Heavy viewers, few interactions: YouTubers’ relevance in the lives of Portuguese teenagers

Abstract

YouTube is one of the most popular websites amongst the Portuguese youth and their homegrown stars, the YouTubers, are beloved entertainers. This paper presents a qualitative study based on four focus groups with 36 teenagers, aged 12 to 16 years old, and it has three main objectives: to understand their motivations for using it; how this platform (and its contents and authors) interplay with their identity and socialization; and to acknowledge their perspectives on YouTube and YouTubers. It concludes that the sample is made up of very regular viewers, with critical insights on the platform and its contents and creators, but who, despite this overall popularity amidst friends and the easiness of ways to share their interests, regard YouTube and YouTubers as funny entertainers for more individual practices.