4 minute read
Whatever you want to know YouTube has the answer.
YouTube has all the answers
Interested in grooming your dog? Or unsure about how to replace a radiator? – On YouTube there are videos about almost everything. The platform can be compared to a library that, instead of disseminating book-learning, conveys practical knowledge to the public, Thomas Hillman and Oskar Lindwall claim. They have both learned more about instructional videos just by watching YouTube. Ï
hen you stand there next to your cooker and wonder what blanched tomatoes actually are, you are probably not going to dig out your old cookbook. Instead, you pour water into the saucepan while glancing at a one-minute video clip on YouTube.
You're not alone. According to the Swedish Internet Foundation's report Swedes and the Internet from 2020, about 58 percent of Swedes learn new things with the help of YouTube; it is most popular in the age range 26–45 years. Oskar Lindwall, Professor of Communication, tells me.
– Instructional videos turn upside down the logic that says not to produce overly-explicit TV. This means that you should not say that you have an orange in your hand when viewers can see that for themselves. Instead, one should create a captivating story and arouse interest. However, an instructional video works the other way around: All the accompanying talk is just annoying, instead you want that orange and you want to know exactly, step by step, how to use it.
Despite the fact that so many Swedes
Oskar Lindwall points out that YouTube videos often explain things very clearly.
OSKAR LINDWALL
learn new things on the internet, there is practically no research on what it is or how it works. This is because pedagogical research is very focused on schools, explains Thomas Hillman, Professor of Applied Information Technology. – But we learn things all the time and YouTube is an example of how we absorb knowledge just when we need it. YouTube videos can be about simple things, like crocheting, but also about more difficult things, like replacing a radiator; then you may have to watch several clips to really understand. Even really complicated skills, such as Photoshop, yoga or a language, can be studied on YouTube, often by subscribing to a special channel.
Some videos, about cooking for example, are as much about entertainment as a way of learning new things, Oskar Lindwall points out.
– Several genres are very specific, for example those about make-up or computer games. Sara Beauty Corner is an example of a young girl from Bergen who shares her make-up tips; the channel has 10 million subscribers and last year raised 5 million USD in advertising revenue.
But then there are those instructional videos where a person simply used their mobile phone to film how to clean a sink. These are short and not very well-made clips, created by a someone who is barely visible in the video. But precisely because they are straightforward and also about real problems, they are easy to absorb. Often the videos also offer mistakes that
Thomas Hillman emphasizes that we not only learn in school but also otherwise when we do things.
THOMAS HILLMAN
you can relate to. Sometimes, however, these amateur film makers also develop into professional YouTubers with their own channel.
Three things have made this type of instructional videos possible: Mobile phone screens and video cameras, and of course the platform YouTube, Oskar Lindwall points out. – It could be said that these three elements have contributed to a kind of democratization of knowledge. In the past, you could fix your washing machine yourself, today it is more difficult. But the YouTube films give back some of the power to ordinary people so that they do not always have to ask an expert.
“Like, share, subscribe” are the three keywords that drive YouTube, Thomas Hillman explains. – The instructional videos also facilitate targeted advertising; anyone watching videos about Alfa Romeo is probably interested in products related to that type of car. And the viewer is constantly getting suggestions for new videos that will further feed that interest. YouTube's algorithms are admittedly quite crude, but since there are so many videos, something that matches your interests is likely to pop up.
A fun way to study how people learn by watching videos was during the Science Festival in 2019, says Thomas Hillman. – We had a stand in Nordstan where visitors could follow video instructions to learn how to make balloon animals. It's not all that easy, there is a high risk of the balloons exploding when you twist them. But by following the video, most of the visitors managed to complete the task quite admirably anyway.
Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg
Facts
Oskar Lindwall, Professor of Communication, who researches language and practical learning, among other things. Thomas Hillman, Professor of Applied IT, who researches social media, among other things. Both work at the Department of Applied IT.
