The unknown side of YouTube/ The world outside the algorithm

2025-03-08 19:34:00, Blog CNA

The unknown side of YouTube/ The world outside the algorithm
YouTube, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, has become the world's leading streaming platform, with the most successful videos surpassing even Hollywood productions.

However, behind this facade of viral and professional content, there is a hidden side to the platform: Billions of videos that almost no one has seen.

Most of these videos are not created for fame or clicks, but as a pure form of self-expression and preservation of personal memories.

This content shows an internet uninfluenced by algorithms, where videos do not aim for success, but exist as a digital space for individuals.

Researchers argue that YouTube is not just an entertainment platform, but an important infrastructure for communication and personal expression in modern society.

YouTube as a space of everyday life

Beyond viral content and algorithms, YouTube is also an archive of ordinary moments of ordinary people.

This was proven by the story of Emily, who years ago uploaded a random video to YouTube and forgot about it.

She didn't do it for fame or influence, but simply to preserve it somewhere.

Experts like Ethan Zuckerman argue that most people don't use YouTube to make money or become famous, but rather as a means of communication and documentation.

In some regions of the world, the platform is used as a form of video messaging, especially by those with limited literacy skills.

About 70% of videos on YouTube are in languages ??other than English, including messages from fishermen in South America or construction workers in India.

These videos aren't meant to go viral—in fact, if they did, it would be an unexpected intrusion into a space meant for more intimate interactions between friends and family.

It shows a deeper side of YouTube, where people share their daily lives without expecting anything in return.

YouTube as an archive of everyday moments

The least-watched part of YouTube contains ordinary and often irrelevant videos: people sharing their daily lives, gamers recording their screens, or even strange and touching moments. These videos are not made for fame, but simply to exist.

A unique example is Bill “The WoofDriver” Hellman, a husky enthusiast who has built over 50 custom vehicles to take his dogs out “urban mushing.” He has posted over 2,400 videos on YouTube in the past 14 years, including original songs, but his channel doesn’t get many views. That doesn’t bother him, though—for him, YouTube is simply a way to preserve his memories and perhaps inspire others.

This shows another side of YouTube: a space where people share personal moments, not for fame or profit, but simply for the pleasure of self-expression and documenting their lives. Taken from BBC translated by CNA.

The Two Faces of YouTube: Viral Content vs. Everyday Life

YouTube is a space where two realities coexist: on the one hand, algorithmically curated viral videos, often filled with negativity and polarization; on the other, millions of ordinary, unedited videos, reflecting small moments in the lives of ordinary people.

While YouTube's algorithm often favors polarizing and sensational content, facing criticism for spreading hate speech and misinformation, there is a large part of the platform that remains hidden from the public eye.

These are simple videos of people sharing their lives without expecting fame or influence.

Researchers argue that while harmful content is a small percentage of the total, it has a big impact when it goes viral.

Meanwhile, the majority of content on YouTube reflects the way people use the internet to communicate and express themselves, similar to its early days.

In the end, for most users, YouTube remains an archive of small moments, an unedited documentary of human life, often unnoticed by the algorithm and wider audiences. / Taken from BBC translated by CNA