YouTube Stars Are More Popular than Movie Stars

YouTube Stars Are Officially More Famous Than Movie Stars

YouTube stars are becoming more famous than movie stars. Nowadays, people are spending more time watching and relating with their favorite YouTube personalities than they are with A-List celebrities.

For some people that may be hard to believe. But, according to a new survey by Variety, ““the five most influential figures among Americans ages 13-18 are all YouTube faves, eclipsing mainstream celebs including Jennifer Lawrence and Seth Rogen.” 

Despite millions of people watching Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games teenagers are more interested in YouTube channels.

The survey, conducted for Variety by celebrity brand strategist Jeetendr Sehdev, asked 1,500 respondents a battery of questions assessing how 20 well-known personalities stacked up in terms of approachability, authenticity and other criteria considered aspects of their overall influence. Half the 20 were drawn from the English-language personalities with the most subscribers and video views on YouTube, the other half were represented by the celebrities with the highest Q scores among U.S. teens aged 13-17, as of March.

A score was then assigned to each YouTube and mainstream star based on how they fared in respondents’ answers to the questions, and the resulting number was translated to a 100-point scale. The top five — and six of the top 10 — were YouTube stars.

The top five were Smosh, the Fine Bros., PewDiePie, KSI, and Ryan Higa.

Things get worse for Hollywood celebrities. YouTube stars have “the highest correlation to influencing purchases among teens.” That means YouTube stars are more likely to get promotional sponsors in comparison to Hollywood A-Listers.

YouTube is unregulated, unfiltered, unprocessed and that is what makes YouTube personalities so popular. The lack of a filter allows for YouTube personalities to connect to audiences easier than Hollywood A-List actors.

However, as many of these YouTube stars attempt to transition to mainstream artists expect them to lose their appeal. As Variety illustrates: “If YouTube stars are swallowed by Hollywood, they are in danger of becoming less authentic versions of themselves, and teenagers will be able to pick up on that.”

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