To be young in the age of video

Paolo Kernahan

IT'S probably impossible for young people to understand a world that came before the internet and social media platforms. Surely those were the days of candlepower and steam locomotives.

When I was a child in the golden age of unrealistic expectations, my mother subliminally programmed my mind with a preference that I should be either one of two things – a doctor or lawyer: respectability, financial stability and prestige. Nothing else mattered.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I stood a greater chance of becoming a ninja assassin than either of her top picks.

The education system through which I was herded seemed built on an understanding that all children were a homogenous mass. Outliers who didn’t conform to its rigours were either too rebellious or otherwise “dunce” to assimilate the programming. Such children would become the street-sweepers of Ayn Rand’s imagination, while their betters would go on to govern their lives.

Social media platforms are challenging traditional education. Young people have a radical way of perceiving and navigating the world around them.

I would say to all my non-existent readers between the ages of eight and 18 that video is the language of this digital age. Master this language and you can write your own ticket.

Fair warning: you’re going to find more than a handful of people who’ll tell you this is nonsense.

There’s something I see online all the time. It looks a little something like this: “Ha ha! TikTok isn’t a job!” or: “If my kid told me about becoming a YouTuber I’d put them out of the house.” Derisive opinion about the value of social media platforms flexes a boastful ignorance of how they work.

Something quite interesting happened recently. YouTube leapfrogged Netflix (one of your favourite means of pis---g away time), accounting for 9.7 per cent of all TV viewership in the US in May this year. Netflix came in second at 7.6 per cent.

That’s right. YouTube, which began nearly 20 years ago as a platform for folks to post their stupid videos, is now a legitimate streaming service holding 25 per cent of market share. The “YouTubes” revolutionised the way people consume content, pulling audiences who’d sometimes rather watch a series of short videos than commit nearly two hours to a movie they’re likely to hate.

YouTube is powered largely by individual content creators. The best among them commit to understanding how the platform works so they can grow their audience. There are no gatekeepers (other than the seemingly capricious algorithms). There’s no need for expensive equipment, studio funding, approvals or big crews to build a lucrative presence on the platform. If you’re prepared to learn the language of titles, thumbnails, hooks and narrative flow – the language of video – success as a content creator is entirely possible.

And yes, it is a job requiring the same discipline and consistency as most professions.

Outsiders tend to view success on social media through metrics of mega-creators with millions of mice in tow. However, countless modest channels are generating consistent incomes. Ad revenues, brand deals, sales of physical and digital products – the different ways people create opportunities online are too numerous to list.

There’s one caveat to note: the barrier to entry is low – anyone can turn a phone on themselves, talk and post their turgid stream of consciousness across the platforms. Many do.

Even worse, it's never been easier to share with the world the minutiae of your day online. Consequently, competition for audience attention is intense.

To prevail in a content-saturated environment, it’s important to learn and execute the craft of connection and apply video formulas that can help your voice cut through the din of the digital horde. Being young and beautiful will only get you so far for so long, and we haven’t all been thusly blessed, no matter what your parents told you.

TikTok, YouTube and Instagram will keep reshaping the way we communicate and consume information and entertainment, as well as how we do business. So the opportunities for young people who’d rather not walk the conventional path prescribed by their education (or lack thereof) will expand ever outward.

Mind you, the digital age hasn’t fundamentally changed the gladiatorial nature of human society. The only overnight success is a good night’s sleep. Chances are you will be on more familiar terms with obscurity long before financial security materialises.

Video, however, allows you to answer your inner calling and chase after it, in all probability of catching it.