Yesterday I posted an article calling on the feminist brigade to take on PewDiePie for his inane ramblings and offensive videos that he posted. Unfortunately I didn’t clearly state where my issues actually were so let me try and clarify.
Right up front, I have nothing against PewDiePie. I’m not jealous of him and I don’t want to see him forced to change his approach. I’m genuinely happy for him that he rakes in $million a year doing something he loves.
He’s probably the most annoying online personality I know and I have absolutely no interest in listening to his ramblings – but that’s a personal thing.
My problem mainly lies with YouTube and Disney; Two massive corporations who are both shirking their public responsibility in the race for the almighty dollar.
First up
Disney
Disney is the family friendliest outfit that exists. Disney has built their fortune on wholesome family entertainment and still shows off that face to the mainstream media and public.
But behind that they are reaping huge amounts of money from people like PewDiePie whose large viewership is full of under age children who listen to him talking about rape, swearing like a trooper and all out acting like someone who definitely isn’t someone anyone would want their 13 year old child looking up to.
If Disney really believed in their wholesome image they would pay off PewDiePie and allow him to move to another organisation, or go completely independent, to continue his style of entertainment.
YouTube
The true villain here is YouTube. YouTube is by far the largest video site on the planet and is wholly owned by Google whose company motto is still “Do no evil”.
However YouTube doesn’t allow parents to create child accounts which will then not be able to view video’s like PewDiePie’s or the millions of other offensive videos on there.
They don’t allow video creators to set an age restriction on their videos and there is no set standard for content creators and consumers to indicate age appropriateness. Yesterday lots of people compared PewDiePie to South Park or other mature entertainment while missing the point.
First up South Park has an age restriction which forces it to not only be showcased at certain hours but also allows parents to block certain shows using the functionality on their DVR’s or satellite boxes.
Blocking YouTube entirely is not an option as there are a ton of educational and wholesome entertainment options on it.
The only reason YouTube hasn’t implemented age guidelines and child accounts is purely because of money. They easily have the skills and finances but they also know they will lose a ton of advertising income when advertisers pull their advertising from mature rated videos.
Much the same way you can’t run a pornographic site and use Google AdWords. The hypocrisy is strong with Google.
Conclusion
In a nutshell: I don’t like PewDiePie’s videos but I don’t want his freedom curtailed. I want Disney and Google to step up and accept their responsibilities for the content they are providing and giving a platform to.
Yes age restrictions won’t solve everything but if every content creator could add an age guideline on their video then companies like net nanny and others could then block certain levels of videos and give the control back to the parents, which is where it belongs.
I was told I should watch this video to see PewDiePie being great. I don’t recommend it. It still sucks.
Last Updated: June 18, 2014
Brenz
June 18, 2014 at 09:28
Im surprised you are shocked at the corporations like Disney and Google to be honest, this is the world we live in, ruled by the almighty $$$.
Once you stop expecting better of these people, and others like them, and accept that this is how the world rolls, you will let go of a lot of anger and disappointment.
Rince&exhale
June 18, 2014 at 09:30
You would think that Disney, who is making more money than god from the Marvel franchise would give a crap about some potty mouth. Alas, sad world.
Hammersteyn
June 18, 2014 at 09:46
Disney replied when I inquired…
http://d3dsacqprgcsqh.cloudfront.net/photo/aM1MRAX_460sa_v1.gif
Monado
June 18, 2014 at 09:32
I feel this is an amazing video……And relevant to all of this
Alien Emperor Trevor
June 18, 2014 at 09:33
I thought it was clear the first time & agree pretty much.
Monado
June 18, 2014 at 09:38
I don’t feel it was clear at all. Calling the feminist brigade, calling it abuse, I mean, they were all clearly different and aimed mostly at Pewds himself from the issues mentioned in this updated article…..His main problems laid with Pewds yesterday and his vile commentary. I understand why people took it the wrong way as well. This is much more concise and I can appreciate Gavin’s sentiments.
OminousRain
June 18, 2014 at 09:40
“Now instead of the PC brigade trashing on Ubisoft for having a male lead how about turning on YouTube and PewDiePie for this?”
Also felt the article called for a mob.
Alien Emperor Trevor
June 18, 2014 at 09:43
It’s for the kids man 😀
Monado
June 18, 2014 at 09:49
Damn, I always LG was different from the rest. Caring for the kids!
Admiral Chief Cyber Commando
June 18, 2014 at 09:56
“I always LG was different from….”
HOW DO I ENGRISH?
Monado
June 18, 2014 at 09:57
HOW DO I NAZI?
Alien Emperor Trevor
June 18, 2014 at 10:10
WITH VUN CLICK!
Admiral Chief Cyber Commando
June 18, 2014 at 10:10
KLIK
Alien Emperor Trevor
June 18, 2014 at 10:11
This isn’t a Mortal Kombat article ;P
Corrie Botha
June 18, 2014 at 10:20
Speaking of Nazi’s what ever happened to the Compition?
Alien Emperor Trevor
June 18, 2014 at 10:26
Not sure, think it might still be open & winners get announced on Friday.
Corrie Botha
June 18, 2014 at 10:36
Thanks , thought I missing some super secret….secret.
Guild
June 18, 2014 at 09:38
PewDiePie is annoying and not my type of entertainment. But apparently he has an audience out there so props to him. And I agree that YouTube should have implemented an age restriction system long ago but this would probably effect their number 1 YouTuber.
Alien Emperor Trevor
June 18, 2014 at 09:49
My first thought after reading “YouTuber” was wondering what kind of potato that would be.
Kensei Seraph
June 18, 2014 at 09:54
Like this?
http://siliconsasquatch.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Backlog-Glados-Potato.jpg
Admiral Chief Cyber Commando
June 18, 2014 at 09:55
LOVE IT!!!!
Kensei Seraph
June 18, 2014 at 09:56
Best potato pic I’ve ever seen:
http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/217/5/3/yummy_potato_glados_by_tobsen85-d6gqox6.jpg
Admiral Chief Cyber Commando
June 18, 2014 at 09:56
LOVE IT MOAR….except the eyes, they are all wrong
Kensei Seraph
June 18, 2014 at 10:02
Here you go.
This also explains why the eyes are different.
http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/179/2/c/sasha_and_potato_glados_by_bocodamondo-d6b3e6p.jpg
Monado
June 18, 2014 at 09:56
Sasha LOLZ
Kensei Seraph
June 18, 2014 at 10:01
That would explain everything about that pic that I was questioning!
Alien Emperor Trevor
June 18, 2014 at 10:01
I lol’d my ass off during Portal 2 when you walk through a door & the bird flies away & GlaDOS goes, “BIRD BIRD BIRD BIRD!”
Alien Emperor Trevor
June 18, 2014 at 09:57
The Porl-tato!
Johan du Preez
June 18, 2014 at 11:02
Yeh mostly chicks watch his streams or kids.
cookiemonster
June 18, 2014 at 09:40
It would be the responsibility of parents to guide their children , and to help them identify the “a-holes” in our society.
Gavin Mannion
June 18, 2014 at 09:43
how? By listening to every single YouTube movie?
FoxOneZA
June 18, 2014 at 09:52
The wonderful thing about this is if you put this rant up on YouTube, you would be swimming in dollars.
Admiral Chief Cyber Commando
June 18, 2014 at 09:54
DO IT, and give the Lagz community FREE STUFF WITH THE PROCEEEEEEDS
FoxOneZA
June 18, 2014 at 09:55
I’m so peeved by the amount of money YouTube channel jocks are making just by dissing any brand out there yet they are damn amateurs.
cookiemonster
June 18, 2014 at 16:14
Nah boet …. they should screen the sh*t before loosing on the kids
Brenz
June 18, 2014 at 09:46
its unrealistic to expect parents to watch, monitor and control every breath their children take. they can guide them, but they will come across these things by themselves eventually, which is why the age restriction point was brought up, as a second hurdle to try stop the kids in the event they slip past the parents.
Gavin Mannion
June 18, 2014 at 09:49
And most importantly to inform the parents.. I don’t want to watch PewDiePie but if his age guidance is 13 then I am informed…
Brenz
June 18, 2014 at 09:53
yeah, the parents dont know what is the content of the video, unless they are warned.
Shit, Im a very easy going person, not a lot bothers me, but if I was a parent, I wouldnt want my kids seeing this cock ramble on about whatever point he is trying to make. Its the kind of shit that decreases your IQ as you watch it.
Admiral Chief Cyber Commando
June 18, 2014 at 09:40
Not what you meant…
http://images-cdn.9gag.com/photo/aQqj1ve_460s.jpg
Alien Emperor Trevor
June 18, 2014 at 09:41
LOL
derp
June 18, 2014 at 09:41
You are going to need another update :
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2802167?rd=1
Gavin Mannion
June 18, 2014 at 09:43
It doesn’t work derp… not at all..
because like it says “If you are looking to monetize your video, please review our policies as age-restricted videos will not be eligible for monetization and will also not be shown in certain sections of YouTube”
You saying PewDiePie doesn’t use vulgar language?
derp
June 18, 2014 at 10:08
He does, but I don’t think it is worse than the violent content he reviews.
Gavin Mannion
June 18, 2014 at 10:10
agreed, but you are missing the point., Without age restrictions/guidelines then parents are stuck with a all or nothing decision on YouTube which is unfair and something these massive corporates should resolve.
It doesn’t take much but they prefer to simply profit instead.
As you clearly pointed out, they don’t even abide by their own guidelines
derp
June 18, 2014 at 10:37
End of the day it is the parent’s responsibility. Age restrictions are only effective when parents know what videos their kids are watching.
Speaking of age-restricted content: if our society is so concerned with the safety of children: then why is there no age restriction on books.
For example: A song of fire and ice contains language, violence, rape and all the other things that call for alarms in other mediums, but is there any legislation blocking the sale of it to kids?
Weanerdog
June 18, 2014 at 14:36
It is a lot easier to make an informed decision on books as they still mostly need to be purchased, therefore limiting the number of items that need to be scrutinized. How many you tube videos does a parent need to watch. It is not about restricting content but allowing the users (and/or parents) make informed decisions.
Hammersteyn
June 18, 2014 at 10:01
Three naughty words in the first minute
Martin du preez (D4RKL1NGza)
June 18, 2014 at 09:44
Never heard of this pew pew c**t before yesterday. Pffft what a little shit
Brenz
June 18, 2014 at 09:48
he has a face that says: “beat me beyond recognition”
Admiral Chief Cyber Commando
June 18, 2014 at 09:54
Face like a tent-pen? You just want to moer it into the ground?
Dutch Matrix
June 18, 2014 at 10:32
Gesig soos ‘n bicycle: As jy hom sien wil jy hom trap.
Sageville
June 18, 2014 at 09:58
Hmmm, after much deliberation I have determined that I don’t think I care
Hammersteyn
June 18, 2014 at 09:59
watched till 1:30, a new personal best. Sorry but does he have a lisp or something? I can’t stand his voice, so irritating. I’ll just keep on ignoring his videos but I wish him all the best with his brofisting.
FoxOneZA
June 18, 2014 at 10:01
Same reason I stopped watching Angry Joe and Boogie127976897. They force their entertainment by swearing, raging and promoting Mountain Dew which becomes annoying after the 1st minute.
Hammersteyn
June 18, 2014 at 10:03
I watch Angry Joe still, but only if it’s a review of a crappy game. He really puts a lot into his videos production wise, green screen and all.
FoxOneZA
June 18, 2014 at 10:11
This is how you do a kids channel https://www.youtube.com/user/DreamworksAnimation/videos
Obviously Disney acted in desperation to DreamWorksTV.
Sk3tz0
June 18, 2014 at 11:14
Pewdiepie is what is wrong with the internet today.
Rags
June 18, 2014 at 11:42
It is simple. Block youtube. You cannot create a youtube account unless you are 13 years of age. If they don’t find pewdiepie the are going to find other profanity which carries a 13yo age restriction. And since google can’t police all its content either, its up to you.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
June 18, 2014 at 12:53
Is PewDiePie the Adam Levine of Youtube videos?
Anyway, I like this song from Electric Six. (lyrics are NSFW)
FSR
June 18, 2014 at 13:10
“In a nutshell: I don’t like PewDiePie’s videos but I don’t want his freedom curtailed. I want Disney and Google to step up and accept their responsibilities for the content they are providing and giving a platform to.” so you don’t want to censor him, but others should? Don’t you cry freedom of speech all day erryday?
Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!
June 18, 2014 at 14:13
I don’t think he’s saying that it should be censored but rather that since Disney’s name is linked to this guy that Disney need to stand up and go “This guy is against our core business values and so we should not be linking our name to this guy”
Or providing an age restriction. Or something. Not censoring, just accepting responsibility
Praise Lord GabeN
June 18, 2014 at 13:19
Maybe we should ban violent video games and movies as well? The answer (as always) is responsible parenting. If youtube doesn’t have an age restricting system, ban youtube from your home.
Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!
June 18, 2014 at 14:03
Wait.. an age restriction option on videos on youtube actually makes sense 0_0
Who are you and where is Gavin!?!?!?!
*runs*
Sage
June 18, 2014 at 15:54
With the amount of kids who have parents who don’t care about regulating their kids’ cell phone use specifically concerning internet browsing, there is little that can be done to block kids from seeing what has in the past been often seen as “adult” and “graphic” content on their *friends* phones, even if they have a parent themselves who is adamant to censor what their kids watch.
What this means is that your supposed conclusion about youtube and Disney supporting an embedded youtube ratings system would NOT actually be considered “putting control back in the hands of parents”, but rather quite the opposite. Google and Disney would not just control what parents “choose” to let their kids watch, but what choices parents have to decide what their kids watch at all in the first place. Seeing as how this is solely based on the age that is listed on the user account of a youtube user, parents would then be forced to encourage their child to either succumb to more governmental-style regulation of what is seen by people far and away from that parent and child as “okay” for that child to watch, or to encourage them to LIE on their account about their age because “the government is being ridiculous, and that’s how the world works.”
Both of these options set more dangerous precedents for the rest of these people’s lives, who will grow into adults and have that much more of a divided opinion of how the world works and perhaps should work. “Lots of regulation” or “Screw regulation”.
What “putting control back in the hands of parents” actually looks like is what we have right now – because instead of relying on embedded ratings systems, parents would actually have to take the time to be a parent, and not let the tv – whoops, im sorry – the internet – babysit their child.
This means taking an active role as a parent to keep on top of actually *watching* what your child is watching on a pretty regular basis, without of course being a helicopter parent – which means that the child can actually be raised with the idea that they themselves, even being so young, can learn how to actually regulate what they sit through watching on the internet, or anything in life. The point of being a parent is not just to tell your child or children what to do, but to help them to *internalize* these lessons and understand why they are there and what they are meant to teach – not just teaching kids “how to get away” with things.
What I mean to say is, a kid is going to see adult stuff to some degree no matter how much regulation or not there is. The fact remains that if you take the time as a parent to screen videos and/or whole channels, things are actually pretty easy to take care of – especially when it comes to the educational video channels you mentioned. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a channel that is dedicated to educational things all of the sudden start releasing videos with curse words and soft-core porno on it.
Don’t tell me “Oh, but there are so many parents that just don’t care!” That’s not the point. The point is that the more we stimulate the Nanny State mentality, where we are taught (and subsequently teach our children) that we feel we are not capable of regulating ourselves and so must have a governmental agency do our thinking for us, the worse that problem will become – not less.
Lastly, it sounds to me like a major reason why you’re so confused about this situation in the first place is because, while you understand that Disney has a tendency to be hypocritical, you lack the depths to which that hypocrisy goes. Disney has it’s roots embedded in hypocrisy and being two-faced – to say the least. From everything from embedded messages both large and small in every movie released by Disney, to significant tendencies of hiding satanic symbology and altars in plain sight and in the background, to the rights of the employees of the theme parks being completely and utterly vomited on by Disney corp, this entire situation with Maker Studios being sold to Disney is completely complimentary of this company’s trend since day one.
Disney helps to aid in an agenda that is predicated on feeding unnatural behavioral responses and dispositions in the human mind in order to profit from the dysfunction that results in that human mind. A truly happy person is no where near as profitable as an insecure, nervous, vulnerable, invalidated, frustrated, temperamental, confused, overworked person, with a poor judgement of what is effective vs ineffective. It’s built on fairy tales of “happily ever after” – unreachable goals that will always keep people feeling down about themselves and thinking they must keep reaching for more without ever knowing if they’ve fully accomplished whatever society says they should.
All of that being said, I hope this puts some of this in perspective for you. If companies like Google and Disney were truly ethical, they would not be able to sustain their business any longer. Why doesn’t Disney promote meditation and self-actualization as their top priorities? Why isn’t going to Disney World just like going to a TED Talks Convention? Because that does not feed behavior that relinquishes control over the mind and the self, so that you can’t get self-validation without it, instead of in lieu of it.
As a result of these fundamental understandings, I think this ratings situation is probably right around the corner. Net Nanny will feel right at home with youtube soon enough.
MichaelMatusowsky
June 18, 2014 at 20:41
Can someone give a tl;dr version of the above?
Moopy
June 19, 2014 at 00:12
Hi Gavin,
Thanks for clarifying your stance, I appreciate it.
And just to clarify why I linked you the above video, it wasn’t to “show Pewdiepie being great”, it was to illustrate that his videos are not like the one which you based your original article on, in that he isn’t constantly screaming his head off and talking about rape.
You are fully entitled to not enjoy his content or the way in which he presents himself, but I was just a little annoyed that you initially made it seem as if all of his videos were like that.
But anyway, thanks again for clarifying, and I do fully agree with you on the parental control features which should be included in YouTube.
Cheers
Maxiviper117
June 19, 2014 at 10:34
Let’s be realistic here, do you really think age restrictions are enough anyway to stop kids watching things playing games they shouldn’t? Flip I was playing call of duty 4 when I was in grade 7 when it came out.
MrSlaver
June 19, 2014 at 15:27
I believe you should still eat a fat one Gavin! You must surely be a homo and have not had your proper dose of cock when you wrote this pile of shit.