“Study With Me” videos have become a popular trend. These are videos between 30 minutes to 2 hours or even longer of youtubers just quietly studying. Here is an example.
The content is simple – people preparing for an exam on video while people watch. Some are broadcast live while some are recorded. Surprisingly, these simple videos received millions of views on YouTube. The top “study with me” video has over 5 million views now! I found this Business Insider video a great, short explanation of what “study with me” videos are about and why they are popular.
To summarize, the main benefits of these videos are to:
- Reduce loneliness of studying
- Motivate viewers to study
- Increase concentration
- Boost confidence
- Serve as a built-in focus timer
In short, “study with me” videos offers virtual companionship to keep viewers motivated. I think that mobile culture has made virtual companionship possible, more accessible, and more accepted. People have turned to videos for companionship. I find it interesting that despite the ability to access mobile resources anymore and at anytime, many people still seek some form of human companionship for solitary tasks, even if it’s through an online video.
“With me” videos are not new and have been around since 2010 (Youtube Culture & Trends, 2020). According to YouTube Culture & Trends, “Study with me” video views really took off in 2018. With the COVID pandemic, the need to stay connected virtually has caused a surge in popularity of these videos. Views of videos with “study with me” titles in the US increased by 54% compared to this time last year (Southern, 2020). Not only are “with me” videos popular for studying, they’ve also become popular in other fields like cooking, shopping, cleaning and exercising. During COVID, there has been a 600% increase in daily views of videos with “#withme” titles since March 15th (Alexander,2020). Sometimes these “withme” videos serve more as a tutorial for DIY learning.
“Study with me” videos are a transhuman means of companionship to increase focus. Are you surprised by this cultural trend? Have you used “with me” videos to stay focused on something? Do you find virtual companionship useful?
References
Southern, M. (2020, May 19). Google Lists 5 Key Trends Shaping Consumer Behavior Amid COVID-19. Retrieved May 27, 2020, from https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-lists-5-key-trends-shaping-consumer-behavior-amid-covid-19/368874/
Alexander, J. (2020, March 28). “With me” videos on YouTube are seeing huge spikes in viewership as people stay home. Retrieved May 29, 2020, from https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/27/21197642/youtube-with-me-style-videos-views-coronavirus-cook-workout-study-home-beauty
Ludena, L. (2019, September). “With me” videos are a hot trend on YouTube – Think with Google. Retrieved May 30, 2020, from https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/with-me-youtube-video-trend/
YouTube Culture & Trends. (2019). With Me Interactive. Retrieved May 30, 2020, from https://youtube.com/trends/articles/with-me-interactive/
I had no idea these videos existed. It’s an interesting idea and I can understand why it has gained in popularity over the past year or so. For students in high school, college, and university, learning has been a fairly social process until the pandemic hit and forced many into isolation. Gone are the study groups, labs, and workshops where groups of people worked together to learn material. We all learn differently, but I think for many people, having the company to study with can make things a little more bearable. I might even try it myself!
I find this concept quite strange, but I see these videos all over YouTube. It seems odd that we would watch someone else do something rather than do it ourselves, especially a mundane task at length such as a two hour study video. I wonder if the appeal of these videos is to put it on in the background while you yourself study so people feel like they are part of a study group and feel motivated to keep going?
Hi Linda,
I had no idea of these types of video. I find it very interesting from a mobile cultural perspective. This is something that I would like to use for a lesson with my students.
Thank you for your post.