As I trip down the stairs for the umpteenth time, I find that my friend has whipped out her camera and has recorded my slow and painful downfall. Within moments, I find that my humiliation has been posted

on Youtube.

Youtube has been a growing phenomenon with a newfound effect on pop culture and society itself. In fact, one popular Youtuber, “nigahiga” was even spoofed in the recent movie, “Meet the Spartans.”

Users such as “Wong Fu” and “Kevjumba” have become household names and

even mentioned in AsianWeek.As these users slowly gained popularity, the interests of the masses were sparked and many others joined in on the video-blogging or “vlogging” craze.

When these trend-boppers become “vloggers,” they couldn’t quite fill in the spot of the original trailblazers. The videos now flooding the Youtube library are now shoddily crafted because most vloggers don’t partake in proper “etiquette,” i.e. eye-contact with the camera, speaking loud enough for the microphone to pick up the voice of the speaker, and staying relevant to topic.

Not only that, but some videos should be banned for making you dumber after you watch them. With the less than scintililating cinematography, lack of intellect, and downright stupidity, it’s difficult to keep from tearing your hair out watching videos of people with no opinion, ability to film or edit, or entertainment value.

That’s not saying that everyone on Youtube is terrible. Aside from your typical, silly “Yellow Fever” videos, there are actually some thought-provoking videos, such as “Slip of the Tongue” or “The Life and Death of Ice Cream.”

With all the variety on Youtube, it’s not so hard to believe that it’s had such a large impact on so many people’s lives. In fact, many people in this school have both random videos and vlogs; it wouldn’t be so odd to see your friend or even yourself on Youtube.