From A to Zeinab: It’s all about content

Let's dive in to the world of YouTube.

Are you ready for some piping hot tea? Yeah, me neither. | Photo from Pexels.com

If you’re looking for a whole-ass explainer on the entire Zeinab Harake vs Wilbert Tolentino kerfuffle, I’m sorry my dear, but this is not it. There are TONS of articles and videos online that have already broken down the issue (e.g., here, here, and here) so I won’t spend any time spilling the tea nor provide reactions to reactions to reactions. Apologies again if that’s what you’re here for. If not, read further.

What I want to give my two cents on is the very thing of what this issue is, specifically in the lens of a Gen Z who grew up consuming hours of YouTube videos on a daily basis. See, for those who do not understand what’s going on, or those who don’t have the time to read Twitter threads, the Zeinab vs Wilbert issue is an issue where two influencers (a.k.a. famous social media personalities) engaged in what is essentially a word war. The two were friends before and, for some reason, they hit a rough patch, which prompted Wilbert to “expose” Zeinab (a.k.a. reveal someone’s secrets or any information that can be deemed scandalous) by posting “receipts” (a.k.a. screenshots or evidence) of their conversations. In these receipts, Zeinab is seen allegedly badmouthing other influencers and celebrities, even attacking them ad hominem. And, yes, you’re right to think that there might be some ethical (and possibly legal) issues intertwined here, but that’s essentially what happened in a very oversimplified story.

As crazy as this whole thing may sound, this issue is nowhere near new nor shocking. In the world of vloggers and influencers, things like drama, tea, issue – however you wanna call it – are unsurprisingly common. Though the internet was made to connect us faster to each other (as cliche as that sounds), it was only a matter of time before someone would start a fire.

From funny videos to YouTuber drama

The common denominator in all of these is the video-sharing platform YouTube. Most of us remember the early beginnings of YouTube as the place where we watch funny videos from shows like the Annoying Orange or enjoy the music videos of the current and past generations (I remember watching Bad Romance by Lady Gaga in the old YouTube layout).

As more and more people started owning smartphones with video recording capabilities, YouTubers started popping up. Within a few years, vlogging, DIYs, and tutorials on anything and everything saturated the platform. What started out as a passion project became the main source of income and, most especially, fame for most. “What is a celebrity” is now a silly question as the distinction is now blurred since anyone can turn on a camera, shoot, edit, and upload. If you have something to share, then there’s usually someone to watch – and there were.

Fan groups started to pop out here and there, and the YouTubers who were once focused on simply churning out content saw the opportunity to use their fans to boost themselves forward (for good or bad reasons). If content before were intrinsic (i.e. I will make this video because this is my idea), the content now have been extrinsic (i.e. I will make this video because this is what people want to watch) to appease audiences and keep them coming for more. The YouTube game is simple: the more views you have, the more coins you can get, thanks to YouTube monetization.

More and more video content styles (or formats) came into play: challenges, dance craze, and life hacks. Though, the most notable of it all are the “collabs” where two or more YouTubers would come together to do a video. Produce a video, combine fans, equals more viewerships and money, right? And that’s essentially where the YouTuber dramas came in.

While collabs often involve business partnerships (yes, YouTube-ing is considered a business since it’s income-generating), personal relationships are commonly formed, too. I mean, these are humans after all. And where there are friendships, there are enemies. To cut the story short, in the span of 2013 to 2020, A LOT of drama happened.

Rapid fire round: ‘Dramageddon’ involving multiple beauty YouTubers, Trisha Paytas vs David Dobrik, Logan Paul and his video on Aokigahara in Japan, Jaclyn Hill and the alleged lipstick fungus, “Why I Left Buzzfeed” videos, and the unending series of apology videos.

Bad publicity is still publicity

The age-old quote of PT Barnum is apparently the game of some YouTubers. Thing is, even if there’s a drama or beef and an exchange of heated words on Twitter, at the end of the day, there’s still content that’s waiting to be made from those dramas and beef. Even if some of the issues on YouTube involve real lives of people who suffer real consequences, it’s common to use these issues as forms of content and sources of entertainment, either immediately or later on after the dust settles. And with the Zeinab vs Wilbert issue, I don’t see anything different.

Even though different people from different countries have their own YouTube dramas, there appears to be a certain trajectory which their issues follow: friends, then enemies, then an expose, then a hiatus, then an era of new beginnings. And, in every step of the way, there’s a video to be expected because, hey, it’s still viewership at the end of the day. See how the Try Guys handled their situation? As someone who grew up on YouTube, at the audience side, I’ve seen these things happen.

Is it time to #cancel YouTube?

Short answer: no. I don’t intend to box every YouTuber as problematic or issue-starters. To be fair, there are a lot of YouTubers and channels who are great sources of wholesome entertainment and information like the death-positive movement of Ask A Mortician or the fun and quirky videos of Tabitha Brown. YouTube is, and remains to be, a wonderful source of fun and knowledge but it’s also worth it to, you know, hit the unsubscribe button every now and then.

There would always be drama insofar as content creation is concerned. The things I talked about here are just the bird’s-eye view of what goes on in YouTube and the drama that ensues. There are chapters that I definitely missed (in the interest of time and brain cells) which are worth Googling into, if you have spare time.

The bottomline here is that dramas are no longer surprising to me. In fact, what would surprise me is if two YouTubers don’t have a drama between them, one way or another, at some point in their business partnership or friendship.

Have I been desensitized? Maybe.

Will I rewatch the YouTubers and act as if nothing has happened? Hard no.

Will I unsubscribe? Yep – and maybe so should you.