it is a lot of work. I have never seen Emma before today and I thought she was hilarious. Great timing, excellent reactions, etc. She is really talented and glad to see her taking it to the next level.
6
What an interesting species we are, thanks for this update.
Does anyone else imagine Emma taking on Trump 2020 -- the Party of Celebs!
1
Is it just me or can anyone not stand to listen to this inarticulate person for more than about 30 seconds?
20
Jackson Pollack threw paint at a canvas lying on the floor. His famously titled No. 5, 1948 (such originality!) sold for $140 million in May, 2006. He has been given a memorial exhibition by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.
Those of you who are so critical of Emma, I think, miss the point that art and culture are truly in the eye of the beholder.
85
@Bob
Eye of the Beholder? Hmmm. Well, no, Bob, not quite. There is some criteria. And the videos Ms. Chamberlain makes don't exactly qualify as art. And frankly, nor do they aspire to be.
7
@Bob Wow! That is a big leap. Comparing Pollack and this You Tuber....are you the same guy who called Kahlo a performance artist?
Good lord - I am at a loss for words. Beam me up Scottie.
4
I don't think the author understands the definition of "backbreaking."
17
Apparently, the race to the bottom is endless.
21
I couldn’t agree more. That this long article about a preening kid in front of a mirror exists in a publication of this stature is just sad.
12
So when do we get the article about her burnout or how she crashed and burned?
Her schtick will end as she ages out of the demographic that watches stuff like this. Then what is a High School dropout to do?
15
I grew up listening to Janis Joplin and watching I Love Lucy, what do I know?
5
I’m flummoxed that older folks have not come to terms with the fluidity of culture, since we all experienced it as teens with our parents. Culture is generational and I love Bob Seger not just because he is great, and he is, but because I was listening to him while drinking beer with friends and girls as a teenager — memories. Of course, older folks don’t get it. I saw the same comments about the Rosalie music video piece yesterday. Guess what, my parents liked Dean Martin and Mel Tome: Gag!. We had one TV and I had to watch the Captain & Toneil on occasion. I can’t even listen to most rap, but I’m not ignorant either, and I understand it’s important and meaningful to its generation, just like Seger, Santana, The Who, Stones, etc, etc are to mine. And, if I’m being honest, Muskrat Love has its moments.
58
@Billy Bobby
Muskrat Love: Noooooooooo!!!
3
@Billy Bobby
True words! If you are a Boomer you are probably not the intended audience....double down on Muskrat Love with Afternoon Delight.
2
@Billy Bobby I hear ya and I am clearly not Ms. Chamberlain's audience but my daughter is and all she did was roll her eyes when I showed her a video and went back to what she was doing suggesting Ms. Chamberlain might want to consider college after all.
For me a lot of it comes down to effort and hard work. It seems as though so many of the people who end up on the NYT's Style site are meagre in the skill area. Another featured person; Billie E. is so vanilla and man is she being pushed in these pages...does anyone want to learn the scales anymore?
All of these comments are so universally negative that it's clear the Times' readership are not her audience. Give the young woman her props. While the content may not be my cup of tea, I realize it isn't aimed at me. And she is a hard worker and refreshingly self-deprecating.
7
Usually I enjoy the NYT comment section and value the insights and thoughtful discussion here. But if the topic at hand is anyone under the age of... 36 let’s say, I notice a couple things consistently happen.
(1) the headline and general tone is usually sensationalist, dismissive, or both;
(2) the comment section is absolutely furious and uncharitable.
These videos aren’t for you, and that’s ok. They’re not necessarily for me either, as a 31-yo Serious Person and a frequent critic of pop culture myself. But I also have a strong enough sense of self to to admit that her style is funny and unique. Why keep tearing the younger generations down?
9
I so wish I cared about this. Not.
6
I could find some sympathy for content creators like this and the toll it takes on them if the content they produced was actually worth watching. I just watched 3 of Emma's videos and they are tedious, self obsessed and promote a consumerism that is disgusting. Why would anyone want to watch a video of an 18 year old shopping at a bunch of stores in the mall she thinks she is too good for?
101
@Sarah Amen. Your comment is absolutely on point.
13
@Sarah
Good question. I have in fact that very same question about Marcel Proust. Having done it and spare me the lectures, why would anyone want to read what two hundred pages about someone falling asleep or taking a walk? But I actually enjoyed these videos on the other hand. When I was young, a lot of people said, ‘What’s with this Bob Dylan, he can’t even sing?’.
12
@Patrick — wow! Watching YouTube videos is easier than reading Proust? Who would have guessed?
16
The excerpt that describes how Emma takes video of herself whenever she’s crying was so sad to me and I think at the heart of what unsettles me about this whole genre.
I don’t care that someone is famous for something that many others don’t think is interesting. That has existed forever. It’s the fact that we are so consumed by the personas we build for ourselves on social media that we have erected this thick veneer of self absorption and self consciousness that seems to seep into every aspect of our lived experience. And it’s not just Emma, though she’s managed to make a career out of it.
Every beautiful image can generate likes on Facebook. Every delicious meal is instagrammable. Every mundane anecdote or interesting thought is a vlog session. There’s a line on mt Everest of people elbowing each other for selfies. Half the people at the local fireworks display I attended this year watched the night sky through their phones as they recorded it. And now you tubes biggest sensation can’t experience her own sadness without reaching for video documentation of the event so she can watch herself emote later.
I know I have to believe we’ll all find a way to evolve through all of this. It just strikes me as very sad.
185
@inquiring minds yes! That is the part of the article that depressed me as well. I have an 18 year old. They are the first generation fully raised so online and it's strange. They are very much the canaries in a coal mine, I fear. It can be hard to understand what exactly they are living through, with the ubiquitous internet
7
@inquiring minds Thank you for an insightful comment without condescension and judgment.
11
I read the article and was hating everything about this and liking comments blasting this generation's idiocy, but then I watched part of her nose piercing video within the article (couldn't make it past 5 minutes of it, but that is normal since I am a grownup LOL) and she's actually very cute and funny! Anyone who has a teenage daughter might appreciate her mannerisms. She has a lot of talent -- and the editing clearly took work and thought. Good for you, kiddo! : )
22
@Tova kiddo? please. she is a force to be reckoned with.
7
@Tova The nose piercing video keeps getting more and more ridiculous -- it's pretty excellent.
1
I prefer Joana Ceddia, who advocates for not dropping out of school.
5
I’m retired & consider myself liberal leaning & open minded. This little
girl’s humor is nonexistent. For a good laugh these kids (or anyone) should check out Randy Rainbow on YouTube.
5
I watched, like, two minutes of one video and, like, literally couldn’t watch any more. Literally. Actually.
12
She'll be president in 2052.
6
What's sad is there are twice as many comments regarding this story than there are about the plight of elephants kept in captivity - zoos. I couldn't get beyond three paragraphs of this one.
21
Sounds like an incredible waste of talent and brains. Why cant young girls aspire to use their brains in quality creative or scientific or any other field that sparks their curiosity. These kind of videos just enables and projects dumbness for the young watchers. Most of all learn to be articulate if you are talking on video. Boy! doesnt anybody go to the toastmasters anymore?
8
55 years old.
I'm funnier and make real puns that go over half my audience's heads.
Ya had to be there though.
I don't get anyone watching this. Just beyond my comprehension.
7
You’re a 55 year old who’s threatened by a teenage YouTuber. Now that’s funny.
3
Nice to see the NY Times write about Emma. When she joined forces with Louis Vuitton - I knew her game had changed in a major way. If you have watched her long enough you can see the influence of her parents and her early Santa Cruz, CA. lifestyle. Some people have star quality and some people have a camera that loves them-clearly Queen Emma has both. Rumor has it that she is highly " supported " by You Tube- but we never really know what goes on behind the Wizard of Oz scenes at Google ya know? Really stoked to see her rise in fame and have her work recognized..no less valid than any up and coming superstar in Hollywood and so refreshing to see her control and " edit" her own destiny. Stunning photograph by Kaleb Marshall.
6
A product of our ennui.
7
Emma,
Rhode Island School of Design
Brown University
Check them out.
10
I hope she doesn’t quit her day job.
1
Her achievements in my view are more worthy of praise and in line with the American way of ingenuity than the US Women Soccer Team since she is earning more than just money with her endeavor in You Tube.
Why are you bashing the US Women’s soccer team here? Apples and Oranges. Do you just hate sports or only women’s sports? Same hard work goes in to women’s soccer as any other world class athlete. I’d like to see you have that kind of focus, dedication, and grit and in the case of US Women’s soccer, done for the love of the game at a sacrifice of earning a living. FYI the women’s World Cup Jersey is the greatest selling Nike soccer jersey ever, men or women. Google it. The women’s team is so much more successful than the men’s in so many categories. Not to take away from the men’s hard work. But give respect where respect is due!
1
It seems like the author himself isn't convinced that this is backbreaking work.
6
an interesting article..not everyone's life is linear. Good luck
4
Emma. Finish high school and go to college. That's more important.
7
The “work” described is simply not “backbreaking”. I think her activity could, however, easily be referred to as either “mind-numbing” or “soul crushing”.
17
63 year old white guy in the Deep South here. She's an artist. She's brilliant. I hope she stays relatively sane. I love what she's doing. It's just the tip of her potential.
11
There’s apparently a sliding scale for brilliance in Alabama.
9
When you have to start pulling “stunts” and do more and more collaborations, the end is nigh and the moment has passed. I hope she has a plan B once this in all likelihood fizzles out like the short tailed comet it is. And is your life “so hard” filming something and edited for 20-30 hours a week? Staying on your balcony for 24 hours is the “most emotionally challenging thing you’ve ever done for video”. Try working
72 - 100 hours a week at a high stress job or even harder try working 80 hours a week holding down two jobs to make ends meet while raising a family at the same time. More harmful internet absorbed cultural naval gazing. Famous for being famous. No connectivity to real world. Production of nothing long lasting. And we wonder why social anxiety, depression, and ADHD have all increased?
10
If an adult had a job that required that much work, was adversely affecting their health and eye sight, and was at least occasionally socially toxic, I'm pretty sure they'd be thinking about finding a different job. Is $120,000 a year really worth all this? Surely with her intelligence and talent there's something more rewarding/fulfilling she could be doing...
2
As someone who once did computer programming I can attest that 10-15 hour stretches of video editing is indeed backbreaking! I’ve been to more physical therapy than I care to remember.
Kudos to this hardworking teen who is exploring her own world, perfecting her craft, striving for continuous improvement, and making a living!! I haven’t watched the videos as I don’t think I’d enjoy them in the same way that I don’t think I’d enjoy now much of what I read as a teen but that doesn’t take anything away from her achievements.
Keep exploring!
12
Wow. This is what it has come to? What a waste of time. We are doomed.
22
45 year old guy here, read the article, was prepared to hate the videos... But they're hilarious. Great work Emma, incredible comic sense, timing and editing skill. As funny as any sitcom costing millions of dollars and hundreds of people to produce. I wonder how many people posting about how this vapid depravity heralds the end of civilization as we know it actually watched one of the videos...
11
@Zartan
I tried to watch several. They were unbearably boring.
6
"Her instinctual editing style involved zooming, adding text to the screen and pausing to point out the best parts."
...because no one had ever done that before in the history of ever?
Wow, it's a good thing Eisenstein is dead, because it would kill him to see what a second-rater he always was.
Also? I was not aware that the bar for "funniest person on YouTube" was so astonishingly low. Learn something new every day, I guess!
19
Most of us do 'backbreaking'; we just don't get to take the money we make from it to the bank in a wheelbarrow.
12
I couldn’t make it through a single one of these videos. They were incredibly boring, self-indulgent and not the least bit entertaining. Who watches this and why?
17
Wow, vision going at age 18? Not the way I want to live. I don't understand. Why live your life in front of a computer? It's a long and slow death. Get outside and enjoy life. Do something physical and get out from behind your computer.
9
My eyes were opened to another world when I recently overheard another youtube sensation, Bo Burnham, while my nephew and his friends were playing it. His schtick is that he calls out hypocrisy, but it sounds like to me he rakes in money using shock to grab young people's attention.
1
I tend to not like these YouTube stars, but this gal sounds unique and legit. Recommendation from an old guy: She needs to cut her production to one video a month so that she can remain fresh and healthy.
3
I don’t get it but I really don’t get all of the angry comments.
I think it is wonderful that she has created an art medium that large numbers of people enjoy.
More power to her
12
This article began by telling me about "the funniest person on YouTube."
Thus, when I reached the first inline video, I eagerly pressed the play button.
I didn't laugh. Not even once. I'm not sure if I even smiled. I think I just spent the entire duration with my head tilting more and more to the side, and my brow growing more furrowed.
Other people tell me they like me because I'm funny, and if I'm honest with you and with myself, it's probably the only appealing thing about me. I feel like I know what funny looks like, what it sounds like, and what it feels like. I love finding other funny people, because I can learn how to be funnier from them.
This girl... I don't mean to be harsh or unkind, but she's *not* funny. Maybe you could say she's friendly, energetic, and engaging, even fun without the -ny. But funny? No.
Caleb, you need to get out and meet more people. There's a big world of funny out there that I think you haven't met yet. You're going to love it, trust me.
16
“I don’t mean to be harsh or unkind” - but you are.
1
I don’t feel like I should say anything critical, that seems to be too easy. And she is just a kid, and she’s a metaphor for her generation. However, I did not find it very entertaining. Perhaps, her rather dramatic self involvement will moderate over the years, hopefully, it will. Nevertheless, I see very little of value-certainly little of monetary value-in any of these self-involved videos. There really is no story and when I was done there is little to remember. But, as I said, she is a kid, and I do creditor with working hard and finding success with this peculiar type of entertainment.
6
I enjoyed the video (although I don't intend to watch anymore), but I am very impressed she soldiers on in the face of this incredibly hostile reaction. The typical comment here is some can be paraphrased as "I don't understand this - therefore it cannot possibly be good."
4
I’m in a VERY different generation, and I thought I would dislike her videos but I was curious. After a few minutes I found myself laughing out loud. She’s talented and funny!
1
Reading this article made me feel terribly sad. I don't know if that feeling is about Emma, her generation or our whole society. Maybe all three.
18
I doubt that she changed the world of online video that much. I would say that Marina Orlova of "Hot for Words" fame was more influential on YouTube. She had a great deal of influence on how videos are made and presented. She inspired many and I still see her imitators. She also ended up working 14 hours a day on video editing, etc. But she's an old woman now. This young whippersnapper probably never heard of her.
1
I'm glad for her even though I find her content nearly pointless. Every generation had extremely successful artists who didn't make much sense. But this gives me a lot of hope for the future when automation takes over - ordinarily people doing something machines can't and making good money with that.
2
The "YouTube Star", along with the Instagram model, social media influencer, etc. are still very new phenomena and it is uncertain how long the trend will last and what the impact is on mental health and those that partake, either as producers or consumers. One of the issues is that it is far too easy to consume such content – an image of a bunch of teenagers mindlessly scrolling through Instagram while at the same time hanging out with friends and “watching” TV comes to mind. How much is that view or like really worth? I know in monetary terms many companies and advertisers think it is worth quite a bit. However, choosing to spend an hour watching a TV show, or going to the cinema to see a film, or a concert requires more effort and attention than 5 minute YouTube videos. And what happens when you sit there and watch 10 or 20 or 30 of them in a row? It costs nothing to click “like” when you’re investing so little in order to consume. I think the “fame” that many social media stars experience is extremely fragile and I truly worry for their wellbeing when it all eventually fades away.
7
The sadness of this is less about Ms. Chamberlain herself, but has to do with the fact that so many of those who follow her will think this is a blueprint to getting ahead rather than actually working for it. And, btw, no matter what the headline states, this is not "backbreaking work." Perhaps it is to Mr. Bromwich, but for those who actually do work, it's not.
29
Is it possible to have less than zero sympathy for tortured wannabe YouTube stars?
Wake up and realize a simple fact: if your health, wealth and well-being rely on people paying attention to you, there’s no one to blame but you when it all falls apart.
21
I suspect there is an age cutoff for this media type. I couldn't make it through any of her videos. It amazes me what passes for entertainment in this generation. Aww, it hasn't been easy? What a shame. That is so unusual for an adult living in the world to have a hard time. As for backbreaking? Jonah, come on. Get some perspective, boyfriend.
15
I tried to watch one of the videos but gave up very quickly.
23
Thanks to youtube we now have 15-minute wedding toasts
12
This was sad to me. She makes Kim Kardashian seem like a woman of substance.
25
She is brilliant! You can see the raw talent. I was skeptical because I tend to think of you tube and Instagram as a an outlet for self-absorbed millennials. But that is because I am old (in my 50’s). At first, watching the birthday video, I was bored but then intrigued at the whole style of the video and then I realized that she was producing entertainment. Not much different in content then many sitcoms (Jane the virgin). Like most young artists their first work is raw and full of energy. Just watch the first film that George Lucas ever did (thx1138). Emma is a talented video/film producer. If she stays with it she will be winning Oscars when she’s 40.
.
10
Totally agree. I see talent. Not a fan of the content but love the way she edits and you can see a thought process. YouTube is not sustainable for her, she has to go beyond.
3
I don't know if people realize that jump cuts, zoom ins and on screen text are nothing new on You Tube. This content is not revolutionary.
24
@I I came here to post this very thing. More power to this girl, and maybe she's too young to realize, but the author is seriously out of step repeating such an absurd statement. Major cringe.
1
Isn’t this all self imposed? Can’t she just stop and do something more interesting or even more important?
122
@Skier The demographic on YouTube is mostly kids/teens. So of course her content isn’t going to be her reviewing some book. It’s going to be videos that fit HER demographic on HER channel. All youtubers want to be successful, and if they want to be, they stick with the videos do best. Some youtubers stop after a while because they cant afford to or they aren’t getting the same numbers they did when they first started. Viewers grow and get new interests. So the difficult part for the youtubers is to evolve with their demographic. Shane Dawson is a great example: he started out in 2007 with skit comedy, then he did some food reviews, later on he started to vlog, after that he did conspiracy theories and now he does these elaborate documentaries about his fellow youtubers. In conclusion, Emmas videos right now is what’s working, but that may not be the case in a year or two.
2
@Skier, pretty sure there's nothing she finds more interesting and important than Emma.
10
Ah yes, the noble profession of skiing...
3
This is the softest life imaginable. This is also why the rest of the world hates Americans. Finding reasons to complain about a level of comfort and effort that others would dream of.
20
This article validated for me what I have come to learn about myself and the world: My taste in bad entertainment is vastly superior to your taste in bad entertainment.
18
Before anyone starts generalizing, I know some folks from that generation who are interesting, cool, deep and contributing human beings. They even know how to do humor.
7
When I was in the Peace Corps, local day-laborers earned roughly $5 per day to mow grass by hand with a machete. Being a YouTube Celebrity doesn't sound backbreaking to me.
253
@Jason
Chamberlain would have to pay me to watch one of her videos to the end.
17
This is an intelligent, funny, creative child with a terrific work ethic. I hope that she has a great career as an entertainer, but I also hope that she will further her education.
195
@Kaleberg Her education, if she pursues one, will be funded by the millions she's making as a vapid YouTube star.
2
When I was a kid (about four years younger than Ms. Chamberlain) my two best friends and I spent long hours with a cassette recorder making our own radio shows. I think this was a very creative way to have spent so much time, and we honed skills that we’ve likely used ever since.
More importantly, we had a ton of good fun. No one else ever heard our “broadcasts,” and I think that’s a positive for society. Is it better to play alone to a global audience of anonymous strangers? I’ll let others be the judge of that.
59
I found her editing style needlessly frenetic. Granted, it may keep the attention of some, especially given there's only the merest whiff of substance, and though Ms. Chamberlain certainly projects a charming, somewhat ditzy persona, the rata-tat-tat delivery wears me down. As she gets better, she'll learn how to moderate her rhythm and introduce more variety in her style. And more important, enjoy herself. The idea, obviously, is that the girl just wants to have fun. But at this point, she's offering a belabored illusion of it. No wonder she's burning out.
67
@Chris You're probably not her audience.
7
I find videos like this made by members of this age group to be torturously long and incredibly tedious. The auteurs repeat themselves endlessly, belabor pointless points, and the narrative moves at a glacial pace. How does this generation, with its supposed short attention span, maintain interest to the end of the video? Somewhere around 2004, I caught part of an interview on NPR with a writer who had just published a book about the effects of technology on the human brain and how children’s brains are rewired differently than those of previous generations. That must be it.
108
@Judith I thought the same thing at first (I’m in the generation that grew up with one dial phone and one colour TV) but a few minutes in I was laughing out loud. She’s really funny!
9
@Judith These videos aren't meant for you to "get" or "relate to", just as whatever drivel you were into in the 60's didn't speak to the older generation. They thought your attention span and morals were destroyed, too, so...
14
@amy Exactly
3
I was able to get through perhaps the first 30 seconds of one of her videos embedded in this article and realized she is simply not funny nor enjoyable to watch. I pressed Stop when she screeches her surprise at finding out that the cameraman is filming her. Surely her "followers" must have something else better to do...or watch?
5
Save that money, girl.
Eventually you're going to want to use those story telling skills for something more. I hope you do.
But save. that. money.
10
I just saw "Ralph Breaks the Internet" the other day and I think that movie sums up YouTube and most social media nicely. If you haven't seen it, I recommend watching it. I won't give the premise away but it involves Ralph trolling for likes.
2
Audio. Learning how to record audio would be a nice touch. It wouldn't ruin anything and it would greatly enhance the experience. It would even provide another whole domain to have fun with editorially.
2
sorry - but backbreaking work? No way. Let's think about my mom who got up at 5 to go bake th4 breads, pies, cakes, dsserts for a local restaurant. Or let's talk about field hands t=who pick 10 or 12 hours a day the food we eat--in the heat in horrible conditions. Or the workers wherever they are who labor in horrible conditions half the day to make beads for Mardi Gras or T shirts we can buy for $4.99.
Sorry. The content she provides is sad and worthless.
13
@MD Worthless to you. If it brings joy to others, it's a good thing. It doesn't bring joy to me. Or to many of us who aren't teenagers anymore. Find your own thing that brings you joy.
Did I find the 5 minutes of her birthday video that I watched amusing?
No. But she is 18 and her demo is adolescent and teenage girls and boys, no? Why expect her humor to be mature and incisive?
That said, she is a good editor. And with all her little visual and sound tricks, I wonder if she was directly influenced by the cutting of Godard...
3
Making that much money for something like this has to be a real cultural sign of the times. Something in the way of how Fredric Jameson noted postmodernism captured the "last stage" of technological development. This is a reflection beyond the manifestation of postmodernism and is truly a deformation and disintegration of the reasonable expectation of industriousness.
4
‘“For me personally, I just don’t have anything to prove anymore,” she said. “I know exactly who I am, I know that I’m intelligent and acting dumb or acting like whatever. If that’s funny to me because I know it’s false then so be it.”’
< this quote is the reason I don’t watch her brand of YT influencers. False, for-the-laughs dumb and shallow got us the Kardashian’s and Trump. It’s literally no longer a joke. The sensationalism and exhibitionism all under the guise of “relatability” (what does this word even mean anymore?) and all for the purpose of selling junk or a fake sense of self improvement, is tired. In some quarters I sense a push to a rawer and more unedited vlog style akin to vintage YT days of the mid 2010s. In other quarters it’s getting to be even more about materialism and shock value.
I would argue ContraPoints is the most important and certainly an indisputably original, creative and substantive person on YT right now. Please consider writing a feature on ContraPoints. Please also consider doing a deep dive into the YT algorithm and what types of videos get monetized (and what doesn’t). I appreciate this series on professional social media human advertisements—oops, I mean influencers.
5
I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who didn’t find these videos worth my time.
6
This is a tremendous article because it recognizes the strength of Ms. Chamberlain as an entrepreneur, a media artist, and, especially, as a very talented editor and composer. She appears to have a great relationship with her parents. As someone who experienced, briefly, the joys of losing myself in movie making, especially the editing process, Ms. Chamberlain is compelling in her statement about how quickly the time flies when she is immersed in the creation of her videos. That said, there is a very (possibly-inadvertent) narcissistic element to her videos. Notice how in her trip to San Francisco with her father recording, the entire focus of the camera is barely on this magnificent city. Instead the camera is focused only on Ms. Chamberlain. But this is the peculiar nature of this type of entertainment for very young viewers. They want to see her, hear her reactions, and experience her reactions to her surroundings (they are not interested in the actual surroundings themselves. I have no doubt that Ms. Chamberlain will eventually move out of this type of art into other areas wherein the subject is not herself. For now, this is an incredible and phenomenally wealthy entry to media art forms. I wish her and her parents well :).
11
"...at least $120,000 a year, and perhaps as much as $2 million."
The social analytics firm couldn't come up with a better estimate than "umm, lots"?
40
She gets paid to talk on the internet? Excuse me for thinking that, in fact, that’s an easy way to make money. Perhaps she should try construction, sanitation, nursing, teaching, or food service and then report back on how hard YouTube fame is. Until then, I’ll save my empathy for those who deserve it.
44
@AJ oh my gooood stop shaming entertainers. why do people respect successful actors and musicians and then insist on diminishing the efforts of streamers and vloggers? we get it, you don't like it. so click another article.
1
@Ryan I wasnt the one claiming that being a YouTube celebrity was backbreaking. I suspect it involves a lot of work, but it is not manual labor of the backbreaking variety. Nor should I feel sorry for a young woman who makes more than I do for creating vapid videos on the internet.
2
I tried really hard to watch one of her videos but gave up because I didn't find it funny or entertaining in any way. Maybe it's my age, but I just don't get it.
59
I agree with you. I don’t get them
Her videos are the equivalent of getting a tattoo at 20. When you’re 40 it’s not going to be that cool anymore.
50
One more sad example of how needy, self involved and shallow what passes for entertainment has become. "It's all about me" is where we all start. The idea is to make it about something beyond that endless font of self.
58
Disclosure: I only watch YouTube to learn to fix my washing machine, or to catch Stephen Colbert's monologue from last night - it's not a form of entertainment in my world. But I DID watch a 15 min video posted of Ms. Chamberlain on The Atlantic, bc I was curious. IMO, the joke on millennials' endlessly-curated online presence should be a one-off; point well-taken, what else can you show us? I would like to see her channel some of the effort and creativity into sonnets or sonatas - she seems to enjoy turning structure on its end.
12
I listened to .57 seconds of her first video and I had to stop. I was SO bored. Hmmm...kids these days. :)
63
@hazlit: its likely you’re not the intended audience, generationally speaking. With 8 million subscribers, she doesn’t need us to like her: she’s doing well without us.
3
@Hazlit
I found this young woman so stinking funny. I watched the whole episode. She is an original.
3
Of course making videos doesn't compare to any true physical labor, but I think Bromwich's point might be that kids who dream of making a living as You Tubers think its just turning on their cellphones and being cool and talented that will magically make them successful. As much disdain as we may have for the content of the videos (I haven't watched one myself), it illustrates how much effort and commitment it takes to keep the product coming. It reminds me of walking pass my neighborhood basketball court and seeing all that beautiful, between the legs dribbling and never seeing a ball going through the hoop. Everyone wants to be Stephen Curry without putting in all the hard work and endless hours of drills and repetition to be able to make a basket. I work with young people and I see that the key word in Instagram is "Insta". The illusion that fame and fortune will come without effort and perseverance.
24
I teach high school. Years ago, a student told me he wanted to be a music producer. I said, “Oh, that’s cool— are you a musician? Are you taking music classes?” He shook his head, a little confused. I said, “Oh. Well, how about business classes? You’ll need those too.” He said no, looking like neither idea had occurred to him. Our puzzled expressions mirrored each other, but for different reasons.
15
What was the name of that movie Jim Carey starred in where his life was a TV show and remind me how that ended?
8
The Truman Show?
3
@MDCooks8. I believe that was “The Truman Show”. I forget the details of the ending but it all went south!
It seems like Emma has had a good lesson in business... Unless you’re preparing for the next innovation, your business is doomed.
What is the bigger waste of time: hours spend on creating trivial content such as this, or hours spent by people actually watching such trivial content?
110
Well done, Emma. What's you plan past YouTube when the craze subsides and the mass hordes move on to the new big thing? I hope you are saving up to get you through some higher education or job training when the gig is up.
18
She says "like" way too much. Otherwise, some slick editing and pacing.
2
@Ed Says "literally" too much, like everybody in her age group. "I, like, literally too a shower and literally went to bed."
I'm amazed at how much negativity people are dredging up to throw at Ms. Chamberlain. Not mine to wonder why. Instead, I look forward to checking out how this young woman generates humor and boosts quotidian narrative via editing (per the reporter's comments.) This is artistic creativity -- a variety that has won Oscars and earned places in art history. I'm especially surprised by the hostility and ill-will over Ms. Chamberlain having left high school. It's not as though many American secondary schools nurture intellectual pursuits. An auto-didact with a library card can make up for missed lessons. And if Ms. Chamberlain eventually decides to take a formal route, Ms. Chamberlain's discipline, dedication and earnings will appeal to college admissions deans across the land.
54
@Fiorella She's making money hand over fist, yet these inane videos aren't funny or even entertaining; they're fingernails-on-the-chalkboard tedious. But then we live in a world with millions of people who are fascinated with the Kardashians and vote for Donald Trump, so de-evolution may actually be a thing.
2
I know I'm not of the generation (I'm a GenXer) to which this stuff appeals, but I don't understand how/why this is validated by our society. How does this make our world a better place? How do these mindful videos contribute to anything? I know there's no one way to make a meaningful contribution to society, but this isn't how I would want to look back on what I did during my life and find that all I could point to are a bunch of YouTube videos.
47
@Warren H People who may not feel like they are worth it or they feel depressed get excited when these guys upload new videos. Others think it's a good career similar to acting and producing in movies and shows. Youtube is a new type of entertainment
1
@Warren H if it makes people laugh, it makes the world a better place:)
@Warren H Right, but Emma Chamberlain is the age of a kid who just graduated from high school. I was a parent's/teacher's dream of a student and spent the summer after I graduated from high school (back in the olden times of 2000) being marginally employed, performing for tourists in a beach town's production of The Music Man (that seminal, groundbreaking work), and trekking up to Vancouver with some of my fellow teen actors so that we could hang around, make jokes that would not be funny to anyone outside a very narrow age range, and enjoy the bottled "alcopops" procured by one of our group's legal-in-Canada 19yos. Her work seems a lot more valuable than whatever it was I thought I was accomplishing. You'd have little patience for me then, but I think you'd rather like me and my contributions to society now. Give her a minute.
2
A very very sad commentary on a young woman's life. I am distressed reading this.......
20
I think it's strange this career seems so foreign and confounding to some people. YouTube is basically a new medium to be an actress or comedian like so many we watch and admire. Seth Rogen dropped out of high school, he's fine and we mostly all like him. If she needs to Emma can take all her money and get a GED and go to college if and whenever she feels like it. Good for her honestly. Creating a genre is pretty cool.
25
Being successful takes hard work and commitment...imagine that, says this RN after 35 years in the field.
19
I started reading this article to find out how, exactly, being a YouTube star is backbreaking work. Compared to what, being a migrant farm worker picking produce in the hot sun? I still don’t get it and, frankly, I don’t care.
97
@PCB Obviously it's not as hard as picking produce but it's still a hard working job. You have to think of new ideas, you have to record, then comes the hours and hours of editing. It's like acting and singing it may not seem hard working but you still have to work
2
@PCB I also read it to find out why this girl is "the funniest person on YouTube." Not only was this not revealed, but every clip presented served as evidence of the opposite!
2
8 million viewers wow. She is making way over 120k. If Instagram followers can make x with 40k, she is in a whole different league.
I guess this is the new american dream? :)
10
As Jewel famously said, "People living their lives for you on (T.V.)
They say they're better than you and you agree."
13
Wow, so many curmudgeons. This isn’t meant for most of us. Kids like it. Those darn young people and their newfangled rock music! They don’t know what they’re missing.
15
To equate this mindless drivel with the advent of one of America’s truly original art forms is a false equivalence of the highest order.
2
Coal mining is back-breaking work. Chopping cotton, too. Ms. Chamberlain has a solid work ethic doing something she loves and is expert at. Let's not get carried away.
38
We have become a nation of voyeurs... reveling in the mysteries and attractions of other people's lives.
How empty.
32
@OneView Tabloids and gossip have been around for generations. We've always been a nation of empty-minded voyeurs.
Wow, so many elderly haters. You’ve turned into your parents. “Back in my day…blah blah blah…” The embedded video was my first exposure to Emma Chamberlain. She is absolutely charming, witty and hilarious. Not only is she the talent in front of the camera, she’s the editor as well. Perhaps many readers don’t realize how much skill is required to edit video and how painstaking the process is. And just because you don’t “get” something, doesn’t mean it’s not good. I don’t think we need to worry about whether Emma will be successful in the future!
70
@Reuben She's not talented. She just yaks too much and repeats "like" and "literally" 50 times.
20
@Reuben
You DO realize that, as a human being, it's your *purpose in life* to turn into your parents, right? If we don't become our parents, the human race dies out.
And yes, that includes changing your mindset and losing interest in stuff that once entertained you, just the way a teenager loses interest in the dolls or blocks they played with as a toddler.
If we weren't like this, if we didn't feel like things got old or stale or boring, we wouldn't be where we are. It's our nature to look for new things to be interested in, to leave behind the things we already experienced. That's why we explored our planet, why we'll one day put people on Mars. It's how we work.
9
@Reuben I agree!
1
Sorry, I don't think much of parents who encourage dropping out of high school, and moving away to live alone. Looks like early life burnout, mentally and physically, is coming for this youngster, sad.
15
High edit You tube "comedy" is lazy, annoying, hard to watch and not funny. It's all done in the editing room -- too safe, too saccharine, too calculated, ultimately boring.
If true that her new stuff leaves the hyper editing out, it may get better, more real, more funny.
10
The most disturbing thing about this is that as a 7 year old she found she could finally make friends......on youtube and her parents are currently her best friends. I hope this poor gal makes it out of her young adulthood alive.
18
I'm a male in my mid-to-late 20s. Never heard of this girl before. I watched maybe 30 seconds of two videos and had to shut it off. Entirely vapid.
58
I call this the "Michael George Hartley" phenomenon.
The movie "Lawrence of Arabia" opens with Lawrence making maps in a dreary basement room with his co-worker, Michael George Hartley. Lawrence hates the work, MGH likes it just fine. Anyway, not to give away what happens in the scene, but things do happen and Lawrence leaves with David Lean's camera following him.. because that's an interesting story. Micheal George Hartley stays where he is; if we were to give him anymore thought to suppose what happened to him. It's not like people walked out of the theater asking each other "but whatever became of Michael George Hartley?"
Nowadays he would have a youtube channel and keep us apprised of the exciting things happening in the map room.
But he sure doesn't play with matches. cackle, cackle.
(honorable mention goes to the filmmaker Whit Stillman who seems dedicated to making films with characters every bit as interesting as Michael George Hartley. Perhaps Emma's parents are Whit Stillman fanatics and she's been mired in it since childhood.)
2
What’s all the hard work behind her videos leading to? What’s her endgame? The videos themselves seem to have no inherent value, so the inexplicably large number of viewers seems to be the sole justification for the creation for the videos in the first place. As a 42-year-old, I just don’t understand the value of these videos on a platform (YouTube) with countless disposable videos that are forgotten as soon as they’re published.
29
@BCM Can you say the same for acting and singing? What value come out of those? Similar to you tubers they entertain people and some people who really need to escape the world sometimes.
1
Not sure how that's different from most of what's on television.
I can’t believe all the people criticizing this girl. She’s clearly doing well, making more money than I am as a 20 years-in teacher. So she didn’t go to college. So what? Some kids who get into acting or the performing arts never go to college. She has company endorsements, and she has video production and editing skills. If she wants to work for a production company or do anything in media or communications, her experience will take her far. Not everyone needs a college degree. She isn’t going to outgrow her audience either. There are SO many Youtube families that pull millions of views on their videos. When she has kids, she can continue the work and she has a built-in audience. Sure, you can be an entertainment snob and hate on her, but why? She’s not trying to be an “artist.” She’s making money and keeping herself busy. Others are getting entertained; no one gets hurt.
51
@Deanna well said. I’m not sure why many commenters are so eager to predict Emma will have some incredibly unpleasant wake-up to “reality” down the line should she continue down her current (and wildly successful) path. Clearly her generation has woken up to the fact that there are no guarantees of a happy life with a college degree or vocational training, though they often go hand in hand with one’s first introduction to significant consumer debt (and yes, I would categorize student loans as such). Maybe hers is not the path for every young person but it is no less valid for being different. Emma already has the practical skills and work ethic that will allow her to get a well paying job in a number of fields: video editing, pr/marketing, acting, media etc. should she choose to move on from YouTube. And she’ll be starting from a place of prosperity.
15
@Burke Hart
"I’m not sure why many commenters are so eager to predict Emma will have some incredibly unpleasant wake-up to “reality” down the line"...
It's called Schadenfreude and is unfortunate, especially even here in the NYT comments. It seems the self important naysayers, whom themselves have not yet figured out a clever way to enjoy earning a living, simply can't "tip their hat" sportsmanlike.
7
@Deanna
"I can’t believe all the people criticizing this girl."...
Jealousy or, its more disturbing partner, schadenfreude. Both are epidemic in this country now.
7
My teens watch her stuff - I can't make it longer than 3 or 4 minutes. I'm more deeply concerned about another YouTuber teen who makes her living vlogging about her teen motherhood. She's expecting her second baby now. She's 19. My own teen says, "Good for her! She made the most of her situation." I'm having a hard time sharing that perspective.
40
I would think of her actions as a "cash grab" and believe it will all dry up at some point in the future, so get it while you can. With the way teenage/young adult tastes change, it's probably a wise move.
8
It’s all been done before but in different mediums throughout the ages but I applaud her work ethic.
10
I admire her. She forged her own path, an has demonstrated creativity and hard work in the process..
Has it taken a toll on her health?Yes, apparently . But she will recover.
And if she is earning a six figure income,more power to her. I wish her nothing but happiness and success.
14
Nothing wrong with developing a solid work ethic at a young age. ms. Chamberlain certainly has done so. Major kudos to her! Next - learn to work smarter. Please, find a way to work that does not damage your eyes, your back, etc., or at least minimizes the damage.
Well done, well done! Keep your videos coming. As for those who don't like your work - pay them no attention. Pay attention to your audience and edit accordingly.
9
Not new. A century ago they called it "stream of consciousness": same focus and elevation of the interior and ordinary, same cutting and blurring between objective and subjective, same feigned indecisiveness. But it's not Ulysses ... yet. Like Dickens, you've figured out how to keep our attention. Now work on Sublime and Profound. You ain't done yet. By the time of Finnigan's Wake, Joyce was half blind, working (and reworking) in his bed with large crayons.
http://www.openculture.com/2018/06/james-joyces-crayon-covered-manuscript-pages-ulysses-finnegans-wake.html
12
"Emma Chamberlain, 18, is the funniest person on YouTube." Sez who? Is Mr. Bromwich her agent?
100
@Hugh MacDonald
“Sez who?” Haha, now that’s funny.
2
Like (skip) shoot (skip) me (skip) now.
49
I don’t get it. More importantly, I don’t want to.
224
@PM Maybe that's the point. Kids always want their own things instead of hand-me-downs from previous generations.
10
"LITERALLY" got exhausted watching her about 1 minute in.
86
I'm sorry, i'm pretty open minded, I look forward to seeing what young people come up with but this is unwatchable . I feel sorry for anyone that waste the precious moments of their life on this. Spend your time on something better rather than on a person collecting "hits"
BTW. I guess I gave her a hit
88
I don’t think anybody who calls views “hits” is in the right age group to connect with her content or base.
9
Yet another indication that we have reached Peak Celebrity
19
All the old people commenting that they don't "get it"...it's not FOR you. You aren't meant to understand what kids are into...especially on the internet. Kids have always been into new weird ~rAndOm~ stuff on the internet. I'm 35 and have watched Emma's videos and she seems like a funny smart sweet teenage girl and wouldn't mind one bit if my daughter watched her videos. I used to watch people talk to the camera on mtv all day...teens watch them on youtube now...what's the difference. Get over it.
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@Jackie
I don't think it's just old people. I think it's people who are asking themselves why they didn't think of an equally ingenious and clever way to earn a living. Whether a butcher, baker, or YouTube video maker, this is America isn't it?
5
@Jackie
Pure sugar in diets pushes out better nutrition.
Bad money pushes good money out of circulation (see any silver dimes lately?)
Vacuous entertainment crowds out good music, movies, and television.
Yes, this kind of video is popular with millions of people younger than I. I do know what I am missing. I'm unsure if the young people do.
31
@Jackie
1) she isn't a kid.
2) you're no spring chicken (age is relative, dearie)
3) the idea that someone can make a living today by selling oneself in a weird exhibitionistic-voyeuristic relationship, well, yeah, sorry, but that is strange and indeed, I, at least, do not "get it". It is pretty sad, really, but we've had decades of this look-at-me genre, from the Kardashians to all the YouTube narcissism vids, so we old folks should just get used to it, I suppose.
On the other hand, anyone using the 'net in most any way is hopefully well aware that just like tech, fads and fashion and 'likes' change quickly. Today's masses have short attention spans, little tolerance, and a vicious nature (just my opinion), so one's 'fame' could change overnight.
At best, it is questionable 'job experience', and while millions in the bank are great (speaking theoretically - I've never had that pleasure), how many folks have won the lottery and blown it in just a few years? With respect, I doubt a 19 year old would manage such wealth well.
Honestly, I find it sad, but I wish her good luck. She's going to need it.
4
Cliff's notes - if you're good looking people will watch you do stupid things online. Can't blame people for cashing in - if you can scoop up a few million by the time your peers are $60k in college debt, you're sitting fairly pretty with a lot of options down the line
40
So, if everything goes right for her, from this point forward, she can look forward to becoming, what exactly? The next Paris Hilton? The next JWow? Lindsay Lohan? (Pro tip - be careful of cameras and beds.)
I hope it works much better than that for Emma. But I'd try to pick up some coding skills along the way. JIC.
21
I am way out of Emma's demographic, but I've watched her videos to see why she is the "it" girl. She is very unique and clearly whip smart.
Most importantly, she stands out so much from the other LA girls her age who all have lip fillers and breast implants. Maybe a lot of it is editing, but she is funny and relatable, and that will be true on any medium. Keep being you, Emma.
20
Clearly the writer of this article doesn't understand what back-breaking work means.
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@Typical Ohio Liberal Or what "funny" means.
2
Growing up is hard to do.
8
I’m an ancient almost grandparent. So maybe it isn’t surprising I read this article and watched the embedded video with little prior knowledge of Ms. Chamberlain’s corner of the online world. My first reaction was a sense of nihilism more than narcissism in the preoccupation with self and the meaningless inner dialogue of a bright and engaging teen, who seems to have little to contemplate or share other than angst. But seven million presumably teenaged viewers watch this? The powerful internet used not for the exchange of ideas or aspiration, but for ersatz friendship for the lonely and bored. I guess, much as my parents observed when I was down in the basement listening to Cheech and Chong records, avoiding adult reality, it’s a phase. Hats off to her for cashing in on it, but please, kids, unplug and get outside!
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@Geoff
Nihilism indeed, or, post-consumer exhaustion. See Drake and Kanye West as exemplars. No pleasure in consumption; no depth in pronouncement. Beguiling eyes and catchy video cuts, but, in the end, idling.
8
I don't get it. I don't want to get it. I hope that the "content" that interests me--things like science, art, literature, music--will be around for the remainder of my life so I'll be OK without watching Emma Chamberlain or her vapid successors.
40
Going against the grain of the general consensus in the comments: I find her refreshing! Emma Chamberlain has an innate understanding of humor, great comedic timing, and a keen eye for editing. She pinpoints what is funny to her, and presents it to her audience in such a way that few people can, especially at her age.
*I am at least 20 years older than her, if that makes a difference.
14
I guess You Tube star is now the dream job for anyone under 25.
18
I estimate we're about 24 months away from AI-driven deepfakes, generated to meet specific corporate social-media objectives, putting all these people out of business.
22
She's 17 and the world is her oyster now. But as the saying goes, time waits for no man and she will soon grow old(er) and a new Piped Piper will emerge to lead the next generation (probably with a shorter attention span) using a new/different medium or platform to entertain themselves. Good luck for the future.
8
This fourth aspect of the ego (cyberego) that has emerged,thanks to the Internet, will likely spell the downfall of our race through rampant narcissism and the eventual eradication of the society and the technology that made it possible. But while it's happening, we'll watch it on Youtube, comment, like or subscribe. "Oooh, look - Singapore just fell into the ocean - wow - any drone footage?"
As Neil Postman put it, we are amusing ourselves to death. Godspeed.
28
This kind of "fame" can leave as quickly as it came, as it is based on...nothing. Then she will be without an education and without an idea of what real "back breaking work" is.
25
@Mary If she manages to make herself a couple of million bucks over those few years of fame she'll be fine and maybe never have to feel back breaking work. She is getting herself an education in the way the world works right now and good for her.
43
@David Shaw well said, and she has plenty of time to start a "real" education too.
5
Is this a thing, tedium induced by narcissism?
93
Subscriber count is kind of a dubious metric for YouTube popularity these days. And even by that measurement she isn't in the top 500 most subscribed (yet). And even now YouTube's past is littered with "channels" that were popular once upon a time and are now either gone or shadows of what they once were. Content "creators" are also completely at the mercy of YouTube's capricious recommendation algorithm. What is fine one day is deemed advertiser unfriendly the next, often for no explicable reason. Good luck to her; my sense is she's gonna need it.
tl;dr - All of which leads me to think her dropping out of school was a really stupid move.
13
Watching just one of these videos has made me feel a hundred. I need a nap.
9
Unfortunately, I must quote a certain president: “sad”.
12
On one hand, this is kind of sad. I don't know if any of us who grew up before the internet existed would want our teenage musings and antics documented for the whole world, in perpetuity. On the other hand, if we give young people a world where they graduate with high student debt and no guarantee of a job, we can't blame them for finding other ways to make a living. What we have to sell now is ourselves. This is just another example.
16
I respectfully take issue with this headline. “Backbreaking work" applies to those who do manual labor all day, and are often woefully underpaid: Farmers and workers who labor in the hot sun planting and picking crops; workers who mop floors, clean toilets and move weighty equipment; maids who clean bathrooms and change bed linens, lifting heavy mattresses in hotel and motel rooms; factory workers who operate heavy equipment; caregivers and physical therapists who lift, maneuver and physically support patients and others with lack of mobility and strength; soldiers on battlefields throughout the world.
There are various professions and métiers which require sustained work, and a sustained work ethic. Whatever one’s opinion of Youtube fame, “arduous” or ‘rigorous’ might be better word choices for this article’s headline.
233
@Ilene Starger Well, these days people spend hours hunched over their computers working and end up with some serious back and neck problems, so maybe we need to revise our definition of "backbreaking work."
22
@Ilene Starger You can actually get some serious injuries working at a computer all day (RSI, carpel tunnel, back problems ...) as Emma does when she's editing. The endless repetition of fine motor movements of the hands is extremely unhealthy for the human body. And Emma alludes to sight problems. Working all day at a computer has serious health risks unless accompanied by regular breaks and preventive strengthening exercises. Even then, it can still be very damaging to the tendons and soft tissues.
4
@Ilene Starger
Or maybe just "time-consuming."
8
Mike Judge predicted all of this when he made the movie Idiocracy with Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph. That's what a subset of our culture is headed towards. I accept that short form entertainment is in the main stream, but most of it is not art. If you put a hidden camera in 20% of the living rooms of America with kids between the ages of 5 - 15, you'd find the same caliber of video as those made intentionally by "influencers".
122
Not sure I can sit through all the videos... but if I do watch them it will be too late to comment. Sigh.
5
In the '80s I unloaded trains filled with the paper sacks used in supermarkets and trucks filled with all kinds of heavy stuff. No forklifts, no pallet jacks.
That was backbreaking work.
Filming and editing annoying/obnoxious/navel gazing YouTube videos is now backbreaking.
What a world...
355
@Spike Agreed. This is why many of us who are now "seniors" find ourselves reading about such nonsense, and then muttering, "Christ!"
Good lord, common sense and the desire to better oneself seems to be entirely bereft in a large segment of the population. Parents, where are you?
29
@Spike
I did the same, but with heavy furniture, oh and a forklift. Still hard work.
I hear you.
14
@Spike
Hyperbole, is the rule. She dramatizes the mundane, and calls it boring. It’s a fascinating window into a young girls life. Beautiful and authentic, and yes, fleeting.
12
Backbreaking?
I am a millennial, but I have to say, this is why people complain about millennials...
371
@Adam No worries. She's Gen Z. You've been relegated to the generational backburner. Signed, a Boomer/Gen X hybrid.
59
@Adam She is Gen Z, not a millenial!
The oldest millenials turn 40 next year. The rule of thumb right now is that if they're still in college, they're Gen Z. Post-college but pre-40 is millenial.
26
@Adam do you devalue the contribution of all people who make money from YouTube, or just hers?
3
...these videos are absolutely mind numbing.
112
@te - and IMO not in any good way.
20
This girl is hilarious. And that cover photo: she's beautiful. Yet she doesn't act beautiful, if you know what I mean. The videos are super vulnerable. Which is a concern; I doubt that she can do this kind of work for very long.
As for the humour: a modern day Seinfeld. Making the drab, everyday stuff funny. Spontaneous (I know, it's edited. But the edits just piece together spontaneous things.) Smart.
Good on you. And your parents.
37
"... a modern day Seinfeld."
Um, no.
42
"Changed the world of online video".... Many bigger Youtubers who have about 10 years of experience on her would beg to differ.
46
"Chamberlain also makes good money. SocialBlade, a social media analytics firm, estimates that from her videos alone she makes at least $120,000 a year, and perhaps as much as $2 million. Sponsor deals with Hollister and Louis Vuitton are another revenue stream."
An 18 yo HS dropout-- not working out of a garage building a company that will significantly change things, but making silly, pointless videos, earning that kind of money.
the real problem is the culture that creates this nonsense.
338
@John
Ms. Chamberlain earns that kind of money because millions of people watch her videos and are thereby entertained, and she gets a few cents or fractions of a cent for the ads that they see when doing so. So, yes, providing millions of hours of enjoyment is an actual service worthy of compensation. I imagine that they will continue to watch and enjoy the videos even after learning that you think they are nonsense.
At any rate, the same could be said about almost any person in entertainment whose work one does not see the value in, many of whom make far more money.
The videos aren't to my taste - I might even agree that they are nonsense - but they are far less obnoxious than the notion that "real problem" (with what exactly? the world?) is that people like media that I don't. Anyway, if this sort of dross wasn't popular, what would you (and the 200+ recommenders) use to make yourselves feel superior to everyone else?
13
@John
She's building a brand that is valuable. She's monetizing it and it's lucrative, because her brand is popular. She will be able to take that in multiple directions. Don't worry, she'll stay off your lawn.
14
@John And the media that purvey it.
2
This is as much a mystery to me as my 22 year old son’s non-stop viewing on You Tube of others, unknown to him, gaming (computer games).
10
This article made my brain hurt. I hope this young lady will get her GED and a college education at some point. Not to achieve some career goal, just to get an education. It’s really unfortunate how we as a society are advocating for a less educated population.
70
Our public k12 education system generally has too little to offer those with certain types of talent. She should go to college, though..one specialized to her interests. and stop rushing.
12
When I was a kid I hated watching home videos of other people's lives. Now my kids live for watching this awfulness on YouTube. I don't get it - I never will. Just don't make watch it!
50
She's complaining about her vision problems, her back hurting and she works from her bed when she edits? ( and apparently does that a lot)... time to move to the next phase... like getting out of the house more and moving to a job where your talents can grow...
31
Since Emma Chamberlain is foregoing an education, I hope she's getting excellent investment advice from a professional. Youtube is a medium for the very young. It's hard to believe when you're 17 that you won't be young forever, but time flies fast. At 27 Emma will be out of touch and too old for this kind of celebrity and she may not be able to make a living from it. Since she's a savvy businesswoman, maybe she can start a business or a consulting firm. But invest wisely now. And get some computer glasses and start doing yoga or pilates for your back, Emma!
89
@LL
Geez. In the first video, My Birthday Is Ruined, Emma gives like a two minute extemporaneous verbal riff on what it means to be to be every age as a teenager, 15, 16, 17 and 18 that is nothing short of brilliant. Nabokov would have been proud to have spent an entire week coming up with that for one of his novels.
4
OK, I'm old, but I watched a couple of these and I'm impressed by her talent, plus I found them very entertaining. The only major problem I see is that she uses the word "literally" far too often.
16
@Riley2
As does all their cohort. Has replaced "like" as like the most literally overused word ever!
20
@Marti Mart And generally they use it incorrectly. It is one of my big pet peeves!
6
@Hope Madison
It's not incorrectly. Language evolves. Everyone knows what the word "literally" means when people use it that way.
I get it, I'm a pedant too, but the ship on "literally" has sailed. It shall never see a return to normalcy.
8
Boomers, such as myself, and others who question "What's the attraction?" cannot deny that this phenomena is very real and very pervasive. We'd be wrong to dismiss as somehow a lower form of (fill in the blank: art, humor, communication.... other?).
I often react "But she's not FUNNY", and I see similar comments often. Or "He's not making any point at all", or "Why would anyone just want to watch another person eat?"
But those questions are irrelevant, it seems to me. Is the attraction that viewers feel validated seeing another's private moments, no matter how trite? Of course there is some entertainment value, witness the discussion of the importance of editing, cutting, and etc. But I venture that the popularity of these videos goes far beyond their entertainment value.
OK, New York Times. Can you find a couple of psychologists and social evolution experts that are young enough to personally understand the viewer's mindset, yet educated enough to articulate it to those of us who don't understand?
160
I just watched “come inside my mind” and think Chamberlain is quite a bit like Robin Williams (rip). His spontaneity was inimitable - and therein lies her edge over copycats.
Dear Emma, it’s time for standup... and btw you’re too good for SNL.
23
@ImagineMoments
I'm a sexagenarian who works in a department with people in their twenties and early thirties. The only social barrier I've encountered (in the sense of "I don't get that") is this kind of video watching. They watch videos of other people trying to do or make things. And not instructionally—not like my husband goes to YouTube to see how to replace a part on the washing machine. They don't seem to have hobbies or activities outside work or to go out with friends much. They watch YouTube videos of other people doing things.
So yes, I would love to see some psychological framing of this. I watch a lot of scripted video narrative (aka TV shows) and am aware that I like it because narrative finds structures in human life and makes it seem purposeful or at least teleological or comprehensible. It's soothing or provides a sense of reintegration or an illusion of understanding. And I'm not saying that watching fiction is a superior pursuit. I'm just saying that the complex components of video fiction are something I can't put together for myself, whereas I could go try to make a garment and experience my own misadventures.
Like you, I am genuinely interested in more insight into the pleasures (right word?) of this kind of video.
17
@ImagineMoments I'm also not in the key demographic for the videos, but I find your comment thoughtful and open-minded. I found all the other comments on here outright dismissing this new medium for art to be missing the entire point.
6
Perhaps it’s my age or the fact that I, thankfully, did not grow up in the internet age, but I find nothing about these videos funny or even remotely entertaining. Maybe it’s that I live with two teenagers and can hear expressions of their and their friend’s adolescent awkwardness IRL (that’s “in real life” for my fellow Gen Xers).
In fact the entire notion that people of nominal talent — and I’m being generous here — can become not just famous but wealthy and famous by being utterly ridiculous on YouTube is causing me CTE from all my head shaking. For all the advantages the internet has bestowed upon us, like low-cost phone calls and the ability to find your way around unfamiliar cities, there is a definite downside. For instance, my teenagers spend an unhealthy amount of their time guffawing over memes and watching asinine videos online. (I won’t even touch on the toxic morass that social media can be because my space is limited.)
Not all that long ago all the detritus of the still-developing adolescent brain stayed local, among friends as in jokes and private moments you could look back upon and cringe over silently. Now it’s broadcast for all the world to see — and monetized no less.
412
@EWood
Completely agree. I am a high school teacher and see this "talent" everyday. What is sad is that she left school to make videos that show little originality, creativity or imagination. I would have hoped some friend would have said "Emma, maybe you should just make videos for Leadership class or the morning school announcements."
107
@EWood
Great commentary, and completely agree, but as a ghost from the Silent Generation I don't think you went far enough.
Can you believe your generation had cars? Do you know how much faster those things are than horses. What about telephones? Speaking from personal experience, you have no idea how frustrating it is to wait more than a month to get a response to your telegram.
We lived quieter, more peaceful lives, and we were better people for it. Baby Boomers, in contrast, had it way too easy
17
@EWood Given that prior generations gave us Marcel Duchamp, Yoko Ono, Mark Rothko, and Andy Kaufman, I'm perfectly happy to accept the current generation of artists producing experimental work with the medium they know.
I agree it's odd, but there has always been odd art.
15
ok, i watched it. i dont get how anyone would find this interesting or amusing, but then i AM 80, and i guess her viewers are other teens, but still...
74