Healthy Hauling

I joined the YouTube community just 6 months ago, as an extension of BLEURGH. I was in awe of so many young girls (some of which were my age, and others even younger), who had acquired followers quantifying to more than mere thousands, just from expressing their interests on camera. Which is why I was infuriated this morning when I read this clearly biased Daily Mail article where they scapegoated a few young youtubers & ridiculed what young girls have come to deem a recreative hobby.

 Blazer : Apricot (Croydon) | Tanktop : Primark (Lingerie) | Tailored Peglegs : Warehouse 

One reason I pinpointed as the basis of this article was ENVY - Youtubers have an advantage over some academic writers/ journalists, who may have toiled endlessly in what they deem a learned craft. Youtubers now rob opportunities because they have captured a particular target market and have created a brand. A brand which companies want to be affiliated with. What may have started off as a hobby to some, turns into a profitable entrepreneurial venture, where companies send products for review, your 'friends' or 'subscribers' constantly bid you to make more videos on a particular topic, or you are itching at the number of likes, comments or views a particular video receives daily.

Purse : Calvin Klien | Rings : Bonita's (Croydon) & Matalan | Wedges : Primark

Now this may seem to some as an unhealthy 'hobby', wavering more towards the category of a 9-5 job. However, to take this away from young girls under claims that it is 'unhealthy' just drove me livid. Yes, one could be wary of the negative effects rude comments have on innocent young girls' self-esteem, but in my opinion, bullying is bound to occur whether via the internet or in reality. Girls who honestly only intend to share their latest purchases with the world, may be mocked by those who genuinely have no interest watching their videos in the first place, but does that mean it has no standing as a hobby? The journalist expressed mock-fear at the effects Youtube-hauling had on the younger generation. The danger from disclosing such sensitive information like the area one resides and the stores they frequent, may attract paedophiles and perverts, but that is where I draw the line.

One could have those same fears for a boy who independently takes the initiative to join his local football team, and is driven to away games by a 'trustworthy' stranger coach. Or jogs on the pitch with his brand new Nike football boots with sparkling new silver studs, 'showing off' to his peers. Is it any different purely due to gender, or the means of expression of materialism? This article, in my mind, is absolute pants, and enrages me! How dare he sit there and mock the girls who gleefully chose to term this their hobby? He is just as mean as any cyber bully sitting behind their keyboard, typing negative comments and disliking videos, its just he was smart enough to incorporate cynicism and rhetoric.

Onyxsta says...BLEURGH!! Haul away my fellow youtubers, fear not the spineless filth spat out by a pitiful daily mailer. Xisses