Presenting toys through YouTube: how hosts impact youth reception

Abstract

Since YouTube's 2005 launch, it has become an integral part of our everyday media culture enabling a media ecology where youth have grown up seeing amateur and professionally-created videos appear alongside one another. Despite YouTube's significant position in youth media consumption (and production), little research has explored how youth perceive and evaluate different types of videos hosts (brands, adult hosts, and peer hosts) or the varying production qualities they encounter. This research engaged directly with 27 youths, asking them to watch a selection of toyrelated product videos, featuring different types of hosts and production qualities. Via an online survey, participants shared their perceptions. Youth placed little to no value on the overall production quality of the videos they viewed, instead paying attention to host attributes, perceptions of authenticity, and their natural connection to other youth. They also demonstrated an ability to overlook marketing messages and enjoy a video for its entertainment. Based on insights like these, it's recommended that brands, communicators, researchers, and others who are interested in youth audiences pursue additional research to deepen our understanding of this powerful generation that is poised to become the largest and most educated the world has ever seen.