YouTubers. Loved by many, yet some people still misunderstand them and believe that fans only watch them for their witty jokes. Sure, that’s part of the reason why they do, but it’s not the only one. Subscribers don’t pay hundreds of dollars on merchandise, go to meet and greets, and make fan accounts dedicated to them just because of their humor and blazing hot appearance. Yes, there’s a lot of YouTubers online who are cocky and do pointless, unoriginal content purely for the money. Although, if you search hard enough you’ll find some people who are genuine and care about their fans. Some YouTubers are well-known such as Tyler Oakley, Troye Sivan, Connor Franta, Dan Howell (danisnotonfire), and Phil Lester (AmazingPhil). Others are smaller ones like Ben J. Pierce (KidPOV), Conan Gray, and Machaizelli (MacDoesIt).

Popular or not, these people are inspiring, positive influences to their viewers. They put immense effort into their videos, to make their viewers laugh and cheer them up even when they’ve had a rotten day. They also create deep-eye opening videos to help motivate and influence them for the better. For example, in the video “Life Doesn’t Wait” by Connor Franta he talks about a time he got a ride in a taxi to go for some lunch with friends and the driver was telling him how his father and brother did exhausting work they didn’t enjoy every day for little pay and told themselves “It’ll be worth it one day, we can spend our hard earned money later on”. Unfortunately, they never were able to. The taxi driver said his father passed away four years ago and his brother last year. Connor then explained that you shouldn’t hold yourself back, putting your dreams on hold and continuing living life with dread. He said if you’re putting your hearts desires on hold to accomplish them later when you're older, you’re not doing it right and that “Eventually is not okay. Why tomorrow when there is today?”. He strongly believes you should be yourself, do the things you strive to fulfil now, and live the life you want to live so you’re happy with yourself. Another inspiring video is “Becoming You” by Troye Sivan, which has a similar message as Connor’s. One thing Troye says though is “Life isn’t about finding yourself. It’s about creating yourself”. This is one of the many topics that should be discussed in school, yet it is not. People often tell you that “You’ll find yourself eventually”, but that isn't true. In life, you create the person you want to be, you make the decisions you choose to do, which shapes you as a person.
   
    These people are changing lives around the globe as we speak. Bringing awareness to concepts that should be acknowledged. They talk about concepts they don’t teach in school. They speak about self-esteem, how they’ve struggled with it personally, how they’ve found ways to get better, and give their advice in the form of a video to those who watch them. School doesn’t teach about self-esteem. They speak about sexuailty and that it’s okay to love the same or more than one gender. That it’s okay to not be attracted to people romantically/sexaully and reassure people that they're not broken. That you can change your gender to whatever makes you more comfortable and happy with yourself. School doesn’t teach about LGBTQA+ or mention it in the slightest. These people bring recognition about mental illness, such as depression and anxiety, letting people know it's okay to get the support they need and for people who don't have mental illness that they should not look down on those who do. School doesn’t teach about mental health. They speak about how you don’t have to do what everyone else around you seems to be doing and instead complete your own desires that make you happy. That you aren’t limited to a one-way path to a cheerful, successful life by going to a four year college. These people are more than internet personalities. They’re helping others get through some their toughest experiences in life by creating a humorous video of themselves attempting a challenge or a video that with one click can change their life, for the better.