It isn’t just celebrities or handpicked unknowns who have the financial backing of major television companies, putting their lives on camera. Ordinary people with families are now choosing to film their daily lives and, sharing it on YouTube. Depicting married life, parenting and various other interests in monthly, weekly or daily vlogs (video logs). Such is the rise in popularity of these vlogs, some have video subscribers of over 500 000 and, their subscribers increase daily. While these numbers cannot compare to the viewing figures of major television shows, the interest in these YouTube channels is growing at a significant rate.
It’s hard to believe that simple everyday activities such as going to the supermarket or even driving on the freeway have their subscribers hooked. Some of these daily vlogs were created as second channels, from vloggers (video loggers) who were already known for sharing their knowledge, talent or expertise in a particular area. The YouTube channel; ItsJudysLife, started as a makeup channel, it has since grown into a number of different channels detailing their wedding, married life, pregnancy and daily family vlogs. The star of the channel is their baby daughter, Julianna, who has been on YouTube since her birth. Australian vloggers Jamie and Nikki first posted their engagement video, titled: world’s most beautiful wedding proposal; just like in the movies. This received over 1000 000 views and, at the request of their viewers, they started posting regular vlogs about their daily lives as newly weds. DearNaptural85 was created by natural hair guru, Naptural85, she started filming videos detailing her pregnancy and the subsequent birth of her first child. From then on, after her subscribers requested more videos, the second channel has continued to grow.
Anyone can leave comments below these videos, ask questions or give advice and feedback. How much is shared is completely up to the video loggers. But, it does open them up to scrutiny and judgment about anything; from their sense of fashion to their parenting skills. With the majority of comments appearing to be positive, there are always a few negative ones that can be quite personal. On one such vlog, where a baby is regularly featured, the parents were strongly criticized, by some, for putting their baby on YouTube. Some have endured racist comments, ridicule and nitpicking. These appear to be few and far between, with most of the viewers being dedicated subscribers and fans, who usually thank them for putting their lives on display. There have been times when the couples have argued on camera, but nothing like the dramatic fights depicted on reality television shows. They generally seem quite pleasant and family friendly. Perhaps this is the reason why they have grown in popularity, especially among those who like reality television. While some reality TV shows are considered trashy; these family vlogs may be more realistic and, their viewers may feel they can relate to them.
Whether or not these YouTube ‘reality video’ continue, is a decision for the people who created them. As their babies grow into older children and even teenagers, they will have the option of rejecting the camera. Alternatively, they may develop a taste for fame that goes beyond YouTube. This month has been labeled ‘Vlogtober’ on YouTube, so there may be some new channels forming, dedicated to daily vlogging.
