by Ryan Polk | staff writer
The amount of student-created content found on social media is quickly growing, with many students, such as sophomore Jay Lee and junior Kylee Afflitto, using YouTube as an outlet to express themselves through new and creative ways. In fact, some students have had their YouTube channels since before high school, and have already accumulated a fan-base.
“I created [the channel] I think in the fall of my seventh grade,” Lee said. “[The channel’s content is] really bad, but people still watch it so it’s all good.”
Lee and Afflitto use their YouTube channels in order to create and share a variety of content that they are passionate about. For example, Afflitto’s channel is primarily dedicated to makeup and body art, something that greatly interests and inspires her.
“[My channel’s content is] pretty diverse and creative I just do body painting, [and] there’s not a lot of channels that do that,” Afflitto said.
On the other hand, Lee, like many other YouTubers, was inspired to create his own original content after viewing the unique videos created by others.
“I just watch a lot of YouTube and I wanted to do it also,” Lee said. “So I did and then that’s it.”
Afflitto is also inspired to create her content by the channel’s ability to connect her to other people who share her interests in body art, and the positive responses that she receives from her channel’s viewers.
“They like seeing characters that they see in a video game being portrayed in a more artistic way, such as painting. I think that just makes people happy,” Afflitto said.
There seem to be a variety of different reasons people use their channel for, such as creating a steady stream of monetary gain, which is what Jay Lee does with his channel.
“[I’m using my channel] just in high school, so I can get money,” Lee said.
Other students, such as Kylee, utilize their channel not only for the purpose of dispelling boredom, but also as simply a way to express themselves.
“I’m just [creating my videos] for right now, for fun,” Afflitto said.
If you would like to check out Afflitto and/or Lee’s channel, see the links below:
Afflitto’s channel: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCLV2V4i3FPVXH2lT6eDF-qQ
Lee’s channel:https://m.youtube.com/user/TheJayCraft29
