Kids don’t watch movies, they watch YouTube

Sad Professor

A story Kumail Nanjiani shared with the NYT:

I was at a bar with a friend who directs big movies, and while we were in line for the bathroom, he was saying that movie theaters were going to go away. He was like, “Kids don’t watch movies, they watch YouTube.” Which I thought was crazy. So he goes, “Watch this.” There was a girl in front of us in line, and he said, “Hey, excuse me, what’s your favorite movie?” And she said, “I don’t watch movies.” Just randomly, he picked someone — and she was like 25, she wasn’t a child or anything. We were like, “Well, do any of your friends watch movies?” And she said, “Not really.” [...] I don’t want to sound like an old idiot, because I try to keep up with what’s happening on YouTube, and it’s a lot of people talking to camera, very personality-driven. I grew up watching “Ghostbusters” and “Gremlins” and “Indiana Jones.” If I had grown up watching YouTube, I don’t know if I would like movies.

Is he right?

NIMAN

What does a 25yr old watch on YouTube?

And he's wrong.

Anytime I'm at my local moviebowl with my young kids (who love the cinema), I see hundreds of young people from 8 to 28/38/48.

It never empties.

Cryptopagan

15-24 is still supposed to be the biggest demographic buying cinema tickets afaik, so somebody is wrong. I don’t think it’s a bunch of over 30s making Frozen or Hunger Games sensational hits.

branie2

I'm sure they don't watch YouTube all of the time

silverharp

my son is 14 , we watch movies as movie nights maybe once a month, but unless he goes to the cinema he watches very few outside of that because he doesnt watch TV, he erm....watches Youtube. So its partially true but if they still want to go to the cinema then not a real problem for movie makers. its TV stations that should be worried, a 100 TV celebs could walk by my son and he wouldnt know who they are

sweetie

My 8 yo watches a movie under pain of execution. Really enjoys them in the end but will always go to YouTube ahead of Netflix. I've banned a lot of YouTube channels. The inanity of it boggles the mind.

mdwexford

I’ve been switching my kid from inanely watching nonsense YouTube videos to watching Netflix cartoons and documentaries or playing computer games.

They just get sucked in and put in a trance by it. Ryan’s toy review and the like are just mind numbing. It is the worst form of “entertainment” going.

Can really see how some kids get obese when they are allowed to do it all day and barely move.

cian68

Not my experience of watching my 7 year old niece watch frozen about 1000 times, then lady and the tramp, harry potter movies, zootopia etc. And the example he gives of a 25 year old just seems from a different reality. I'm 27 and everyone I've ever met could scramble together some answer for what's their favourite movie.

pixelburp

"movie obsession" is not a foregone conclusion. I know plenty of people in my demographic and older (35+) who don't "watch movies", bar whatevers blowing up the Oscars. It's just not a point of interest or hobby and more a social convention at best, at the whims of mainstream fashion.

In the reading world you have "coffee table books" and people who "don't read books" but will buy whatever novels are in the top 10.

Kids watch YouTube for sure, but it's reductionist to presume we're hitting the first generations avoiding films. They have always existed.

Blaizes

Sad Professor wrote: »

A story Kumail Nanjiani shared with the NYT:



Is he right?

He could be right and he could be wrong depends on whether or not the kids have internet access. It’s terrible if true because you can’t beat a good kids movie plus all the classics. Mine don’t go on the internet but we’ve a DVD player and boxes and boxes of kids movies plus all the classics and they go to the cinema all the time as well. They have friends in school who are watching you tube though and a few are making and uploading videos to it. So it probably depends.

The Specialist

I don’t think you can compare the 2 to be honest (YT vs Movies). You could watch any topic on YouTube and it will tailor your stream to things related to that - I simply don’t see the comparison (let’s not start on the “movies” available on standard free YouTube because they are worse than the b movie ****e found on those 5 films on 1 dvd sets a couple of years ago)

loyatemu

My teenage kids still enjoy going to the cinema, and will sit down at home a watch a movie, but as others have said, they don't really watch live TV at all, to the extent that I cancelled the sky subscription on our second TV.

Technocentral

Their loss.

El Duda

What if a kid watches a movie.. ON YOUTUBE?!?!

Shapey Fiend

I'm 36 and I watch way more YouTube than I do movies. My local cinema aren't showing anything interesting the vast majority of the time if I'm in the city it's fine (went to Sunset in Triskel last night) but I'm not arsed sitting through formula ****e, comic book movies or sequels so my local cinema doesn't have anything half the time.

My 4yo old has seen all the better Pixar and Disney movies (I got the dvds, torrented a few others) last time we were deciding what to go see he asked me had I checked the reviews which made me laugh. He's inclined to walk out of movies if they're bad. I agree with him wasn't pushed about watching more than 30 min of that Peter Rabbit one or the cute people saving cute talking puppies drek I forget the name of (screening was full of unfortunate young men on dates god love em).

So my point is there's a lot more stimulation in many YouTube videos than half the ****e on in cinemas right now. I listen to what my kids watching all the time and most of its well presented not abrasive shouty weirdness. I've him on my own account which may be influencing algo mitigating how much trash he's consuming.

Kids do like quality. I think people gravitating towards people just talking to camera on YT is showing that cinema needs to bring back the dialog instead of cutting out 90% of the talk between explosions in case the Chinese market won't latch onto it.

If a child has a bad attention span it's cos their parents aren't arsed or are too busy to prioritise it. I read to my kid every night. I have audiobooks from the library on in the car the whole time. I sit in playgrounds for hours a week. Saying to them to do something else isn't enough you've got to do other things with them.

speedboatchase

YouTube is replacing scheduled TV.
Netflix is replacing cinemas.

Dades

The question of whether you want to watch YouTube or a new movie is invalid. The real question is whether you want to stay at home, or go out and spend money socialising.

It's expensive to see a movie in a cinema. Bring a family to the cinema and you'll drop €50 in flash.

YouTube is free and you can watch it in your room, on your couch, etc.

The two activities are not comparable.

BobMc

I've two, boy 15, girl 12, they do enjoy going to cinema but the amount of Youtube they watch is huge.

I'd change that statement more to they dont watch broadcast tv. Its either you tube or netflix, no waiting for a show
to air, they want it now !

Tired Gardener

Trends and patterns in how we watch media is rapidly changing due to the internet. Streaming services and YouTube are going to become the norm in a few years time, and broadcast TV shows will be a thing of the past.

Cinema is in a odd place at the moment, it seems to be offering excitement through two avenues, jump scare horror films, or adrenaline CGI fest films. I think the reason for this is due to demands for the two eclipsing the rest (drama, and more dialogue driven films) as the rest can be watched at home, they don't gain anything from being viewed on a big screen.

Stone Deaf 4evr

Have 2 kids myself, and have had to heavily curtail youtube, not so much because of the content (which varies wildly), I'm more concerned about the affect it has on their attention span, if they were to sit down for an hour, they can easily work their way through 10 to 15 bite size shorts, with no overarching narrative or consistency. I feel they're not really retaining anything, and would much prefer that they were properly engaged with the stuff.
I used to love the old spider-man & X-men cartoon series, which had an ongoing story, that you looked forward to picking up from episode to episode, and I'm steering them in this way via the likes of lemony snickets on netflix amongst others.

Tammy!

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

I used to love the old spider-man & X-men cartoon series, which had an ongoing story, that you looked forward to picking up from episode to episode, and I'm steering them in this way via the likes of lemony snickets on netflix amongst others.

I remember really getting into one particular Batman episode from the cartoon when it was on The Den and it ended on a TBC and I missed it the next day!! I can't even remember what the episode was about now but I was so annoyed at the time

You didn't have catch up. Sometimes you'd sit down and say 'ill watch a bit of tv' and there was absolutely nothing good on. You don't really have that problem these days with so much choice.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

We've stopped our kids watching YouTube and instead have them set up on Netflix and Sky Kids. They both still ask if they can watch a "new" TV show they haven't watched previously. We'll see how long that lasts

El Duda

Isn't this just a generational thing though? People like to encourage their kids to have a similar childhood to their own.

The next generation will be trying to convince their kids to "Watch more youtube, like I did when I was a nipper" rather than spending all day in their fancy augmented VR glasses/headset world.

_Kaiser_

My little fella (7) watches mostly YouTube videos on his mother's phone or their smart TV. 99% of it is inane American crap - unboxing videos, this squeaky wan and her claw machine adventures, pokemon Go videos, or lately Minecraft stuff.

He does occasionally watch a movie or go to the cinema but it's pretty rare, and as someone said, not exactly cheap!

I'm far more concerned about the former than the Iatter though to be honest.