Were you glued to your screen in the early months of the pandemic? Or are you still?
Well, youB次元官网网址檙e not alone, according to YouTube trends expert Zaitoon Murji.
B次元官网网址淲e definitely saw more people come to YouTube this year to deep dive into issues,B次元官网网址� Murji told Black Press Media by phone.
B次元官网网址淲hat we saw, mostly, is that Canadians came to YouTube for content that met a specific personal need.B次元官网网址�
The top three reasons? To laugh, learn a new skill or to stay informed about what was happening around the world in 2020.
The yearB次元官网网址檚 top video certainly reflects the abundance of time that many Canadians had as they locked down, isolated and tried to get through the pandemic.
B次元官网网址淭he top video this year was an eight-part Ninja Warrior course to prevent squirrels from getting into a bird feeder,B次元官网网址� Murji said.
B次元官网网址淭hat might not be the type of video someone might make when they didnB次元官网网址檛 have so much time on their hands.B次元官网网址�
That video, recorded by former NASA engineer Mark Rober, has had more than 50 million views since it was posted near the end of May.
The third video on YouTubeB次元官网网址檚 list of top trending videos was a parody video of a phrase that has made it onto masks, T-shirts and into the collective Canadian imagination this year.
That video was B次元官网网址渁ctually a parody video someone made from a press conference of Prime Minister Trudeau,B次元官网网址� Murji said.
That phrase?
B次元官网网址淪peaking moistly,B次元官网网址� Trudeau said, perhaps not on purpose, during a press conference in April.
B次元官网网址淚t was an example of people trying to find humour in a really serious moments,B次元官网网址� Murji added.
The second video on the list of trending ones was, perhaps to no surprise to many, about gaming.
B次元官网网址淭his was a very big year for gamers,B次元官网网址� she said. While streaming replaced what may have been live events in a pre-pandemic world, it also met another need: connection.
B次元官网网址淲atching different creators do different gaming runs and then being able to implement or practice your own at home with that free time you did have.B次元官网网址�
But some of the viewing took a more serious turn. A Dave Chappelle video titled simply B次元官网网址�8:46B次元官网网址� came out in the aftermath of George FloydB次元官网网址檚 death at the hands of Minneapolis police and in the midst of Black Lives Matter protests.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 an example of the ways Canadians were looking to learn more about racial justice this year,B次元官网网址� Murji said.
But while Canadians were watching a lot more videos, they were also trying to not spend their whole year on their couches, and no YouTube creator demonstrates that more than MadFit, whose channel grew exponentially in 2020.
Also known as Maddie Lymburner, the Ontario-based creator got people moving, grooving and doing their squats in 2020.
B次元官网网址淪he really took her channel and adapted it so that she was able to provide her online community with what they needed,B次元官网网址� Murji said.
B次元官网网址淲hether that was doing workouts in a condo-sized space or trying a workout at with home productsB次元官网网址� knowing that most people didnB次元官网网址檛 have workout equipment at home.B次元官网网址�
And as the pandemic continues for its ninth month, Murji said thereB次元官网网址檚 been a bit of a shift in the videos blowing up on YouTube.
B次元官网网址淓arlier this year, we saw a lot of B次元官网网址榳orkout with me, cook with me, clean with me,B次元官网网址� that was really strong on the platform,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淭he way we saw that change a little bit is it turns into B次元官网网址榝ind a way with meB次元官网网址� find a way to cope with me, find a way to meditate with me.B次元官网网址� It shifted a little bit in that the need for connection became even stronger.B次元官网网址�
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