In recent years the popularity of YouTube has sky rocketed, with a new breed of celebrity emerging, many of those being in what is now called 'Team Internet'. Many YouTube stars are now bringing out their own products, getting book deals and even going on tour. To many people, mostly parents, this is an incredibly shocking thing. How can people make money from just sitting behind a camera, talking about themselves, different products (that tend to be too expensive for most viewers) they have (possibly items brands have sent them) and playing games and talking about them? This now leads me to the question, Are YouTubers idols or just glorified sales people?


Many of today's YouTubers have an influence of today's young people, more so than they would have on young people five or six years ago. Many of today's youtubers give off a squeaky clean image, as if they are the most perfect people who never do anything wrong. Examples of YouTubers would be people such as Zoella, Niomi Smart and Alfie days. There are many more of them. This is a brilliant thing because these YouTubers are giving a positive influence to young people and they're also making young people aware of problems such as anxiety and are helping them to find ways to over come and help them to deal with the anxiety. They also support charities and do things like auction off a pair of shoes or take part in a twelve hour broadcast for the Stand Up To Cancer event. Now although they do all these good things there is a side to it where they could possibly be taking advantage of us young people. In a way, we pay for their living, their life that is very obviously full of luxuries. Many of their videos are based around products they have have, which are likely to have been sent to them, some of these costing a lot of money. Money that many young people don't have. By talking about these many of their viewers will want the product, just because that particular person spoke about it. This in turn is earning them money as well as making other companies money. So are they just glorified sales people who also share parts of their lives that they want to? When they bring out their own products they also ask you to go and buy it, which many people do just because of the fact that it's a product made by that person. The products usually aren't cheap either. This makes the YouTubers lots of money and allows them to buy houses reaching into the millions price wise as well as many other luxuries. That's money that many of us will most likely never have. So are YouTubers these lovely, normal people who can be brilliant idols to young people or are they glorified sales people who take advantage of their fans to build their own fortune? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!