Teenage YouTubers set trends on social media

A growing number of teenage YouTubers have secured tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of subscribers these days. More teenagers are scrambling to achieve success as video producers on YouTube.

YouTuber is ranked fifth among the future jobs singled out by elementary students, higher than legal expert (seventh) and singer (eighth), according to a 2018 survey on future career education situation. A total of 8,597 elementary students participated in the survey by the Education Ministry and the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training.

After pushing the record button, a young creator freely and endlessly recites without reservation. The teenager makes gestures so naturally that he almost looks like a TV entertainer. Choi Rin of My Rin TV, who launched his private YouTube channel in 2015, is enjoying immense popularity with more than 760,000 subscribers.

The 13-year-old YouTuber has peers as his major subscribers, and everything from his everyday routines becomes contents. He documents and posts on his YouTube channel includes pajama parties and exchange of graduation gifts with his friends. Slimes that are popular among elementary students and wheeled shoes (Heelys) are also part of his contents.

“I buy popular items at convenience store or stationary shop, and film them, and frequently use trend search on portal sites," he said. "This way, I can compare what hot items are these days."

He said he has no problem with keeping a right balance between his study and YouTubing, a cause for concern for teenage YouTubers. He uploads video clips everyday but conducts filming mostly during weekends.

“As he has been disclosing his school records as his video contents every six months, he seems to have improved his academic performance,” Choi’s father told The Dong-A Ilbo. "More than anything he has advanced his communications skills."

The teenage YouTuber even threw the ball to open the pro basketball league last month. He aims to secure 1 million subscribers, and plans to take part in various volunteer services including mentoring.


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com