When it comes to using the internet, many people feel like they are invincible behind their computer screen. They are much more willing to post negative comments when they are not being held accountable. YouTube is trying to fix that.
According to YouTube Statistics, there are over three billion videos on YouTube. Two billion of them are watched daily and more than half of them have been rated or commented on by users.
Popular videos are affected the most by nasty comments.
Lohanthony, a teen internet sensation, gained his fame through YouTube videos. In the beginning of September, he posted a video titled “Deleting My YouTube.” In it, he talked about how he “has been getting so much hate lately,” and he “just can’t do it anymore.” Later in the video it was revealed that he was just joking. Scrolling down to the comments section shows comments like these:
“You’re so stupid it hurts,” said YouTuber Louis Hubbick. “Get off YouTube,” commented another YouTuber, Amelvin Fernandez.
“Cyber bullying and hate speech in the YouTube comments have been a major issue for far too long,” said Benny and Rafi Fine from the “Kids React” videos.
Because of these issues, YouTube is trying to update their image and create a friendlier community. When it comes to discussing the videos between friends, users can now make their conversations private and more personalized.
“We’re moving from comments to actual conversations,” said YouTube product manager Nundu Janakiram.
If YouTubers would like to talk about how bare Miley Cyrus was in her newest video, they can, but now it won’t be displayed for the world to see. Only through a user’s Google Plus account will they be able to see what their friends have said.
Instead of having the most recent comments first, YouTube is planning to place the responses and conversations more relevant to the video first. The video-sharing website will also provide new tools for the video creators that will enable them to moderate between the good and bad comments.
The vloggers can also make a black list of the foul comments they do not want appearing under their video.
Hopefully, this new filter can minimize cyber bullying and clean up YouTube’s negative image.
