Community experiences improved the way we consume content
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 7:26 am
As the coronavirus imposed restrictions on most aspects of daily life, online video played a pivotal role in the global community’s adaptation to the pandemic. More than ever, we saw YouTube users seeking out opportunities to connect with others through content, suggesting that the future of video may be increasingly influenced by interactive experiences that enhance the way we watch content.
Group Plays
When quarantine began, group streaming offered a safe way to continue consuming content and live events together. For example, in April, Travis Scott performed a virtual concert in Fortnite that was attended by over 12 million fans. While anyone could directly access the concert for free through Fortnite, finance directors email database list many users preferred to watch their favorite creators watch the event through their live streams.
Online videos played a critical role in the global community's adaptation to the pandemic.
While this type of multi-audience experience has long been common in the gaming world, with different gamers competing against each other and streaming gameplay at the same time to allow fans to choose who to root for, group plays became all the rage on streaming platforms in early 2020.
They also gained huge popularity when professional sports leagues resumed competitions in empty fields. As stadiums and bars were closed, tens of thousands of sports fans began organizing to watch events together, so that the experience of the game was no longer so focused on the game itself, but rather on sharing the experience with others.
Group activities
We also saw an increase in public engagement around community activism and civic duty. To give one example, when the Brazilian government ordered citizens to stay home, Brazilians began to participate in live music broadcasts with the hashtags “comigo” or “with me” that achieved a record number of views, in an act of collective civil responsibility.
Video helped us deal with a changing world
In addition to using YouTube as a safe way to engage with others and experience content together, people turned to the platform for help on how to cope with social distancing and understand the challenges and uncertainty of an atypical scenario.
Personal development
Many users managed to get through the first few months of the pandemic by developing a new skill. For some, this meant learning something relatively simple, like germinating seeds step by step. For others, it was a more challenging task, like learning to play chess. Globally, videos with variations of the term “beginner” in the title garnered more than 7 billion views and an increase of more than 50% in average daily views since March 15, 2020, compared to the rest of the year.
A red rising arrow on a screen illustrates the 50% increase in average daily views of videos with variations of the term "beginner" in the title.
Social change
In June, as protests against racial injustice spread around the world, people turned to online videos to delve into history, explore questions of identity, and ask for support, enlist allies and call for action.
For example, as the Black Lives Matter movement gained greater public interest in the US, so did its popularity on YouTube. In the first 10 days of June alone, views of Black Lives Matter videos increased more than fourfold compared to the previous year. And the conversation went global as users sought out information about the Black Lives Matter experience across countries and industries.
The social protest also presented an opportunity for Latin American creators to speak out about pigmentocracy and discrimination against people of dark skin and indigenous descent.
And the conversation went global as users searched for information about the racial experience in different countries, including Germany , Hungary , Japan , the US , and the Netherlands , and across industries, including fine art and technology . As people began to speak out in support of the cause, the number of users watching videos around themes of support and allyship increased dramatically. In the first week of June, views of videos with the phrase “how to ally” in the title increased by 23% compared to all of May.
The implications of these changes for brands
Simply put, the YouTube viewing behaviors we saw this year stem from human needs being met in unconventional ways through technology and creativity. Whether the motivation was connecting with others, finding resources to stay resilient, or exploring new ways to be seen and heard, audiences and creators showed us that adversity leads to innovation.
Making an impact in 2021 will mean continuing to meet these changing needs and doing so in the creative ways that YouTubers and their viewers have already begun to seek out.
If you want to learn more about how videos are shaping culture, check out YouTube Culture & Trends .
Group Plays
When quarantine began, group streaming offered a safe way to continue consuming content and live events together. For example, in April, Travis Scott performed a virtual concert in Fortnite that was attended by over 12 million fans. While anyone could directly access the concert for free through Fortnite, finance directors email database list many users preferred to watch their favorite creators watch the event through their live streams.
Online videos played a critical role in the global community's adaptation to the pandemic.
While this type of multi-audience experience has long been common in the gaming world, with different gamers competing against each other and streaming gameplay at the same time to allow fans to choose who to root for, group plays became all the rage on streaming platforms in early 2020.
They also gained huge popularity when professional sports leagues resumed competitions in empty fields. As stadiums and bars were closed, tens of thousands of sports fans began organizing to watch events together, so that the experience of the game was no longer so focused on the game itself, but rather on sharing the experience with others.
Group activities
We also saw an increase in public engagement around community activism and civic duty. To give one example, when the Brazilian government ordered citizens to stay home, Brazilians began to participate in live music broadcasts with the hashtags “comigo” or “with me” that achieved a record number of views, in an act of collective civil responsibility.
Video helped us deal with a changing world
In addition to using YouTube as a safe way to engage with others and experience content together, people turned to the platform for help on how to cope with social distancing and understand the challenges and uncertainty of an atypical scenario.
Personal development
Many users managed to get through the first few months of the pandemic by developing a new skill. For some, this meant learning something relatively simple, like germinating seeds step by step. For others, it was a more challenging task, like learning to play chess. Globally, videos with variations of the term “beginner” in the title garnered more than 7 billion views and an increase of more than 50% in average daily views since March 15, 2020, compared to the rest of the year.
A red rising arrow on a screen illustrates the 50% increase in average daily views of videos with variations of the term "beginner" in the title.
Social change
In June, as protests against racial injustice spread around the world, people turned to online videos to delve into history, explore questions of identity, and ask for support, enlist allies and call for action.
For example, as the Black Lives Matter movement gained greater public interest in the US, so did its popularity on YouTube. In the first 10 days of June alone, views of Black Lives Matter videos increased more than fourfold compared to the previous year. And the conversation went global as users sought out information about the Black Lives Matter experience across countries and industries.
The social protest also presented an opportunity for Latin American creators to speak out about pigmentocracy and discrimination against people of dark skin and indigenous descent.
And the conversation went global as users searched for information about the racial experience in different countries, including Germany , Hungary , Japan , the US , and the Netherlands , and across industries, including fine art and technology . As people began to speak out in support of the cause, the number of users watching videos around themes of support and allyship increased dramatically. In the first week of June, views of videos with the phrase “how to ally” in the title increased by 23% compared to all of May.
The implications of these changes for brands
Simply put, the YouTube viewing behaviors we saw this year stem from human needs being met in unconventional ways through technology and creativity. Whether the motivation was connecting with others, finding resources to stay resilient, or exploring new ways to be seen and heard, audiences and creators showed us that adversity leads to innovation.
Making an impact in 2021 will mean continuing to meet these changing needs and doing so in the creative ways that YouTubers and their viewers have already begun to seek out.
If you want to learn more about how videos are shaping culture, check out YouTube Culture & Trends .