YouTuber Emma Chamberlain is known for her angsty teen “I don’t care” vibe, her
characteristic editing style with zoom-ins and her lack of hygiene. Beginning her channel in 2017
at the age of 18 years old, she has amassed almost nine million subscribers. Despite being a high
school dropout, she has collaborated with high-end brands such as Louis Vuitton and Calvin
Klein, showcased on the cover of “Cosmopolitan” magazine, modeled for global teen retail
brand Hollister Co. and started her own coffee brand. Yet, her tremendous success seems
undeserving compared to the quality of her ten-minute videos (purposefully timed to reach the
maximum level of advertisements) consisting of performing mundane acts that lack creative,
original content.
Her recent video, “DYING MY HAIR FOR NO REASON” featured Chamberlain
advertising and purchasing the sponsoring hair products…just to not dye her hair. Viewers were
quick to criticize Chamberlain that there was no purpose in the video besides earning
sponsorship money. She reacted with “‘my worst video ever’” to mock the comments,
grudgingly dying her hair to “satisfy her viewers.” But it was the principle of her constant failure
to execute her plans with the intent to solely gain a profit that demonstrates her lazy work ethic
and taints her unequivocal success.
According to SocialBlade, a social media analytics firm, Chamberlain earned at least
$120,000 to $2 million in 2019.

Popular Youtubers all-around exude unfair relative wealth. YouTube personality David
Dobrik condenses his videos to a notable four minutes and 20 seconds while he simply films
jittery compilations of his friends doing chaotic acts while he laughs in the background. Family
channels that capture ordinary activities of going to the grocery store or performing amusing
pranks exploit their children by filming them crying to gain more views. The ACE family, a
popular family channel, received unwarranted amazement when mother Catherine Paiz revealed
she had been hiding her pregnancy instead of uncharacteristically outright announcing it (their
tendencies to overshare lead to a house robbery in 2018).
Some may argue these web stars are, in fact, talented for doing the bare minimum while
being able to capture the attention of a wide range of viewers worldwide. Still, it is outrageous
anyone – let alone people whose jobs are to merely publish a brief video every week — has the
salary that exceeds what most people make with over 40-hour weekly jobs. Though these videos
may be enticing, the disparity of having the ability to toss away millions of dollars as prize
money or to buy multiple Lamborghini’s while there is a world of injustice and poverty is mind-
boggling. It seems like you can be as reputable by making a montage as to pursuing further
education.
And though my distaste for these overrated YouTubers may stem from slight envy in
their raging success while we partake in over twelve years of schooling, it is important to keep in
mind the materialism that overshadows society today. Afterall, we should not over-idolize these
figures who do not have significant talent.

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