We began to do some notebook collecting for non fiction writing, my third graders and I. We created lists of passions, interests, wonders, places we’d like to visit and people we’d like to meet.
I became quite befuddled when I realized my kids did not know very many famous people beyond You Yubers.
“What’s a You Tuber?” I asked them.
“You know, people who make You Tube videos?” they laughed at me, not realizing I was fishing for more information.
“Well, what kind of You Tube videos are you all watching?” concerned – these are 8 and 9 year olds. There is some pretty nasty stuff out there.
“Video games!” they shouted.
“What? I don’t get it,” I replied, confused.
“They make videos of themselves playing video games!” again, trying to help me understand.
“Huh? I’m confused. Why would you want to watch that? Why wouldn’t you just play your own video games?” I asked.
“Because they are funnier! They make jokes, but you have to be careful, Mrs. Daniels, because some of them swear,” they confessed, “but they are funny!”
I tried to nudge them to be interested in Teddy Roosevelt or even Kate Dicamillo, but several of them declared the name of a video You Tuber as their person they would love to meet some day. Ugh.
So, I did a little googling tonight to see what they were talking about and I discovered that this character called PewDiePie made over 7 million dollars in 2014 just playing video games on You Tube. Yes, he is what my third graders are watching. No, they shouldn’t be.
Just sayin.
The world is a-changin.
And, I’m not sure yet what to think.
What are your kids watching?
Shari
I’m participating in twowritingteachers March Challenge of posting a blog post every day for the month of March. While I’ve missed a few days, I’m still in it for the long haul! To check out other writers, visit here.
Islands of My Soul 
Oh, I hear you, this makes zero sense to me. None, at all. My son told me recently that he watches people on You Tube play games. When I expressed complete confusion, he tried to convince me it’s entertaining. Still confused.
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Love how you walked us through your confusion. Yes, kids love You Tube. It is almost as if they can choose a friend to hang out with since playing video games is what they do with their friends often anyway.
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Your post reminded me of that craze a couple years back where toddlers were entranced with YouTube videos of people opening the plastic eggs with Disney characters and others inside. I’m trying to understand but it’s very difficult. Lately librarians have been reporting that middle school students are asking for books based on these popular YouTube sensations. Oh my.
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Pretty sure my third graders would list the same kinds of things. I will actually try this after the upcoming break as we begin nonfiction reading and opinion writing units. It is hard for me to appreciate the entertainment value!
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I enjoyed the way your story unfolded. I will have to ask my 4th graders after spring break about famous people. We just started a research project on people of the American Revolution. They do know the famous names – George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and so on – and they’re interested in some of the lesser known people, like Deborah Sampson who disguised herself as a man and joined the army. She was a very successful soldier. One year I had a boy ask if he could research Elvis Presley saying, “I’m pretty sure he was in the Revolutionary War. I know he got drafted.”
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PewDiePie…even the name sounds alarming!
I loved the dialogue between you and your students. They do like to laugh when we are behind the times; but seriously, what can we do to turn them from PewDiePie fans to Kate DiCamillo…what can we do?
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Your story has me wondering about my 3rd graders. After Spring Break, I’m going to ask them some stuff. And I’m going to keep reminding them that instead of consuming what others produce, JOIN them and make money producing great stuff. It is my mantra.
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