StudyTube
{{Short description|YouTube community and genre}}
StudyTube, sometimes referred to as EduTube, is an informal group of content creators on YouTube whose content focuses on studying, test and exam preparation, and school. These types of YouTubers are known as StudyTubers. The term can also refer to the genre of YouTube video characterized by its focus on the same topics.
Origins
Some have claimed StudyTube began as early as 2015.{{Cite web |last=Brighty-Potts |first=Imy |date=2020-08-15 |title='Studytube': From A*s to Toxic Productivity |url=https://thehysteriacollective.com/2020/08/15/studytube-from-as-to-toxic-productivity/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918074152/https://thehysteriacollective.com/2020/08/15/studytube-from-as-to-toxic-productivity/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 18, 2020 |access-date=2022-08-17 |website=The Hysteria Collective |language=en}} YouTubers Derin Adetosoye and Ruby Granger cite 2018 as the year StudyTube came about.{{Cite web|last=Sharma|first=Ruchira|date=2019-08-17|title=StudyTube: The community of YouTubers using university as content|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/education/studytube-youtubers-revision-university-influencers-followers-a-levels-gcses-326390|access-date=2022-01-02|website=inews.co.uk|language=en}} However, StudyTube channels, including Granger's, existed and created StudyTube content in 2017. The Times popularized the term StudyTuber in 2018.{{Cite web|last=Haynes|first=Tom|date=2021-10-05|title=What happens to studytubers once they stop studying?|url=https://i-d.co/article/studytubers-youtube-vloggers/|access-date=2022-01-03|website=i-D|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Rumbelow|first=Helen|date=2018-03-19|title=Study Tubers: meet the new teen vlogging stars of YouTube|newspaper=The Times |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/social-media/article/study-tubers-meet-the-new-teen-vlogging-stars-of-youtube-9nnp8v99n|access-date=2022-01-03|issn=0140-0460}} The genre was repopularized during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web |last=Lopez |first=Sophia |date=2020-10-29 |title=Need a study buddy? Turn to the StudyTube |url=https://thegauntlet.ca/2020/10/28/need-a-study-buddy-turn-to-the-studytube/ |access-date=2022-08-17 |website=The Gauntlet |language=en-US}}
StudyTube has counterpart communities on other platforms, including Studyblr (Tumblr), Studygram (Instagram), and Studytok (TikTok).{{Cite web|last=Makalintal|first=Bettina|date=2021-08-02|title=Why We Can't Get Enough of Watching Other People Organize Their Lives|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/why-its-satisfying-to-watch-other-people-organize-bullet-journal-notion-setup-youtube-tiktok/|access-date=2022-01-02|website=Vice.com|language=en}} Studyblr predates StudyTube and has been referred to as an origin point for StudyTube.{{Cite web|last=Hale|first=James|date=2021-10-28|title=YouTube Millionaires: Jasmine Shao On Taking #Studytube From High School To College|url=https://www.tubefilter.com/2021/10/28/youtube-millionaires-jasmine-shao/|access-date=2022-01-03|website=Tubefilter|language=en-US}}
Format
The most common video format on StudyTube is real-time, often hours long, "study with me" style videos and livestreams featuring someone studying on camera.{{Cite web|last=Benberry|first=Imani|date=2020-08-28|title=YouTubers on 'StudyTube' Share Homework for a Living|url=https://studybreaks.com/tvfilm/studytube/|access-date=2022-01-02|website=Study Breaks|language=en-us}}{{Cite news|date=2019-08-22|title=GCSEs: StudyTube revision videos got me through exams|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-49419641|access-date=2022-01-02}}{{Cite web |last=Allison |first=Steven |date=2022-06-30 |title=StudyTubers Are Graduating, But Their Community And Curiousity Aren't Ceasing |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/tech/youtube/studytubers-youtube-graduation-college/ |access-date=2022-11-20 |website=Paste Magazine |language=en}} StudyTubers often give advice for GCSEs and A-Levels.{{Cite web|last=Goble|first=Georgia|date=2020-09-12|title=Gen-Z Dread: Why Are Young People So Scared?|url=https://www.varsity.co.uk/features/19780|access-date=2022-01-02|website=Varsity Online|language=en}} StudyTube videos can also include grade or results-reaction videos and Q&As about university life.{{Cite web |last=Bloomfield |first=Laura |date=2022-05-12 |title=Studytube: Helpful or Dangerous |url=https://theorbital.co.uk/studytube-helpful-or-dangerous/ |access-date=2022-08-17 |website=Orbital Magazine |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=Karayel |first=Mary |date=2021-04-02 |title="I'm sorry I'm not Ruby Granger": the problem with 'studytube' |url=https://thestray.org/2021/04/02/im-sorry-im-not-ruby-granger-the-problem-with-studytube/ |access-date=2022-08-17 |website=The Stray |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Robson |first=Ellie |date=2019-10-08 |title=The Great Rise of 'Studytube' |url=https://www.concrete-online.co.uk/great-rise-studytube/ |access-date=2022-08-17 |website=Concrete |language=en-US}} It is also common for StudyTube videos to be vlogs of the content creator's university experience.{{Cite web|last=Connolly|first=Hannah|date=2020-02-26|title=Here's why you should start a StudyTube channel|url=https://thetab.com/uk/london/2020/02/26/heres-why-you-should-start-a-studytube-channel-36265|access-date=2022-01-03|website=UCL|language=en-GB}} StudyTube videos often focus on productivity, though some have criticized StudyTube for promoting a culture of so-called 'toxic productivity.'{{refn|{{Cite web|last=Dodd|first=Lucinda|date=2020-11-08|title='StudyTube' Productivity Obsession Threatens To Create 'Jaded' Students|url=https://impactnottingham.com/2020/11/studytube-productivity-obsession-threatens-to-create-jaded-students/|access-date=2022-01-02|website=Impact Magazine|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|last=Watts|first=Emma|date=2021-03-12|title=StudyTubers May Be More Harmful Than Helpful for College Students|url=https://studybreaks.com/tvfilm/studytubers-can-be-harmful/|access-date=2022-01-02|website=Study Breaks|language=en-us}}{{Cite web|last=Murray|first=Kirsten|date=2021-06-17|title=The Toxic Productivity Echo Chamber|url=https://nouse.co.uk/2021/06/17/the-toxic-productivity-echo-chamber|url-status=dead|access-date=2022-01-02|website=nouse.co.uk|language=en|archive-date=2022-10-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004115035/https://nouse.co.uk/2021/06/17/the-toxic-productivity-echo-chamber}}{{Cite web|last=Firmin|first=Holly|date=2020-04-16|title=StudyTube and the fetishisation of productivity|url=https://www.ebb-magazine.com/essays/studytube-and-the-fetishisation-of-productivity|access-date=2022-01-02|website=Ebb|language=en-GB}}{{Cite news |last=Crilly |first=Eleanor |date=2021-09-11 |title=The Dark Side of StudyTube |language=en-GB |work=Trill! Mag |url=https://www.trillmag.com/85945/read/life/social-media/the-dark-side-of-studytube/ |access-date=2022-06-06}}{{Cite web |last=Rana |first=Maira |date=2022-04-13 |title=How StudyTube, StudyTok & StudyGram Affect The Youth |url=https://youth-time.eu/studytube-studytok-studygram-toxic-productivity-the-youth/ |access-date=2022-08-17 |website=Youth Time Magazine |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Weir |first=Basilia |date=2020-12-12 |title=Studytube: you're toxic, I'm slippin' into a panic spiral about my productivity |url=https://glasgowguardian.co.uk/2020/12/12/studytube-youre-toxic-im-slippin-into-a-panic-spiral-about-my-productivity/ |access-date=2022-08-17 |website=The Glasgow Guardian}}}}
Notable channels
Most prominent StudyTubers are British.{{Cite web|last=Young|first=Lucy|date=2020-03-06|title='StudyTube' Has Its Faults as Well as Its Benefits|url=https://theboar.org/2020/03/studytube/|access-date=2022-01-02|website=theboar.org|language=en-GB}} Prominent British StudyTube channels include Jack Edwards, Eve Bennett, Eve Cornwell,{{Cite web|last=Stokel-Walker|first=Chris|date=2019-12-02|title=The rise of EduTube: how social media influencers are shaping universities|url=http://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/dec/02/the-rise-of-edutube-how-social-media-influencers-are-shaping-universities|access-date=2022-01-02|website=the Guardian|language=en}} UnJaded Jade, Ruby Granger, and Vee Kativhu.{{Cite news|last=Marsh|first=Stefanie|title=Meet Vee Kativhu, the YouTuber who makes studying cool|newspaper=The Times |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/meet-vee-kativhu-the-youtuber-who-makes-studying-cool-vvlfxj2qs|access-date=2022-01-03|issn=0140-0460}}