You think not having total control of an organization means he’s free of blame. Would you say that your MAGA uncle doesn’t control Trump so isn’t responsible for his actions.
Pewdiepie is literally called an influencer. He warped what many young people belief they can become today and that belief is what ushered in a world of influencers chasing the all mighty dollar. That has given all these corporations fuel to create content and that content is stealing our data, eliminating data scarcity and used to influence politics.
He’s not the cause of it but he was an inflection point and could have went in a different direction to push kids to reject this new paradigm. Instead he was the face of it.
real_squids@sopuli.xyz 7 hours ago
I don’t, that’s something you made up about me in your head. I think that YouTube’s business execs would always lead it to where we are now.
He made gameplay videos. I think that’s the most benign form of “influencing” there can be. I think there are much more damaging channels that had way more sway in shaping this new generation.
Again, I’m not saying he’s a saint but I do think he’s ultimately insignificant when looking at the causes of and reasoning behind youtube’s enshittification. And I don’t think he would ever go a different direction, just doesn’t seem like the type.
Melvin_Ferd@lemmy.world 7 hours ago
He laid the groundwork for those shitty influencer. He had the attention of young people who looked up to him. The minute they saw he could make millions by becoming the walking embodiment of a Nascar fender he set the attitudes and aspirations of a generation.
Would YouTube continue without him? Yes of course.
Could he have pushed back and created helped influence a generation of kids to reject the selling out of themselves to this influencer culture? Absolutely.
There were a few influencers in those early days that could have changed things or at least maintained the zeitgeist that we had then. Nobody did. That money was too good. Everything after he made that first million would change how the internet worked.
He was the inflection point. He could have impacted everything going forward. He could have told kids that these companies were stealing their data. That they were soliciting gamers to use as Trojan horses for what would eventually make everything worse.
new_world_odor@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
To call him the inflection point, as if this wasn’t a more complex change emerging over time, is ridiculous. You are clearly speaking from an outside perspective. He has never come close to flashing his wealth or showing a ‘lifestyle’, anything that has came definitively after his peak. The influencer issue was also far more complex. Instagram was the central breeding ground for those types, and twitter was still conversationally relevant.
Even if he was the inflection point, what now? You expect someone at the center of things to realize their unique position, and then realize the most morally correct thing (to you) to do about it? Patently ridiculous, hindsight is 20/20 when it comes to larger cultural movements like influencers.
Calling pewdiepie an influencer shows how little you understand that sphere. You have no idea what you’re talking about.
Melvin_Ferd@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
What is an influencer.
Since you said I’m wrong. What is the inflection point that I’m describing.
Did I say he flashed his wealth.