YouTube Trends – How Serious Can They Be?

YouTube Trends – How Serious Can They Be?

Searching for new content to entertain myself I came across a huge amount of YouTube trends that have been going around for the last few months, or years, I’m not sure. That’s not the issue. My concern begins when I started seeing videos with titles such as “You Can Look But You Can’t Touch” and “Saying Yes To Everything They Say” among other eyebrow-raising titles.

What’s So Concerning About That?

I’m currently in my twenties and as much as I love comedy there are things that make me extremely uncomfortable. It’s not because of the YouTubers making the videos, nor the meaning to judge their content, but when it comes to things that can possibly trigger someone that’s when I need to speak up about it. It may not seem triggering to you but let me point out a few things before you come to any conclusion.

Most of the content published by these influencers contain certain disturbing games of disrespect and crossing boundaries.

While I was watching one of the many “You Can Kiss But You Can’t Touch” videos I saw this woman in her twenties as well, and her fellow YouTuber boyfriend, in a situation where she would manipulate the scenario of him checking her out throughout most of the day but when he makes the move and he’s about to touch her then she says the already mentioned phrase. I know that it can be a little confusing for some people – regarding how can this be concerning, so I will summarize it all for you.

First of all, making these type of videos as YouTube trends surely gives young children the idea that what they’re seeing being portrayed by their favorite YouTubers is an okay behavior. Wrong. I kept digging in for more of the same videos with different YouTube couples and most of them consisted of the same misconception:

• Woman tries to seduce their partner until they have the need to touch them
• Woman tells their partner not to touch them
• Partner wants to forcefully touch them

For someone who’s a survivor of sexual assault seeing this type of content alters my anxiety and it activates my PTSD.

I don’t see anyone talking about that behavior and how young children are watching those videos just to engrave in the back of their heads that if someone says “no” to them then it is alright to do whatever they want to do without thinking of the consequences of their actions. Girls are taking mental notes that they will always have to please their partner, that it is their job to do so, and that it is not okay to say no to them just to avoid confrontation or because society has taught them these behaviors so it is not okay to go against that. If my future self was to have children, I would certainly not want them to conclude that this type of behavior is tolerable and that they’re only valued for their bodies.

They Need To Stop

As I said, I’m in my twenties and some people may think that it is all normal, people may think that those are just videos without any meaning; any context, that they’re just for fun and entertainment. If the parents of the children watching said videos haven’t had a talk about what consent is and how to respect other people’s decisions to neglect an action or to change their minds after saying yes; if they’re not taught how they should be treated, that they need to be respected by anyone and everyone, that they need to cut strings with anyone who doesn’t respect their souls, or their boundaries, then they will think that saying “no” and not being respected is just a normal thing in society’s eyes. Those things need to stop.

We need to start caring for our mental health, if we’re creators we need to understand our audiences and create content that’s entertaining and with a knowledge base of knowing what’s right and what’s wrong.

The same things go with the other YouTube trends such as “Telling My Boyfriend I’m Pregnant” when they really aren’t, it’s just inhumane and disgusting for women who are not able to have children that may be watching the video to witness these behaviors. Of course, you can adopt but I’m almost sure that most women who want to have children would love to have the opportunity and experience of having a positive test and a little human growing inside of them. Some women would love to be portrayed as they are; beautiful, smart, powerful, independent, strong, empowering, and worthy, but sadly society has made it its mission to maintain the image of women being “house moms” and being the ones who always do the cooking and the cleaning, of women just being “pleasers”. Young children should be taught what equality is and they should all practice doing the same things. No task is gender exclusive. What women do men can do as well and what men do women can also do said things.

We want a world full of equal rights for everyone but we’re excluding certain topics that need to be addressed more often.

Other YouTube Trends

While this specific topic was the one that triggered me the most, there are still a lot of YouTube trends that need more attention and a close look-up. From what I’ve seen, these could be potential triggers for everyone else who has been through trauma-related experiences:

• “Acting Scared Of My Partner” – Once again, these types of videos make survivors of domestic abuse doubt their situation and it makes it harder for them to come forwards due to YouTubers labeling this as a joke.
• “Being Sad To See How They React” – This is another one that got me really upset as well. People who are not mentally ill are labeling themselves as depressed just to get a reaction from their significant other. That is not okay. People who struggle with mental issues are on a constant fight with themselves. We feel invalidated as it is for people to start making us feel like our mental state doesn’t matter or that we’re just here to be made fun of, or obtain content material from our struggles.
• “Black Eye Prank” – Do we need to talk about this one? Domestic violence is a real thing that affects people every single day. Covering your eye with makeup and making it look like a black eye just so you can tell your friends your partner hits you it’s truly disturbing and inhumane. I can’t imagine anyone who’s been in a toxic relationship or anyone who has been abused in any way, seeing this type of content that normalizes aggressive behaviors just for fun.

Those are just some of the YouTube video trends that I’ve seen these last few weeks and I just wanted to encourage you all to take care of your mental health. Know when to stop something that’s toxic and doesn’t do you any good. Your experiences, feelings, and anger are valid; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, much less a couple of young adults profiting out of other people’s pain.

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