Week 2: Psychology Youtubers

Lesson 1

This week, we’re checking out some Youtubers. 

• • Anna Akana
  • Kati Morton
  • Ana Psychology
  • How to ADHD

For each one we watch, discuss them in terms of the following questions:

• • What do you think about each of these Youtubers’ approach to similar kinds of topics? (Broadly speaking, all of these are psychology/self-help Youtubers.)
  • What do you think may be each Youtuber’s differing motivation for making these videos? 
  • What do you think may be good about more people are turning to Youtube for free self-help? What are some potential problems with this?
  • Who do you imagine are the main audience for these kinds of videos? 

---

To be clear, in class, we’re going to watch (parts of, or all of) these specific videos:

Before we meet next time, feel free to read up on the following topics, to help you discuss these videos a little more deeply. You can read one or more of my linked articles, or find your own material online if you prefer:

Peer Counseling:

• Peer Counseling: An Overview (1992) by Patricia SiscoHow Peer Counseling Can Address Barriers to Student Mental Health (2021) by William A. Haseltine

Self-Help and the Self-Help Industry:

• Why the Self-Help Industry is Dominating the U.S. (2019) by Marshall SinclairThis is How the Self-Help Industry Manipulates You (2022) by Austin Harvey 

As I wrote above, you don’t NEED to read all these specific articles, though they are useful and I recommend looking at maybe one of each at least. You can, however, do your own research too!

We’ll continue our discussion in Day 2 of this week’s class. 

Lesson 2

In Week 2, Lesson 2, we continued discussing all of the Youtubers linked above, and especially spent some time thinking about their motivation for making videos.

Homework

For the Screen English Journal (on the LMS) for this week, you have a couple of options: you can

• choose a prompt from the prompt list below (see the PDF below), or
• choose a different Youtuber who makes videos on some other subject. It could be video game playthroughs, a science Youtuber, a makeup artist, a family vlogger, or whatever. Use the same questions I asked above to think about the person’s motivations, the benefits that viewers get from their videos, and so on. Write about your answers to these questions in your Screen English journal. 

Some weeks, I will ask you specifically to choose a prompt from the prompt list (this document), but you can choose one anytime you like to write about it, if you want, or if you prefer it to the week-specific prompt I provide.

Looking Forward

There’s nothing you need to do to prepare for next week’s class.