The incredibly successful YouTuber is taking a break from the platform to protest several policy changes he believes are detrimental to the site’s content.
Earlier this year Felix “Pewdiepie” Kjellberg seemed to be on the top of YouTube once again, despite losing out as the most subscribed channel to Bollywood music channel T-Series, by setting the record for the first solo creator to reach 100 million subscribers. It’s also been a fairly strange year for Kjellberg as the YouTuber made a drastic change to his content all of sudden, posting Minecraft Let’s Plays almost exclusively for a string of weeks. It’s unsurprising given the trauma he no doubt experienced having his name evoked before the Christchurch massacre earlier this year. No doubt going through a lot of heavy emotions, Pewdiepie has announced that he’s taking a step back from YouTube at the start of next year although his reasoning is apparently more in protest than anything else.
Announced at the end of his last video, Kjellberg stated that he was “taking [a] break” from YouTube following the site’s policy changes that ban videos that include “veiled or implied threats” as well as “content that maliciously insults someone based on protected attributes such as their race, gender expression, or sexual orientation.” Which honestly, sounds like a pretty good change in policy given how a large swathe of YouTube is videos that contain almost exclusively that form of content. The problem comes in with how the policy is implemented, something Kjellberg makes clear with how YouTube has thus been unable to discern between action and intent.
Kjellberg ends his video by stating, “I think now is as great a time as any to announce, I have [a] special announcement to make. I am taking [a] break from YouTube next year. I wanted to say it in advance, because I made up my mind. I’m tired. I’m tired, I’m feeling very tired. I don’t know if you can tell. Just so you know, early next year I’ll be away for a little while. I’ll explain that later, but I wanted to give [a] heads up.”
It’s a fairly vague sign-off that doesn’t reveal much about what he intends to do regarding his YouTube channel, when he plans on returning or whether he will continue streaming; his Twitter account has also been deleting clearly showing that the creator is desperate for some space.
YouTube’s hungry algorithm is a relentless monster that requires non-stop content, and that’s going to be pretty draining. I think it’s easy to forget that the folks making the content we consume are people too.
Last Updated: December 17, 2019
Son of Banana Jim
December 17, 2019 at 11:28
And a well-deserved break as well! People grossly underestimate how much this dude actually works, and how many hours he puts into his channel.
konfab
December 17, 2019 at 15:27
Also you kinda missed the part where he gave a pretty decent summary of Aristotelian virtue that now has 5 million views.
Pewds is up to something…
CrAiGiSh
December 17, 2019 at 11:28
#LetPewdsRest
Son of Banana Jim
December 17, 2019 at 11:28
And a well-deserved break as well! People grossly underestimate how much this dude actually works, and how many hours he puts into his channel.
Son of Banana Jim
December 17, 2019 at 13:59
Also, hopefully if someone can get the tards at youtube to stop with their ridiculous new policies, it’ll be Pewdiepie.
Fight the good fight Felix
Allykhat
December 17, 2019 at 15:50
I honestly think it wont cause too many waves. I love Pewds and watch his content often, but even as the largest solo Youtuber on the planet, him stepping back just allows the next guy to fill the void, and so on and so on. The only way the policy changes would be challenged is for ALL the big names to boycott.
Son of Banana Jim
December 17, 2019 at 17:06
I wasn’t a fan of his old gaming videos, but I’ve enjoyed his meme reviews.
Original Heretic
December 17, 2019 at 13:59
Fix it, Felix!
konfab
December 17, 2019 at 13:05
That policy would effectively remove all coverage of Malema from their platform.
Pretending that monsters don’t exist is the least effective way of defeating them.
MaSeKind
December 17, 2019 at 15:05
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of kiddies suddenly cried out “F you Pewdiepie!”
Hopefully he doesn’t get too much backlash from his “fans”, but it’s happened a lot where someone doesn’t upload or stream for even a day and people loose their shit. And that’s partly the streamers fault, and just the whole crappy industry that is streaming. Everyone is so desperate for views they end up creating a situation for themselves that they can’t get out of.
And the worse is everyday there are new channels starting up with people who wants to make it as a big streamer. I’m unsure if I should feel sorry or laugh at these people. Personally I just don’t get how you can have your financial income be dependent on such an unrealiable source as YT or Twitch.
konfab
December 17, 2019 at 15:27
I think as a side gig it is nice. These people who become completely dependant on YT though are simply showing bad business skills in being dependant on the decisions of a badly written algorithm.