<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="7881151" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bianca-devins">Bianca Devins</keyword> was murdered 2 years ago, and graphic images of her body circulated on <keyword id="6354632" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="social-media">social media</keyword>.</li><li>Her mother, Kim Devins, is campaigning to hold social media platforms accountable with Bianca's Law.</li><li>Bianca's story has gained new attention due to the involvement of YouTuber Gabbie Hanna.</li></ul><p>Bianca Devins was 17 years old when she was murdered on July 14, 2019. She lived with mental health issues, including borderline personality disorder, but <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bianca-devins-death-internet_n_5d2e382ae4b0a873f6431763?ri18n=true">found solace </a>by <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/bianca-devins-viral-death-murder-926823/">building friendships through various social media platforms </a>like Instagram, Tumblr, 4chan, and Discord. Brandon Andrew Clark was one of many <keyword id="6360040" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="people">people</keyword> Devins met online. </p><p>In February 2020, Clark pled guilty to Bianca's murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison. At the time, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-might-have-killed-17-year-old-instagram-star-upstate-n1030786">prosecutors</a> argued that he killed her in a fit of jealousy after seeing her kiss another man, and posted graphic images of her body to his Instagram story and to a Discord server. It's these images that still haunt the Devins family.</p><p>"The trauma that this has caused our family is just indescribable," Kim Devins, Bianca's mother, told Insider, explaining that the family is frequently sent the images from strangers and tagged in social media accounts that use them as their profile pictures. Now, she's campaigning to hold platforms accountable for the spread of such images.</p><div type="image" title="Bianca Devins with her mother and three sisters." height="1170" width="1561" msid="84416611" hostid="261"></div><p>Bianca Devins' death recently got renewed attention after <a href="https://www.insider.com/gabbie-hanna-feud-angelika-oles-bianca-devins-2021-7">YouTubers Gabbie Hanna and Angelika Oles went to war </a>over a video Hanna made briefly referencing Bianca in February 2020. The pair had heated exchanges on social media and posted several videos about it, but Kim sees them as a distraction from the important issues.</p><p>"I have more important things to worry about than YouTube drama," Kim said. "I lost my daughter. We're coming up on her second anniversary, I'm raising her siblings, and trying to get it so that this never happens again, that these pictures of Bianca can't be put on the internet, and that no one else has to go through this." </p><h2>Kim Devins is campaigning to hold social media platforms and online trolls accountable for the spread of the images</h2><p>Kim said that Instagram and Facebook assured her the graphic images in question have a "digital fingerprint" that automatically alerts the platform and prevents them from being uploaded. But Kim says she continues to be confronted by them. On Facebook, Insider found the graphic images in the fourth highest post when searching Bianca's name. Kim told Insider that as recently as Father's Day this year, when she tried to Google an image of her father, a graphic photo of Bianca was in the thumbnail. A Google image search of Bianca's name yielded the graphic images as some of the top results.</p><p>"We hope the worst is over now, but we're still fighting to get [the images] taken down," Devins said. "Facebook and Instagram were negligent in the fact that this has been uploaded and shared so many times."</p><p>Stephanie Otway, a spokesperson for Facebook, told Insider, "What happened to Bianca was a tragedy and our hearts continue to go out to the Devins family. Since Bianca's death, we've removed graphic images of her from Facebook and Instagram as quickly as possible. We acknowledge that we fell short in stopping the spread of these images at the time of her death, and we've worked hard to improve our technology since then."</p><p>Instagram did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.</p><div type="image" title="Bianca Devins selfie" height="345" width="460" msid="84416614" hostid="261"></div><p><a href="https://www.change.org/p/bianca-s-law-stop-the-spread-of-violent-and-graphic-images-on-the-internet">Bianca's Law</a>, which Devins hopes will be introduced both as a New York State law and federal law, would make the spreading of such "violent and graphic" pictures a criminal offense, and force social media platforms to develop software that would detect them before they were uploaded and shared. The law would also require all major social media platforms to establish a "crisis department" to respond in real time to victims' families.</p><p>The idea came about in August 2019 following the continual spread of images of Bianca on social media and the Devins family's correspondence with their congressional representative at the time, Anthony Brindisi. While Brindisi introduced Bianca's Law into the 116th Congress term, the loss of his seat in the 2020 election means it would need to be re-introduced. The online petition to do so currently has over 37,000 signatures.</p><p>"Right now, we're just trying to reach out to as many people as we can in Congress to make them aware of this Bill."</p><h2>For Devins, Bianca's Law is one of many ways she is honoring her daughter's memory and legacy</h2><div type="image" title="Bianca Devins black and white" height="950" width="1267" msid="84416615" hostid="261"></div><p>"I want Bianca's legacy to be the light that she brought into this world," Devins said. "Bianca was just such a kind person. She always tried to help others."</p><p>As part of honoring Bianca's dedication to help others, the Devins family also launched the <a href="https://foundationhoc.org/give/funds/bianca-michelle-devins-memorial-scholarship-fund">Bianca Michelle Devins Memorial Scholarship Fund</a> to help fund students studying psychology and counseling degrees "in order to continue Bianca's dream of helping those with mental illnesses." Before she died, Bianca was enrolled to study psychology at a community college in the fall.</p><p>Two years on from Bianca's passing, Devins is determined that Bianca's legacy will continue to inspire people for years to come. She said, "Her light is never going to dim because she left a really good impact on a lot of people."</p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/culture"><strong>To read more stories like this, check out Insider's digital culture coverage </strong><strong>here</strong><strong>.</strong></a></p>

Bianca Devins' family has faced graphic images of her murder spreading online for 2 years. Her mom wants to hold social media platforms accountable.

How 'Frenemies,' one of YouTube's buzziest podcasts, crashed and burned in less than a week

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In July, YouTuber <keyword id="10147837" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dangelo-wallace">D'Angelo Wallace</keyword> went from 600,000 <keyword id="10879" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="YouTube">YouTube</keyword> subscribers to over 1 million in one week.</li><li>His channel's staggering growth is indicative of the renaissance that's happening in the "commentary" genre on the platform, where <keyword id="860150" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="YouTubers">YouTubers</keyword> discuss and critique other YouTubers and their drama. </li><li>Now at 1.6 million subscribers, Wallace talked to Insider about his cocky attitude (and charm), his creative process, and the time an A-list YouTuber asked him to make a video about them.</li></ul><p>Fangirling over your favorite YouTuber is out. Tearing them to pieces is in. And D'Angelo Wallace is very good at explaining why the YouTubers you used to love are actually not worth your time. </p><p>Since the early 2010s, it's been understood that YouTube is a powerful home-grown entertainment network, giving just about anyone with a camera the chance at money, notoriety, and internet superstardom. People like <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-shane-dawson-went-from-king-of-youtube-to-canceled-2020-7">Shane Dawson</a> — best known for his docuseries and videos about conspiracy theories — and controversial <keyword id="6354629" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="beauty">beauty</keyword> mogul <a href="https://www.insider.com/jeffree-star-sexual-assault-allegations-violence-accused-predator-myspace-payments-2020-9">Jeffree Star</a> thrived online, building their careers for more than a decade and rising up to become two of the platform's untouchable A-listers. </p><p>Then came 2020, and many of YouTube's top stars faced a reckoning. </p><p>Dawson and Star received an <a href="https://www.insider.com/shane-dawson-tati-westbrook-video-jeffree-star-drama-timeline-cancelled-2020-6">avalanche of criticism</a> for their old, racist content, which was re-examined in light of the growing Black Lives Matter movement. Wallace was one of the loudest voices holding the duo accountable for their past behavior and their roles in <a href="https://www.insider.com/jeffree-star-james-charles-dramageddon-2-tati-westbrook-2020-5">the explosive 2019 internet drama</a> between beauty YouTubers Tati Westbrook and James Charles.</p><p>After Charles had advertised Westbrook's rival's hair vitamins on his Instagram story in 2019, Westbrook accused him of disloyalty to her own hair gummy vitamin brand. She also accused Charles of using his social media fame to try and manipulate straight men, which Star publicly agreed with, calling Charles a "predator" and a "danger to society." The claims of predatory behavior were never backed up with evidence however, and Westbrook eventually went on to apologize to Charles and accuse Dawson and Star of manipulating her.</p><p>In conversation with Insider, Wallace compared the past two years of YouTube beauty community drama to "Tiger King," gripping millions of YouTube fans to their screens to watch the chaos unfold. "Thankfully, there was less murder," he added.</p><p>22-year-old Wallace, and others in the 'drama community' who have devoted themselves to critiquing YouTube celebrities for Google AdSense dollars, has served as a cancellation catalyst, pouring gasoline on outrage directed at internet stars. <keyword id="9257250" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="drama-channels">Drama channels</keyword> say they're trying to create a new level of accountability in the <keyword id="24504" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="culture">culture</keyword>, which has been known to encourage shock-value and clicks over other principles. </p><div type="image" title="Wallace's videos about Star and Dawson have a combined 20 million views." height="1518" width="1964" msid="78794180" hostid="261"></div><p>Wallace's deep dive into the beauty YouTube drama of May 2019 deconstructed each YouTuber's role in the feud, exploring how it came back to negatively impact each of their careers. That analysis didn't just earn Wallace subscribers. It shaped how millions of YouTube fans now view the three beauty gurus and their drama.</p><p>Beyond drama about YouTubers, Wallace also discusses mainstream pop culture and entertainment — his first video to be featured on YouTube's "Trending" tab was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGITudIVBE8&amp;t=40s=40s">a critique of "Cuties,"</a> the controversial Netflix-hosted film about child dancers. </p><p>Whatever your opinion is of the growing community Wallace is a part of and those making successful livings of commentary, drama, and "tea," it's undeniable that they're a growing force on YouTube and are cultivating fanbases of their own. Wallace told Insider that he started making more money from YouTube than he did at his part-time job before his Dawson video ever went up, and social media analytics site Social Blade estimates that he can earn more than $300,000 a year off of <a href="https://socialblade.com/youtube/channel/UCqWxviU8cjjHZsTLWgPFZuA">his</a> <a href="https://socialblade.com/youtube/user/dangelowallace">two</a> channels.</p><p>"I do think it's extremely meta that you can become an influencer of influencers," Wallace told Insider. "Statistically speaking, this shouldn't even be happening. Every now and then I happen to see my own sub count and it just doesn't look right."</p><h2>From his voice to his analysis (and zingers), Wallace has become a trusted arbiter of YouTube personalities</h2><p>Wallace's numbers don't lie. As he tweeted in July, his subscriber count rose from under 500,000 to over a million within one month.</p><p>About eight months ago, Wallace started a side channel with the sole purpose of talking about "whatever I want" — as opposed to his original channel, which started in 2018 as an art channel, where Wallace posted videos of himself digitally drawing and chatting about topics like art theft.</p><p>By mid-July, the "whatever I want" channel was poised to eclipse his original. Within one week of uploading the second video in his series, his chapter about Dawson, he shot from 630,000 subscribers to over 1 million. That's a rare milestone for any commentator, let alone a fresh one.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—D'Angelo Wallace  (@dangelno) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1288507075660742657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2020</a></blockquote><p>"It's his unapologetic cockiness. It's his charm. It's him being honest and cheeky. It's his funny demeanor. It's the work ethic," Angelo Antonio, a fan of Wallace's, told Insider. "Also his voice. It's like butter mixed with honey that massages your inner ear."</p><p>Surprisingly, Wallace wasn't doesn't have the debate-club background of a polished orator. Rather, he says, he was just "super into writing papers" in college, which translates over to the scripts he writes for his YouTube videos.</p><p>"What I really loved about writing papers was you could introduce a topic, back it up, and then still have a point," Wallace said. "A lot of my video ideas I structure the same way I would write a paper about it."</p><p>His most-viewed video, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2WBythSGoQ&amp;t=136s136s">The exact moment Shane Dawon's career ended: 12:37 PM, 06/30/20</a>," is an hour and 13 minutes long. It's been watched more than 13 million times. Through YouTube's monetization program, most YouTubers make money off ads. Wallace turned ads off for his Dawson video.</p><p>"I feel uncomfortable profiting off this stuff," he explained in the video, before showing clips that included Dawson discussing sexual acts with children, using racist slurs, and kissing pets. For his other videos, Wallace runs ads.</p><p>In the Dawson video, Wallace traced his YouTube rise and transition away from "edgy," offensive humor to documentary-style series that asked big, moral questions about other YouTubers. Wallace also showed how Dawson's self-described "empath" identity fell apart once Westbrook <a href="https://www.insider.com/shane-dawson-tati-westbrook-video-jeffree-star-drama-timeline-cancelled-2020-6">introduced a new narrative.</a></p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x2WBythSGoQ" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>With Star and Dawson already hiding from the public eye by the time Wallace's videos started debuting, they proved to resonate with millions of viewers looking for answers about how the two giants came toppling down. Wallace wasn't the only commentator dissecting their drama — rather, YouTube was consumed by hundreds of videos from dozens of drama channels. But Wallace stands apart. </p><p>"His videos offer a reaffirmation of the viewers' moral compass and opinions, rather than an attempt to change them," Liam McEvoy, another <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz5n-x_1YW5zJz5pJ2HPxRg">commentary channel</a> whose Star videos have also been viewed millions of times, told Insider.</p><p>Part of Wallace's goal with his Star video, he said, was to compile all the existing "lore" about the beauty mogul. Criticism of Star could seem "unwarranted," Wallace said, if viewers didn't see the full extent of Star's <a href="https://www.insider.com/shane-dawson-tati-westbrook-video-jeffree-star-drama-timeline-cancelled-2020-6">heavily cataloged bad behavior</a> online.</p><p>"Everyone says they don't like drama, but at the end of the day nobody will turn down a good story," Wallace said.</p><p>When the video took off, Wallace says he pivoted to "not just explaining what happened, because that's fun to talk about, but why it was affecting everybody so strongly."</p><p>With his Dawson video, which sealed the series' success, Wallace's decision to turn off ads also impressed his viewers.</p><p>"People resonate with videos like that. Putting in weeks of research for free because the creator just wants the information in a structured manner out there," Antonio said.</p><h2>Navigating being a popular content creator who talks about other popular content creators can be tricky</h2><p>Wallace says one of the first commentary videos he ever watched, which left a lasting impact, was popular YouTuber Cody Ko's scathing, hysterical "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-A6YeV7QnE&amp;t=387s387s">Worst of Buzzfeed</a>" video about a Buzzfeed employee who claimed to have never eaten most fruits and vegetables. </p><p>"I just was floored by how funny it was. I called my mom and was like 'Look, you have to watch this video of this guy reacting to this person eating fruit on BuzzFeed,'" Wallace said. "She looked at me and said 'Who is this?' And that's when I realized I was in a rabbit hole."</p><p>While commentary YouTubers like Ko, Danny Gonzalez, and Drew Gooden have become "Trending" tab favorites for their low-stakes commentary and analysis of entertainment and YouTube trends, Wallace has walked the tightrope between more casual commentary, such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSRrqqEsNgc&amp;t=455s455s">his video on Billie Eilish's musical talent</a>, and more serious subject matter, such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2WBythSGoQ&amp;t=155s155s">his video</a> covering Dawson's cringe-worthy quotes about pedophilia.</p><p>"I really try to explain things with clarity so that people understand it's just my opinion, I'm not presenting anything criminal or anything like that," Wallace said. "But I have absolutely wondered things like 'Is this person going to watch this and then I'm going to get a court summons?'"</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CEf9mJZli6H" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Turned 22. The moment I saw that viral strawberry dress, I knew my fate involved pastels and strawberries for my birthday... but I'm a man. So I did the manly thing: doing it anyway. Dress Design: Lirika Matoshi Jacket Reimagination: Me/My hot glue gun Also I got y'all a present: a new video all about me, over on my bonus channel</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by  D'Angelo Wallace (@dangelno) on Aug 29, 2020 at 9:05pm PDT<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-08-30T04:05:44+00:00">Aug 29, 2020 at 9:05pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><p>Wallace's concern represents a growing divide between A-list YouTubers and the commentary and drama channels that cover them. Gabbie Hanna, a YouTuber and singer with <a href="https://www.insider.com/gabbie-hanna-youtube-drama-channels-tiktok-jessi-smiles-shadowban-memes-2020-7">her own widely dissected summer drama</a>, has publicly fought with <keyword id="9210691" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="commentary-channels">commentary channels</keyword> and told Insider they fostered a "toxic environment" of harassment on YouTube.</p><p>Other creators, like Star, have been known <a href="https://www.insider.com/shane-dawson-tati-westbrook-video-jeffree-star-drama-timeline-cancelled-2020-6">to communicate with drama channels</a> behind-the-scenes, offering information and praise in exchange for positive coverage (or negative coverage of their nemeses).</p><p>"Sometimes I find it hard to grasp how you can have millions and millions of subscribers but seemingly always be mad that people are talking about you online," Wallace, who has also had negative commentary videos made about him before, said.</p><p>"It becomes a game where you have to pick your battles. At the same time as Gabbie Hanna is criticizing these people, she's also absolutely legitimizing them, because now we know that she's watching. The commentary is literally making an impact, it's not just opinions anymore."</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IdGWdWE7-k8" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>At the same time, Wallace says big YouTubers don't always practice what they preach when it comes to drama channels. In fact, one YouTuber who has publicly advocated against drama channels reached out to Wallace to see if he would make a commentary video about them, Wallace said.</p><p>"This person was like 'Hey, can you please make a commentary video about me?' And that's when I realized clearly there are layers to this," Wallace said. "I was actually shocked, texting my manager 'Is this real?' I verified the emails and it was absolutely real. I think a lot of these bigger channels have realized that they can get press from smaller channels just by being mad at them."</p><p>Not only does Wallace's channel stand apart for its acute observations and lengthy deep dives, but it's Wallace's personality that has resulted in his own growing fanbase. While many creators rely on self-deprecation to appeal to their audience, Wallace has taken the opposite approach.</p><p>"People tell me that it makes them more confident, like when I say things about 'Wow, I look great in that photo' or I say 'Wow, that video I just uploaded was the best video about that topic on YouTube,' people will actually internalize that," Wallace said. "And they start at least allowing themselves to think about themselves that way, which is not something we do often."</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/gabbie-hanna-youtube-drama-channels-tiktok-jessi-smiles-shadowban-memes-2020-7">Internet star Gabbie Hanna says YouTube has fostered a toxic environment where drama channels are encouraged to take down top creators</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/jeffree-star-sexual-assault-allegations-violence-accused-predator-myspace-payments-2020-9">Jeffree Star accusers say the makeup mogul has a history of sexual assault, physical violence, and hush-money offers</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/shane-dawson-tati-westbrook-video-jeffree-star-drama-timeline-cancelled-2020-6">A timeline of how the internet turned against the top YouTubers Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/shane-dawson-la-sheriffs-department-suspicious-circumstance-report-sanders-kennedy-2020-7">A YouTube drama reporter claimed the police were investigating Shane Dawson's old videos. Now he's facing backlash of his own.</a></li></ul>

The era of A-list YouTube celebrities is over. Now, the people cancelling them are on top.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A well-known <keyword id="6354629" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="beauty">beauty</keyword> YouTuber with more than 4 million subscribers apologized to her fans after leaked texts showed her saying "you won't get handed s--- right now" on YouTube unless you're "a minority."</li><li><keyword id="10096812" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="glamgore">Glam&amp;Gore</keyword>, also known as <keyword id="10096811" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mykie">Mykie</keyword>, apologized after a former friend of hers — a smaller beauty influencer known as Spankie Valentine, AKA Swoop — made an hour-long exposé video about her, which included accusations of microaggressions against Black and LGBTQ people. </li><li>"I've been incredibly tone deaf," Mykie, who is white, wrote in her apology.</li></ul><p>A popular beauty YouTuber known for her realistic special effects makeup apologized to her 2 million Instagram followers after her former friend <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiNn1cxT77g&amp;fmp;f">accused her</a> of racist microaggressions and of "using" YouTube celebrities <keyword id="3757085" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="james-charles">James Charles</keyword> and <keyword id="9082331" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jeffree-star">Jeffree Star</keyword>.</p><p>Glam&amp;Gore, also known as Mykie, has over 4 million subscribers on YouTube, where she posts gory, oftentimes Halloween-inspired makeup looks. She collaborated with controversial beauty guru Jeffree Star in 2018 and James Charles in 2019, but her former friend Spankie Valentine says Mykie <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiNn1cxT77g&amp;fmp;f">bad-mouthed Star and Charles</a> behind-the-scenes and seemingly negatively attributed their success to them being gay.</p><p>In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiNn1cxT77g&amp;fmp;f">an hour-long exposé video</a> uploaded to YouTube, Valentine (who also goes by Swoop) shared screenshots she says are of private texts sent between her and 30-year-old Mykie, whose real name is Lauren Mychal. In one message, Mychal wrote, "It's tough because from my perspective I feel like you won't get handed s--- right now (on youtube specifically) UNLESS you're a minority in some sense of the word."</p><div type="image" title="Glam&amp;Gore transformed James Charles into the character from 'The Nun' in a video on his channel." height="1604" width="2880" msid="78630452" hostid="261"></div><p>Mychal apologized in a lengthy Instagram story, writing "I've been incredibly tone deaf" and "A lot of my insecurities and jealousy issues came through in deplorable ways."</p><p>"I looked for any upside I thought I could find," Mychal wrote, attempting to explain why she told Valentine she thought YouTube favored minorities. While two of the top beauty <keyword id="860150" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="YouTubers">YouTubers</keyword> — Charles and Star — are gay men, people of color, especially Black men, have historically been left out of the top ranks of beauty <keyword id="1112328" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Influencers">influencers</keyword>. There are no Black men in the beauty community with more than 1 million subscribers. </p><div type="image" title="Screenshots of the apology Mychal shared on her Instagram story." height="1204" width="1900" msid="78630453" hostid="261"></div><p>Mychal also claimed some of the text messages Valentine shared were "without the full context" of the conversation, but she apologized to Valentine and the LGBTQ and BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and people of color) communities. She also shared another screenshot of a text she sent Valentine in June 2020, the last time the two interacted, that says she is also a survivor of sexual assault. </p><div type="image" title="Mychal says she is also a survivor of sexual assault." height="1544" width="2182" msid="78630454" hostid="261"></div><h2>Valentine described Mychal as a 'narcissist' who made racist microaggressions, including 2 offensive old videos</h2><p>Valentine is a smaller beauty influencer and YouTuber with over 200,000 subscribers. In her apology, Mychal said she and Valentine "were very close" when Valentine says Mychal acted microaggressive toward other YouTubers and marginalized groups in front of her.</p><p>Valentine accused Mychal of racist and homophobic microaggressions, which she defined as "Everday verbal &amp; nonverbal insults, which come off as hostile, derogatory prejudices, aimed at marginalized groups."</p><p>Valentine said Mychal attacked other YouTubers in private while appearing on their channels and acting friendly in public, particularly Charles, Star, and the embattled musician Gabbie Hanna. Valentine shared screenshots she says are texts from Mychal about Charles, saying, "I don't understand the fascination with him at all" and "he's too immature to give a kid credit."</p><p>Valentine said that Mychal texted her "f--- you dude" about Charles as Mychal was texting Charles to coordinate the video they did in 2019 for Charles' YouTube channel. She also said Mychal told her that she wouldn't let Star appear on her channel because he was "too controversial," but that Mychal appeared on Star's channel in 2018.</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MiNn1cxT77g" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>At the beginning of their friendship, Valentine said she witnessed microaggressions from Mychal like Mychal and another, unnamed white influencer saying cultural appropriation wasn't racist while on a brand trip, along with Mychal saying she had been the victim of racism before.</p><p>She included screenshots of Mychal's past tweets, including a 2015 tweet that says "I've had several WOC tell me they don't want me to help them at MAC bc I'm white and can't help them," and a 2017 tweet that says "Must be drinkin the 'everything's racist' kool-aid."</p><p>Valentine also brought up two of Mychal's old, since-removed videos. In a 2014 tutorial that showed viewers how to fake bruises with makeup, Mychal <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BeautyGuruChatter/comments/ej1aya/why_did_mykie_glamgore_delete_everything_off_of/">called the look "Rihanna-inspired,"</a> referencing the singer's 2009 assault. In 2017, Mychal <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/united-airlines-makeup-tutorial-mykie">was criticized for a video</a> where she replicated the bloody face of an American Airlines passenger who was forcibly removed from a flight on camera.</p><p>The specific incident Mychal addressed in her apology revolved around her response to Valentine's disclosure that she was feeling depressed, in part because of her experiences with racism. Mychal seemingly replied, "it's tough for me to weigh in with practical advice there because from my own perspective I feel the same thing from the opposite side."</p><div type="image" title="Valentine shared texts from Mychal that she says showed her saying James Charles has &quot;less talent&quot; and &quot;still succeeds&quot; because he's gay." height="1438" width="2174" msid="78630455" hostid="261"></div><p>Valentine says Mychal used the conversation to attack Charles again, writing that Charles is "no better or more clever" and has "less talent" than her, and that "he still succeeds" because he's a gay man. </p><p>Valentine also said Mychal used a smaller, Black creator's video idea and refused to credit him and that Mychal exhibited performative activism during the widespread Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. Later, when Mychal and Mychal's friend confronted Valentine about her social media posts, Valentine said they used "gaslighting," <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/what-gaslighting-how-do-you-know-if-it-s-happening-ncna890866#:~:text=Psychologists%20use%20the%20term%20%E2%80%9Cgaslighting,own%20reality%2C%20memory%20or%20perceptions.">a type of manipulation</a> to make someone question their own reality, memory, or perceptions, to try and convince her that Mychal wasn't microaggressive. </p><p>Valentine and Mychal didn't respond to Insider's request for comment.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/jeffree-star-leaked-dms-deleted-tweets-james-charles-youtube-2020-10">Leaked Jeffree Star messages show he deleted more than 400 crude tweets as he accused rival YouTuber James Charles of sexual misconduct</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/nikita-dragun-race-blackfishing-influencer-asks-what-she-should-be-2020-10">Influencer Nikita Dragun asked her fans 'what race' she should be that day, reigniting 'blackfishing' accusations</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/youtube-demonetized-covid-19-disinformation-moderation-automation-bots-strikes-2020-9">YouTubers' channels and videos are being mistakenly deleted for debunking COVID-19 conspiracy theories</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/jeffree-star-sexual-assault-allegations-violence-accused-predator-myspace-payments-2020-9">Jeffree Star accusers say the makeup mogul has a history of sexual assault, physical violence, and hush-money offers</a></li></ul>

A white beauty influencer apologized for saying BIPOC and LGBTQ YouTubers are 'handed' their success by the platform

Twitch streamers are sharing their stories of violent stalkers to spread awareness of how to seek help

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tweens and teens across the globe are searching for their <keyword id="9788840" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="internet-best-friends">Internet Best Friends</keyword> (theoretical friend soul-mates) online.</li><li>The trend has snowballed during the pandemic as kids try to fill the void of real-life interactions. But they also aspire to meet their new Internet friends in real life.</li><li>Some experts warn that the trend of children talking to and meeting strangers could be dangerous, but others have said the practice can be safe with the right precautions.</li></ul><p>A best friend is wonderful, but a bff who you meet online, AKA an Internet Best Friend (<keyword id="56680" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="IBF">IBF</keyword>), is the end goal for many tweens and teens these days.</p><p>Turning to <keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword>, <keyword id="6358096" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="snapchat">Snapchat</keyword>, and Instagram, tweens and teens who have been trapped at home are looking for fast friendships with other young users who aren't already paired with an IBF. Deprived of IRL friends, they're finding new besties online, despite safety concerns.</p><h2><strong>Internet Best Friends are trending</strong></h2><p>The hashtag #IBF has 670 million views on TikTok. The trending Instagram hashtag #Internetbestfriends has over 320,000 posts, and dedicated accounts on the platform with thousands of followers collect videos of IBFs meeting for the first time.</p><blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@called.maxi/video/6834038018479852805" data-video-id="6834038018479852805" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a target="_blank" title="@called.maxi" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@called.maxi">@called.maxi</a> <p>i n t e r n e t f r i e n d s first hug with @romy.kstr  ❤️ <a title="hug" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/hug">##hug</a> <a title="train" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/train">##train</a> <a title="ibf" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/ibf">##ibf</a> <a title="fulda" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fulda">##fulda</a> <a title="foryou" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/foryou">##foryou</a> <a title="foryoupage" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/foryoupage">##foryoupage</a></p> <a target="_blank" title="♬ Originalton - called.maxi" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/Originalton-6834037975421143814">♬ Originalton - called.maxi</a> </section> </blockquote> <blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BuGsx4nh5s5" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Tag your ibf ❣️ —————— Song: this is gospel Distance: 110 km Country: UK Account: @quack._.potato #internetbffs #ibf #hug #internetbestfriends #internetbesties #ibfhug #besties #bestfriends #friends #friendship #friend4ever #ibfmeeting ____________________________________________________ {❤️follow @internetbestfriendvideo for more❤️}</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by  Internet Best Friend Video (@internetbestfriendvideo2) on Feb 20, 2019 at 5:07am PST<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2019-02-20T13:07:35+00:00">Feb 20, 2019 at 5:07am PST</time></p></div></blockquote><p>One recent post reveals a common type of IBF personal ad: "I'm 13, and I'm looking for some new IBFs. I'm from Arizona, I'm looking for anyone 12-16. I love to talk a lot." On Instagram, there are entire accounts devoted to posting these listings.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh2ilWdlX_7" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Go DM @paris.woahh to be ibf✨ @paris.woahh @paris.woahh @paris.woahh @paris.woahh @paris.woahh @paris.woahh @paris.woahh @paris.woahh @paris.woahh</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by  INTERNET BEST FRIEND FINDER  (@internet_best_friend_finder_21) on Apr 21, 2018 at 5:13pm PDT<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2018-04-22T00:13:26+00:00">Apr 21, 2018 at 5:13pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><p>The trend is so popular that an app called Reach has secured over<a href="https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/reach-internet-best-friends"> $5 million in funding</a> based on the idea. It's supposed to allow young people to connect to anyone looking for an IBF between the ages of 13 and 55. </p><p>But most teens and tweens appear to prefer sticking with the tried-and-true method of posting their ad on TikTok or Instagram.</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K2TnIWLHXa8" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>Alexa, 12, met her Internet Best Friend, Bean, on Instagram after seeing her post that read, "I'm taking applications for an IBF, has to be 10-13-years-old, has Snapchat and has at least 100 followers."</p><p>Soon after, they exchanged phone numbers and became instant best friends. Bean is also from Massachusetts and they're the same age. Their favorite topic of conversation: the famous TikToker Charli D'Amelio. "We talked for weeks, became best friends and it's almost been 6 months already," 12-year-old Alexa said. "We're planning on meeting."</p><h2><strong>Friendship on-demand</strong></h2><p>One of Alexa's favorite things about her Internet Best Friend is that she's almost always available online.</p><p>"I feel like she's so much more up for talking than my friends in real life," Alexa said. "She's always available."</p><p>They primarily communicate now via Snapchat, and talk about everything from TikTok to gymnastics to friendships.</p><p>Despite obvious safety concerns of meeting strangers on the internet, some parents are coming around to the idea, too. "It's a bit strange at first, but as she described it, it normalized it," said Mike, Alexa's father.</p><p>He understands the benefits: his daughter is able to socialize during the pandemic while avoiding the cliques of middle school. But he still worries.</p><p>"My obvious and immediate concern is predators masquerading as kids," Mike said. So before Alexa really communicates with someone online, he confirms that she's able to FaceTime with them so he knows the person on the other end is really who she claims to be online.</p><p>"Other concerns are the possibility of disengagement from existing, in real-life friendships," he said. "Screen addiction is also a concern."</p><h2><strong>Many IBFs meet IRL</strong></h2><p>Internet Best Friends typically don't remain on the internet. They usually plan to meet. And these meetings are nothing if not dramatic and over-the-top, reminiscent of viral reunions between soldiers and their families. </p><p>That's because the IBF pairs put a lot of time and effort into planning the perfect first meeting. </p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8FreBoPWKLc" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>Outfits are often coordinated, and many choose to "twin" with the best friend they haven't actually met. Then it's time to take out the phones.</p><p>IBFs meeting for the first-time often tape the moment and immediately put it on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. A search on YouTube for Internet Best Friends reveals thousands of first meetings, mostly of girls clutching each other and crying, falling to the ground in an exaggerated hug, thrilled that they finally met their besties in real life. </p><blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@fleur.roberts/video/6851865555822005509" data-video-id="6851865555822005509" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a target="_blank" title="@fleur.roberts" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@fleur.roberts">@fleur.roberts</a> <p>I travelled from Poole —&gt; Essex to  surprise @amicharlize  for her birthday party :) <a title="fyp" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp">##fyp</a> <a title="ibf" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/ibf">##ibf</a></p> <a target="_blank" title="♬ Break the Distance - Ashton Edminster" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/Break-the-Distance-6767364588246665218">♬ Break the Distance - Ashton Edminster</a> </section> </blockquote> <p>Alexa hasn't met her IBF yet. </p><p>"I asked her where she lives," said Mike, Alexa's father, who approves of her online friends, even though the concept is slightly confusing to him. Turns out, Alexa made two Internet Best Friends. One is in Massachusetts, but Alexa doesn't know which town. The other is in New York, but she doesn't know anything beyond the name of the state.</p><h2><strong>Some child advocates warn that the trend could be dangerous</strong></h2><p>Meeting a stranger on the Internet and then meeting them in person has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/stranger-danger-in-the-online-and-real-world-79517">warned against </a>since the early days of the Internet, with dangers ranging from kidnapping to rape and even murder. </p><p>Even with precautions like meeting on FaceTime first, Gail Dines, president of <a href="https://www.culturereframed.org/board/">Culture Reframed</a>, a non-profit that aims to shield children from porn on the internet and sexualized media, said the practice is still risky.</p><p>"Studies show that predators are using teen platforms to groom children," Dines said. "The main sites where predators are grooming kids are TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram."</p><p>These <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2016/05/11/sextortion-the-problem-and-solutions/">studies</a> found that sextortion — a crime defined by the FBI as threatening to distribute private material if a victim doesn't provide sexual images, money, or sexual favors — is a growing trend online with thousands of victims in over 200 public cases, according to Brookings and <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/new-data-sextortion-124-additional-public-cases">LawFare</a>. The <a href="https://www.justice.gov/psc/file/842411/download">Justice Department</a> describes sextortion as "by far the most significantly growing threat to children." </p><p>Since kids of all ages are spending about 500 percent more time online, according to a new <a href="https://parents-together.org/parents-alarmed-as-kids-screen-time-skyrockets-during-covid-19-crisis-heres-what-you-can-do/">ParentsTogether survey,</a> thanks to the pandemic, online dangers are more prominent than ever before, said Patricia Vercillo, vice president of Smith Training Centre, which examines online scams and dangers. </p><p>Vercillo suggested that families keep it old school with board games, family time, arts and crafts. </p><p>At the very least, try to convince your teen/tween to err on the side of safety before meeting their IBF in real life, said Alexis Moore, a cyberstalking and cybercrime expert, and author of "A Parent's Guide to Cyberstalking and Cyberbullying." This means spending ample time chatting via Facetime before arranging to see each other in real life, bringing a parent with you when meeting, and only gathering in a public space. "Teens and tweens are incredible people, but you are not invincible," she said.</p><h2><strong>Some say the practice could be safe as long as parents are involved</strong></h2><p>Not all experts agree on the risks, however. Some say that as long as parents are involved, meeting a best friend online may be no more dangerous than meeting one at school.</p><p>"The risks don't go up because it is online — as long as you do your due diligence," said Lea Lis, a double board-certified adult and child psychiatrist and author of "No Shame: Real Talk with your Kids about Sex, Self-Confidence and Healthy Relationships."  Many of the children in Lis' practice — especially those with social skills deficits — meet their friends online. She even has an Asperger's patient who met his boyfriend online.  "They have been online dating for 9 months, and have never met," Lis said. "It allows anxious people that don't do well with initial face-to-face social interaction to foster a bond with someone."</p><blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@izistyping/video/6856914896357985542" data-video-id="6856914896357985542" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a target="_blank" title="@izistyping" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@izistyping">@izistyping</a> <p>Meeting @mxariix  (tiktok took it down) <a title="gotmilkchallenge" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/gotmilkchallenge">##GotMilkChallenge</a> <a title="streetfashion" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/streetfashion">##StreetFashion</a> <a title="entrepreneur" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/entrepreneur">##Entrepreneur</a> <a title="fyp" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp">##fyp</a> <a title="foryou" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/foryou">##foryou</a> <a title="foryoupage" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/foryoupage">##foryoupage</a> <a title="inmyaejeans" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/inmyaejeans">##InMyAEJeans</a> <a title="gay" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/gay">##gay</a> <a title="ibf" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/ibf">##ibf</a> <a title="distance" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/distance">##distance</a> <a title="love" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/love">##love</a></p> <a target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - izistyping" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-6856914909695970053">♬ original sound - izistyping</a> </section> </blockquote> <p>If the Internet Best Friends want to meet, Lis suggests that the parents meet first and that the kids go to a public place. </p><p>For now, the IBF trend is a positive one, she said.  "During COVID, it is even better because face-to-face opportunities are much harder," Lis said. "I used to frown upon that when they'd only communicate socially online, but now I feel thankful." </p><p>"At some point, they'll probably get together, but it hasn't been discussed yet," Mike said. </p><p><strong>Read more:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/gabbie-hanna-new-song-trisha-paytas-feud-return-youtube-2020-8">Internet star Gabbie Hanna returned to YouTube and announced that she's releasing a song about Trisha Paytas</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/danielle-cohn-age-real-instagram-live-tiktok-2020-8">Teen influencer Danielle Cohn appeared to suggest she was really 14 in an Instagram live, reviving questions about her age</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/eden-the-doll-robbery-trans-assault-attacked-hollywood-boulevard-2020-8">Disturbing videos show 3 transgender influencers being robbed and beaten on Hollywood Boulevard, sparking a police investigation</a></p>

Teens are looking for total strangers to be their 'Internet Best Friends' and creating dramatic meet-up videos once they make a match

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="8532020" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hype-House">Hype House</keyword> <keyword id="1112328" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Influencers">influencers</keyword> are giving away "Hype" necklaces, supposedly worth $100, for free on their <keyword id="2989082" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="merch">merch</keyword> website.</li><li>However, the chains are not actually free as the shipping costs nearly $20.</li><li>Some say this is a scam that resembles the controversies of Jake Paul's Team 10 chain and the Kenza cosmetics brushes advertised by Gabbie Hanna and Tana Mongeau.</li><li>It is also not clear how the chain is valued at $100 in the first place.</li></ul><p>Thomas Petrou, the manager of the <keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword> influencers dwelling in the Hype House in LA, has been advertising "Hype" chains that fans can get for free. But as many have pointed out, the necklace does actually have a cost because the shipping fee is nearly $20.</p><p>The chains are available on the Hype House merch site <a href="https://hypehousechains.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hypehousechains.com</a>, which shows a picture of six house members wearing the bejeweled necklace. It also says the chains are worth $100, so "you save 100%."</p><p>"Only 1 free chain per order," the website reads. "If you want multiple free chains, make multiple orders." At nearly $20 each, costs can quickly rack up if multiple young fans want their own chains.</p><p>While influencers are well within their rights to charge whatever they want for their merch, it isn't clear how the $100 figure for the chains was determined.</p><p>Hype House members Calvin Goldby and Tayler Holder, as well as former "Too Hot To Handle" star Harry Jowsey, have all advertised the chains on their Instagram stories.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CDwciiRJf8V" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">I just dropped Hype chains! Click the link in my bio to get yours before they’re sold out! They’re free you just pay shipping </a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by  Thomas Petrou (@petroutv) on Aug 11, 2020 at 10:12am PDT<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-08-11T17:12:35+00:00">Aug 11, 2020 at 10:12am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><p>Some critics have called the chains a scam on social media because young fans will be tempted by the "free" merch only to have to pay $20 for each purchase.</p><h2>'Oldest ecom game in the book'</h2><p>"This is the Free + shipping scheme where the product costs wholesale @ $1.50 and they charge for it in the shipping SO IT NOT FREE!!" YouTuber Vice Versa <a href="https://twitter.com/ViceVersaYT/status/1293342970268221445?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a tweet</a>. "Oldest ecom game in the book."</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/emibeaar9/status/1293395125700190209?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Several Twitter users, including one commentator called emibeaar, said</a> the real value for the necklace is probably much lower than the $20 shipping fee.</p><p>"Ah yes the old 'crossed out $100' value necklace that's only like $5 quality for 'free' but $20 shipping," she said. "That's like the oldest trick in the book, they should feel ashamed, especially cause their fans are really young naive kids who don't know better then to fall for this crap."</p><p>Others pointed out that this is already a well-versed tactic in the influencer world. For example, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gae9Men6yuc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jake Paul received criticism</a> when he said he was giving away diamanté Team 10 necklaces for free back in 2019, only for people to point out the shipping cost $14.</p><p>Paul also said each person who purchased a chain would be entered into a competition to be flown to LA to meet him. Then he deleted the vlog with no explanation, and the competition was never mentioned again.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7uqmbTcZhw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gabbie Hanna</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOurC_S64Mk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tana Mongeau</a> found themselves in the middle of a similar controversy when they advertised brushes being given away for free by a company called Kenza Cosmetics. The company claimed to have a surplus of brushes worth around $80 and was giving them away for free — all people had to do was pay the shipping fee of $7.</p><p>However, some customers claimed to never receive their brushes, and those that did realized they were not high quality at all. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntg2XAHByBE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTuber MARKIE</a> found the exact same brushes being sold on AliExpress for just over $2 for the set.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Def Noodles  (@defnoodles) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1293341401279651840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2020</a></blockquote><p>There's nothing to suggest people buying the Hype House chains are actually being scammed or their chains won't arrive, however, these influencers do have incredibly young fanbases, and it's worth noting that their millions of followers are made up of impressionable children who won't be savvy enough to realize when a deal is too good to be true.</p><p>Insider has reached out to Petrou and the Hype House for comment.</p><p><strong>Read more:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/party-hype-house-larray-birthday-la-james-charles-tana-influencer-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dozens of top influencers gathered for a massive Hype House birthday party despite record COVID-19 numbers in California</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/la-influencers-coronavirus-party-jake-paul-youtube-tiktok-nikita-tana-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LA influencers won't stop partying, but few are revealing whether they've spread the coronavirus</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/james-charles-apologizes-for-partying-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Charles apologized for being 'stupid and selfish' after partying without a mask during the coronavirus pandemic</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/mysterybrand-mystery-box-jake-paul-critics-scam-2019-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jake Paul and other influencers are promoting 'mystery boxes' to their young audiences. Critics say it's a scam.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/youtuber-alissa-violet-accused-of-scamming-fans-louis-vuitton-bags-2019-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTuber Alissa Violet has been accused of scamming fans after competition winners complained they didn't receive their Louis Vuitton bags</a></p>

The TikTok Hype House is selling a 'free' Hype Chain, but critics are calling it a scam because local shipping costs $20

All the Democrats who have endorsed Kamala Harris to replace Joe Biden after he dropped out

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/framing-britney-spears.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimesimes">The New York Times Presents</a> premiered "Framing <keyword id="14710" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Britney-spears">Britney Spears</keyword>" on <a href="https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/new-york-times-presents">FX</a> and <a href="https://www.hulu.com/series/the-new-york-times-presents-f22278d1-ef56-40e8-9227-af3a029ca6f4?&amp;cmp=11295&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=SEM&amp;utm_campaign=CM_SEM_TheWeekly&amp;utm_term=the%20new%20york%20times%20presents%20hulu&amp;ds_rl=1251123&amp;gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt429s9vN6wIVhp6zCh3JiQaEEAAYASAAEgIK8fD_BwE&amp;gclsrc=aw.dsASAAEgIK8fD_BwE&amp;gclsrc=aw.ds">Hulu</a> on Friday.</li><li>The documentary examined the relationship between Spears and <keyword id="5071" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Justin-Timberlake">Justin Timberlake</keyword>, and the subsequent fallout.</li><li>Fans are accusing Timberlake of launching "his solo career by throwing Britney under the bus."</li></ul><p>Fans are demanding Justin Timberlake apologize for his past treatment of Britney Spears. </p><p>Spears and Timberlake haven't dated since 2002, but their infamous relationship has skyrocketed back into pop culture with the release of "Framing Britney Spears." </p><p>The documentary, premiered by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/framing-britney-spears.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimesimes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times Presents</a> on Friday, detailed the persistent - and damaging - narratives that have clung to Spears' tumultuous career. </p><p>Although the film was meant to explore the #FreeBritney movement that sparked after her 2007 mental health crisis, fans became particularly enthralled in the re-examination of the Spears-Timberlake saga. </p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.insider.com/britney-spears-social-media-manager-star-runs-instagram-free-britney-2021-2">Britney Spears' social media manager denies #FreeBritney fan theories and says the star runs her own Instagram</a></em></p><p>The former pop couple, <a href="https://www.insider.com/britney-spears-ryan-gosling-mickey-mouse-club-reunion-2018-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who both appeared on Disney's "The All-New Mickey Mouse Club</a><em>," </em>dated between 1998 and 2002. While Timberlake shed his *NSYNC image after the breakup, Spears faced overwhelming backlash that chipped at her reputation and painted her as a media villain. </p><p>"The way that people treated her, to be very high school about it, was like she was the school slut and he was the quarterback," said Times critic-at-large Wesley Morris during the film. </p><p>Social media users pointed to the litany of misogynistic media responses over the split, as well as the attention focused on her virginity and innocence. </p><h2><strong>Fans have accused Timberlake of pushing negative narratives about Spears to launch his solo career</strong></h2><p>Many "Framing Britney Spears" viewers took to social media to express their disappointment towards Timberlake. </p><p>"Watching this Britney doc and YES 2021 in the year we publicly acknowledge that Justin Timberlake LAUNCHED HIS CAREER BY SLUT-SHAMING BRITNEY. He completely capitalized on their private relationship," wrote one person on Twitter. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Lady from the Poconos  (@ladypocono) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1357893466144055298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2021</a></blockquote><p>Gabbie Hanna, a popular YouTube influencer, wrote: "still waiting for justin timberlake to publicly apologize to britney spears."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—gh  (@GabbieHanna) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1358310969928081408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2021</a></blockquote><p>"V happy that people are coming for Justin Timberlake," another viewer added. "Also the overall misogyny that led to Britney's downfall pisses me off.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FreeBritney?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> #FreeBritney</a>."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—alwaysdiscussingmyIBS  (@VeeEmm_92) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1358360343710486528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2021</a></blockquote><p>Some also mentioned the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy when Janet Jackson suffered a wardrobe malfunction while performing with Timberlake.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.insider.com/britney-spears-instagram-story-vacation-photos-2019-6">Britney Spears accuses the paparazzi of altering her body in bikini photos: 'I look like I'm 40 pounds bigger than I am</a></em></p><p>As reported by <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/nipple-ripples-10-years-of-fallout-from-janet-jacksons-halftime-show-20140130" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rolling Stone</a>, the NFL placed blame for the wardrobe malfunction and backlash on MTV, which produced the halftime show. After the NFL declared MTV would never produce another halftime show, it "essentially" blacklisted Jackson's music from MTV, VH1, and radio stations in their wheelhouse. </p><p>"The ascent of justin timberlake in the wreckage of both britney spears and janet jackson is really something we have to answer for," wrote Terron Moore, the editorial director and vice president at MTV News. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Terron Moore  (@Terr) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1358136676325810176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2021</a></blockquote><p>"Never forget Justin Timberlake launched his solo career by throwing Britney under the bus &amp; Janet Jackson soon after," a person wrote.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Timothée’s sequin harness  (@tcke88) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1357927897764225028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2021</a></blockquote><p>Some people have gone so far as to label Timberlake a "villain" on social media.</p><p>"Growing up is learning that justin timberlake was the villain. first with britney, then with janet," one person said. "All the homies hate justin. the only JT I recognize is a city girl."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—foyin   (@foyinog) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1358280638328164353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2021</a></blockquote><p>"What is Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' plans to finally make justin timberlake pay for his crimes against janet jackson and britney spears," a user joked.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—brie.  (@briebxrries) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1358248863887458304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2021</a></blockquote><h2><strong>The film revisited Timberlake's hit song "Cry Me a River" that featured a Spears look-alike and radio interviews</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="Brit and JT 2" height="1062" width="2124" msid="80739358" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p>A portion of "Framing Britney Spears" suggested that Timberlake helped push the narrative that Spears cheated on him. </p><p>In 2002, Timberlake catapulted to the top of the Billboard charts with his single "Cry Me a River," which was boosted amid rumors the song was about Spears. </p><p>The music video featured a Spears look-alike, and the lyrics contained several suggestions of infidelity, including "You don't have to say what you did. I already know. I found out from him."</p><p>During this time, Timberlake also did radio interviews in which he spoke about having sex with Spears. </p><p>When one radio host asked, "Did you f--- Britney Spears," Timberlake laughed and answered, "Okay, I did it." </p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.insider.com/justin-timberlake-son-parenting-social-distancing-comments-backlash-2020-4">Justin Timberlake faces backlash after complaining '24-hour parenting is just not human' after self-isolating with his wife and son</a></em></p><p>Spears shouldered the brunt of the blame for the breakup, as shown in a 2003 interview between Spears and Diane Sawyer. </p><p>"You broke his heart," Sawyer said to Spears. "You did something that caused him so much pain, so much suffering. What did you do?"</p><p>The "Baby...One More Time" singer told Sawyer that "everyone has a side of their story to make them feel a certain way…and I'm not technically saying he's wrong, but I'm not technically saying he's right either."</p><p>Britney clarified during a 2003 interview with W Magazine that <a href="https://ew.com/article/2003/07/08/britney-spears-discusses-her-sex-life/">she had only slept with one person her</a> "whole life," and it happened "two years into my relationship with Justin."</p><p>More recently, any bad blood between Spears and Timberlake seems to have disappeared. </p><p>Almost two decades after the split, Timberlake is <a href="https://www.insider.com/justin-timberlake-jessica-biel-relationship-timeline-2018-10">married to actress Jessica Biel</a>, and Spears is dating trainer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CJOxabHA67n/">Sam Asghari</a>. </p><p>In April, Spears posted an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_BFalSg_5c/?utm_source=ig_embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram video</a> <a href="https://www.insider.com/justin-timberlake-responds-britney-spears-dancing-to-filthy-instagram-video-2020-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">of her dancing to Timberlake's song, "Filthy."</a></p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7SJMg00HoR8" frameborder="0"></iframe><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read More</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/britney-spears-net-worth-money-spending-fortune-conservatorship">Britney Spears hasn't legally controlled her $59 million fortune in 12 years. Here's how the pop icon makes and spends her money, from Target shopping trips to California mansions.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/justin-timberlake-life-career-timeline-2019-1">The fabulous life of Justin Timberlake - from Mickey Mouse Club to *NSYNC, movies, and solo stardom</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/evan-rachel-wood-accused-marilyn-manson-anti-semitic-racist-slurs-2021-2">Evan Rachel Wood accused Marilyn Manson of using anti-Semitic and racist slurs during their relationship</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/aaron-rodgers-fiance-engaged-during-mvp-acceptance-speech-2021-2">Aaron Rodgers revealed he's engaged during his MVP acceptance speech amid rumors he's dating Shailene Woodley</a></li></ul>

Fans are lashing out at Justin Timberlake over the new 'Framing Britney Spears' documentary

<p><strong><em>Hi, this is Amanda Perelli and welcome back to Influencer Dashboard, our weekly rundown on the influencer and creator economy. <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/influencerdashboard">Sign up for the newsletter here.</a></em></strong></p><p>Before we get started, I wanted to remind you to mark your calendars for a digital event I'm hosting on Wednesday, August 5 at 11 a.m. ET on how <keyword id="1112328" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Influencers">influencers</keyword> are earning money in 2020 with <keyword id="10879" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="YouTube">YouTube</keyword> creators Shelby Church, Ruby Asabor, and Katy Bellotte. <strong><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OHmM3C5pThipaxIpfYu3yQ">Sign up for the event here.</a></strong></p><p>And now, to the news! </p><p>Social-media platforms like Triller <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-seeks-to-reel-in-tiktok-creators-raising-stakes-in-social-media-rivalry-11595928600?mod=hp_lead_pos3">and Instagram</a> are taking steps to lure creators away from <keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword> as they aim to become more competitive in the short-form video category.</p><p>My colleague Dan Whateley wrote about Triller's new hire, 18-year-old TikTok star Josh Richards, who will serve as chief strategy officer as the platform looks to raise $250 million in new funding.</p><p>Two of Richards' friends and content collaborators — Griffin Johnson, 21, and Noah Beck, 19 — will also join Triller as advisors and equity shareholders. The three previously worked and lived together as members of a TikTok creator collective called <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tik-tok-stars-live-rent-free-in-mansion-sway-house-2020-1">Sway LA.</a></p><p>But don't expect them to stop posting on TikTok.</p><p>"We aren't going to stop right away posting on TikTok because we want to be able to migrate our audience over from TikTok to Triller," Richards said.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/triller-names-tiktok-star-josh-richards-strategy-head-seeks-funding-2020-7">Read the full post, here.</a> </strong></p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-instagram-stories-successfully-how-many-slides-engagement-2020-7">How to create Instagram Stories with high engagement and reach</a></h2><p><div type="image" title="Britney Turner IG Influencer Coach" height="1689" width="2251" msid="77263105" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Britney Turner, a lifestyle <keyword id="819905" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Instagram">Instagram</keyword> influencer and a content creator coach, works with other creators on how to land brand deals and pitch themselves.</p><p>One thing she has seen in the past few months is that brands want to incorporate more Instagram Stories into their agreements with creators.</p><p>My colleague Sydney Bradley spoke with Turner who shared her tips for growth in reach and engagement on Instagram Stories. </p><p>"I advise five to eight story slides filled with impactful content," Turner said. "If you want to share longer-form content (i.e. a day in the life, clothing haul, a routine, etc.), I'd say limit your stories to 15 to 20 slides. Anything past this will cause drop off unless you're adding value."</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-instagram-stories-successfully-how-many-slides-engagement-2020-7">Read the full post on using Instagram Stories for business, here</a>. </strong></p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-tiktok-star-dixie-damelio-music-business-making-be-happy-2020-7">Meet the team helping Dixie D'Amelio launch a music career </a></h2><p><div type="image" title="Dixie D'Amelio" height="1852" width="2469" msid="77263111" hostid="261"></div></p><p>TikTok star Dixie D'Amelio recently released her first single, "Be Happy," under a new family-owned label, DAM FAM Recordings, and the song reached over 1 million Spotify streams within its first weekend.</p><p>I spoke with the D'Amelio family's comanagers about developing a song with Dixie and their plans to work with more talent on music going forward. </p><p>D'Amelio and her internet-famous family aren't betting on an established record label for her introduction into the music industry. Instead, they are counting on the massive fanbase their family has built across social <keyword id="6354777" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Media">media</keyword>. </p><p>For Dixie, the launch of her new song is the start of a larger strategy, said Barbara Jones, who comanages the family and is the founder of Outshine Talent.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-tiktok-star-dixie-damelio-music-business-making-be-happy-2020-7">Read more about the team launching Dixie's music career, here.</a> </strong></p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-tiktok-creators-earn-promoting-apps-in-videos-2020-7">TikTok influencers say they're making tens of thousands of dollars by promoting apps</a></h2><p><div type="image" title="Eloise Fouladgar is a TikTok influencer" height="721" width="961" msid="77263116" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Most TikTok creators don't rely on the app's built-in monetization features, and instead, they've turned to outside brand deals, paid song integrations, and more recently, app marketing to earn money. </p><p>"I started doing apps around four weeks ago, and it was a gamechanger," said Reagan Yorke, a 19-year-old college student who was recently paid tens of thousands of dollars to promote the group video chat app Bunch to her 2.5 million TikTok followers.</p><p>Dan wrote that Yorke worked with the app-marketing company Yoke, which provided her with a tracking link to add to her TikTok bio that would give her credit for any app installs she drove from her account. </p><p>"I literally posted it right before I went to sleep," Yorke said. "I woke up the next day and I had like $20,000 in my account, so I was just like, is this real?"</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-tiktok-creators-earn-promoting-apps-in-videos-2020-7">Read more about how TikTok influencers are making money with app promotions, here</a>. </strong></p><h2><strong>More creator industry coverage from Business Insider: </strong></h2><p><strong>Instagram news</strong></p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-youtube-stars-make-per-month-creator-income-2020-5"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/poshmark-sellers-use-instagram-tiktok-to-make-sales-grow-business-2020-7">Instagram and TikTok are becoming powerful tools to drive sales for clothes sellers on the app Poshmark.</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/influencer-metics-performance-data-explained-for-influencers-brands-2020-7">We broke down the major Instagram metrics that brands are tracking to measure success, like post "saves," which are sometimes referred to as "super likes."</a></p></li></ul><p><strong>YouTube news</strong></p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-money-youtube-stars-have-made-for-single-video-2020-3">15 YouTube creators share the most money they've made from a single video</a>.</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-media-startups-focused-on-youtube-instagram-tiktok-creators-vcs-2020-7">6 media startups built around influencers and digital creators that are set to surge this year</a>.</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-youtube-stars-make-per-month-creator-income-2020-5">YouTube creators break down their exact monthly incomes from the platform, from under $600 to over $140,000</a>.</p></li></ul><p><strong>TikTok news</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whistle-brother-brand-tries-to-replicated-snapchat-success-on-tiktok-2020-7">How a media brand that started on Snapchat is trying to replicate its success on TikTok</a>.</li><li><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacestation-launching-camp-sike-tiktok-influencer-comedy-group-mansion-2020-7">An influencer management company is looking to spend between $5 million and $8 million on a new TikTok content house.</a></p></li></ul><h2>Creator Spotlight: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYweMRM3OBUCcRf-xBx6YXg">Sonja Lauren</a></h2><p><div type="image" title="Sonja Lauren" height="1028" width="1371" msid="77263117" hostid="261"></div></p><p>I spoke with fashion and fitness influencer Sonja Lauren on her YouTube channel (17,000 subscribers) and growing a social-media business. </p><p>A year ago, Lauren learned that she could be making money as a micro influencer through the ads that play in her videos, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing. She had originally created her YouTube channel in 2012, but she didn't post videos consistently until six months ago, she said.</p><p>"There's been a big jump in my channel from six months to now, in terms of my following," Lauren said. "For me, my most viewed video is actually a video on weight gain and how you can grow your butt through working out. That's the video that got me a lot of subscribers." </p><p>Lauren treats her YouTube channel as a side hustle, but wants to pursue her digital business as a full-time career one day, she said.</p><p>"I'm also in school and I work, but I think if you really want something you just make time for it," she said.</p><p>Lauren shared her tips for starting out and growing a YouTube channel.</p><p>Here's what she said: </p><ul><li>"Be consistent. Drop videos every week and make the time for it. It looks easy, but it takes hours of editing and time."</li><li><p>"I get emails from various companies who want me to include a product in a video. Make sure to go back and forth with a brand and negotiate what you deserve. I'm my own manager for now, pitching brands and responding to emails. I don't accept every offer, only the ones that I genuinely believe in."</p></li><li><p>"Ask yourself, are you willing to work for free for your dream until you get to the point where you can make this into a main occupation?" </p></li></ul><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYweMRM3OBUCcRf-xBx6YXg">Check out her YouTube channel here</a>.</p><p><div type="image" title="Camp Sike (Spacestation Integrations)" height="1763" width="2351" msid="77263119" hostid="261"></div></p><h2 id="this-week-on-insider's-digital-culture-desk:">This week from Insider's digital culture team: </h2><ul><li><p><strong><a href="https://www.insider.com/reddit-content-policy-changes-new-black-moderators-racism-2020-7">Black Reddit moderators are hoping for stricter policies that make spaces safe</a></strong> (by Margot Harris)</p></li><li><p><strong><a href="https://www.insider.com/twitch-sexual-assault-misconduct-allegations-video-gaming-community-streamers-harassment-2020-7">Sexual misconduct allegations show sexism in the gaming industry</a> </strong>(by Rachel Greenspan)</p></li><li><p><strong><a href="https://www.insider.com/gabbie-hanna-youtube-drama-channels-tiktok-jessi-smiles-shadowban-memes-2020-7">Gabbie Hanna says YouTube has fostered a toxic environment</a> </strong>(by Kat Tenbarge) </p></li><li><p><strong><a href="https://www.insider.com/egyptian-women-tiktok-prison-sentenced-two-years-videos-2020-7">5 Egyptian women were sentenced to 2 years in prison for TikTok videos</a></strong> (by Palmer Haasch)</p></li></ul><p><div type="image" title="tiktok bytedance china" height="1168" width="1557" msid="77263121" hostid="261"></div></p><h2 id="here's-what-else-we're-reading:">Here's what else we're reading and watching:</h2><ul><li><p><strong><a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/breaking-off-tiktok-will-be-hard-to-do?utm_campaign=%5Brtsu%5D+Automated+RTS&amp;utm_content=1002083&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=cio&amp;utm_term=1000266utm_term=1000266">The challenge of breaking up TikTok from tech giant ByteDance</a></strong> (by Juro Osawa, Yunan Zhang, and Amir Efrati, from The Information)</p></li><li><p><strong><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/style/challenge-accepted-instagram.html">Why women are posting black-and-white selfies on Instagram</a></strong> (by Taylor Lorenz, from The New York Times)</p></li><li><p><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2WBythSGoQ">A deep dive into Shane Dawson's YouTube history</a></strong>: (by D'Angelo Wallace, on YouTube)</p></li><li><p><strong><a href="https://pagesix.com/2020/07/28/influencer-arielle-charnas-snagged-up-to-350k-in-ppp-loan/">Influencer Arielle Charnas got a PPP loan of up to $350,000</a></strong>: (by Emily Smith, from Page Six) </p></li></ul><p><em>Thanks for reading! Send me your tips, comments, or questions: aperelli@businessinsider.com.</em></p><h2 id="subscribe-to-the-newsletter-here."><a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/influencerdashboard">Subscribe to the newsletter here</a>.</h2>

TikTok influencers earn money promoting other apps, selling clothes, and making music

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Ronald Martinez/Getty" title_caption="Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55255f5869bedd3a3c3a96f2-960/gabby-douglas-4.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55255f5869bedd3a3c3a96f2-1200-924/gabby-douglas-4.jpg" border="0" alt="gabby douglas" /></a><p class="source"><span>Ronald Martinez/Getty</span></p><p class="caption">Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas.</p></div><p></p></div></div>We often share career and life advice from the likes of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-advice-for-success-2014-8">Warren Buffett</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-suze-orman-best-career-advice-2015-2">Richard Branson</a>, and other <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-executives-share-the-best-advice-they-ever-received-2015-3">incredibly successful people</a>.</p><p>It can also be helpful to learn from those in the trenches. <a href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-your-favorite-unconventional-life-tips?share=1">A recent Quora thread</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> asked users for their best unconventional life tips. </span></p><p>Here are a few of our favorites:</p><h3>1. Follow the "60/60 rule" to get more done.</h3><p>Quora user Doug Parker's "60/60 rule" <a href="http://qr.ae/d53FU">says</a> that "<span>one minute on the phone will accomplish more than an hour or more of texts or emails." <span>Sometimes you need to stop writing and just make a phone call. </span></span></p><h3>2. Critical people can be blessings in disguise. </h3><p>"If you meet a person who will criticize you immediately and bluntly in a way that seems completely rude or offensive, keep that person close and never let them slip away," <a href="http://qr.ae/d566H">writes</a> user Josh Manson. "When you find someone who cares about you enough to tell you exactly how you do things wrong, make sure you appreciate that person."</p><h3><strong>3. Don't call in sick - call in well.</strong></h3><p><span>Quora user Rob Hanna <a href="http://qr.ae/d535b">says</a> to "call in well." Literally.</span></p><p>When he started his career as a "grunt sales assistant" on Wall Street, he couldn't help but notice the insane hours logged by the majority of his coworkers. The top performers, however, followed a different schedule - they came and went to the office as they pleased.</p><p>"I simply decided to mimic and model the behaviors of people I wanted to become most like, and started to call in 'well' as a grunt. I surprised my VP by saying, 'Hi, I'm feeling really good so I'm taking the day off to go to Central Park,'" Hanna <a href="http://qr.ae/d535b">writes</a>. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"He was stunned by my audacity, but my best insights on growing my sales and evolving our business model came from those periods of building positive feeling momentum in my life...</span></p><p>"Creatively loaf first to build positive feelings, and then you'll highly perform. Just remember to perform."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Flickr / Ed Yourdon" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5526918e6bb3f7567540d7b8-960/man-laying-down-on-bench-reading-11.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5526918e6bb3f7567540d7b8-1024-512/man-laying-down-on-bench-reading-11.jpg" border="0" alt="Man Laying Down on Bench Reading" style="font-size: 1.17em; color: #000000;" /></a><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/2708660678/in/photolist-58mAsb-58TUBD-bThonX-aeetuH-4GksLU-akhg6P-5n7d79-fqYqXk-bHrwbK-axAe1P-9HYwNT-gVDVKr-6NrgdY-9xPXNZ-9kiN9m-5UpjTB-8nYoo3-4Fh62Y-63BEP-iDVKD-atht1Y-d39gvC-5Tk8mq-coFqDd-92jKu8-mq7Wb-d6H7E5-857QWd-d39miu-d39fo3-bwioki-GCCHt-amLPis-8eMuC-7AycxB-fbHwBd-9E2MG-8DfVLM-dTVtMW-pvCQMJ-95QNbJ-pShZU9-eBEvp-ap2umq-pMBfdq-5177LT-gXRYyX-boHhhS-6vh444-6naw4w">Flickr / Ed Yourdon</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h3>4. Sometimes all you need is a broom and dustpan to refocus.</h3><p>"When you are overwhelmed with too many things to do and it feels like you don't have enough time to finish all of it, sweep the floor," <a href="http://qr.ae/d53FU">says</a> Parker. "Do something simple that will make your area seem less cluttered; this will allow you time to calm down and see that it is not as much as you may have thought previously."</p><h3>5. Don't make New Year's resolutions.</h3><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Rather than crafting a list of resolutions to abide by, try eliminating one bad habit a year.</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> "</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">It'll take all year to actually get rid of it," </span><a href="http://qr.ae/d53jp">says</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> user Jennifer Bullard.</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> On the flip side, you could add one good habit a year, and spend the year focusing on making it stick.</span></p><h3>6. Random acts of kindness are powerful.</h3><p>"Do something nice for someone once a month anonymously," <a href="http://qr.ae/d53jp">suggests</a> Bullard. This can be as simple as paying the toll of the car behind you, putting coins in someone's parking meter, or buying coffee for a customer behind you.</p><h3><span>7. Mix in some healthy pessimism.</span></h3><p><span>"Be pessimistic," <a href="http://qr.ae/d5jVK">says</a><span> user Manish Baluja. "</span>Imagine the worst case scenario of your actions, and then plan accordingly." It never hurts to be over prepared. </span></p><h3>8. Don't underestimate the power of a smile.</h3><p>Parker <a href="http://qr.ae/d53FU">puts it nicely</a>: "A smile has a sound when talking."</p><p>Hanna suggests you "smile, then ask" when negotiating, requesting a favor, or simply asking a question. "Keep the sequence correct," he <a href="http://qr.ae/d535b">says</a>. "Always smile FIRST, and then ask. The reverse sequence smacks of insincerity and disrespect to your audience, and is only good for comic relief."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55269211eab8eae80eb14d9f-1200-600/women-smiling-8.jpg" border="0" alt="women smiling" style="font-size: 1.17em; color: #000000;"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/eflon/4246570737">Flickr/eflon</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p><h3>9. Never forget your manners, even when ordering fast food.</h3><p><span>While the manners lesson was hammered home for many of us as children, "75% of people don't say '</span>please' or 'thank you'<span> at the local fast-food joint," <a href="http://qr.ae/d53FU">says</a> Parker. "Say '</span>please'<span> and '</span>thank you<em>.</em>'<strong><em> </em></strong><span>It's considered one of our culture's considerate, social oils."</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p><h3><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">10. Recess is not just for kids.</span></h3><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"Play with a child at least once a week," <a href="http://qr.ae/d53jp">encourages</a> Bullard. "And I'm not talking about taking your kids to their soccer practice or teaching them their ABC's. This is about silly games you make up on the spot. Run around being 5 again."</span></p><h3><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">11. When nothing is going right, go left.</span></h3><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"></span>"Leave it behind you, and move on to something else," <a href="http://qr.ae/d566H">says</a> Manson. "It's OK to quit something you can never succeed at."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tony-robbins-morning-routine-ice-bath-energy-cryotherapy-2015-3">Here's what master of success Tony Robbins does every morning</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="ZhNGEydDp_rTmnyxNqmf9d9JWFZhNwNm" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'ZhNGEydDp_rTmnyxNqmf9d9JWFZhNwNm',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

11 unconventional tips for winning at life

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b290b771ae66223008b53c6-1269/screen shot 2018-06-19 at 95508 am.png" border="0" alt="teen laptop" data-mce-source="lovinglaurenx/YouTube" data-link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRmg7TMhXlM" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRmg7TMhXlM">lovinglaurenx/YouTube</a></span></p><p class="caption">Few Gen Zs watch TV on an actual TV.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/generation-z"><strong>Generation Z</strong></a><strong> is moving away from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/television">traditional television</a>.</strong></li><li><strong>Marketers say that's a major break from previous generations.</strong></li><li><strong>To sway these <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/teens">teens</a>, some networks are collaborating with social networks and popular streaming options. It's not always successful.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p> </p><p>Grace Clark, 17, doesn't like television. She says the episodes are too long. </p><p>"I like YouTube, because <span style="font-weight: 400;">the content is shorter and therefore is able to hold my attention throughout the whole video," Clark told Business Insider. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her favorite is the <a href="http://shortyawards.com/10th/vlog-squad">Vlog Squad</a>, a group of YouTube-famous 20-somethings based in Los Angeles. Several times a week, the group posts instances from their daily lives like flying (but with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftszjlKP0I8&amp;list=PL2iBhsg3wpItlz2l2okoeNuGBHRLY2b8K&amp;index=3&amp;t=0s">a llama</a>), going <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3qZABy2nKY&amp;list=PL2iBhsg3wpItlz2l2okoeNuGBHRLY2b8K&amp;index=5&amp;t=0s">hiking</a>, or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmybiyz3wdE&amp;list=PL2iBhsg3wpItlz2l2okoeNuGBHRLY2b8K&amp;index=74">rollerskating</a>. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Their content is very comedic but is rarely over 20 minutes," Clark said.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The interest in short but frequent video content from younger, more relatable sources is widespread among Clark's peers. She's considered a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/teens-gen-z-generation-z-what-teens-are-like-2018-6">Generation Z</a>, the generational cohort of Americans born after 1997. Few of them remember life before social <keyword id="6354777" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Media">media</keyword>, the internet, and smartphones.</span></p><p>In a recent <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/teens-gen-z-generation-z-what-teens-are-like-2018-6">Business Insider survey</a> of 104 teens nationwide, only 2% of Gen Zs said that cable is their preferred choice for video content. Nearly a third said YouTube is their most-used source for video content, and 62% watch streaming excluding YouTube, including Netflix or Hulu. </p><p>Those who do <a href="https://awesomenesstvnetwork.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/awesomeness_report_final1.pdf">watch cable television</a> enjoy it largely as a means of bonding with family, the news, or falling asleep. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b2abb401ae6621e008b550d-1200/how-gen-z-watches-video.png" border="0" alt="how gen z watches video" data-mce-source="Courtesy of Andy Kiersz" /><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Andy Kiersz</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>That's a remarkable aboutface from previous generations, according to MaryLeigh Bliss, Chief Content Officer at YPulse, a research and marketing firm focused on Gen Z and Millennials.</p><p>"It's<span style="font-weight: 400;"> a major, major shift that we've seen with these young generations," Bliss told Business Insider.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Among American adults, 59% say cable or satellite is their primary method of watching television, according to <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/13/about-6-in-10-young-adults-in-u-s-primarily-use-online-streaming-to-watch-tv/">a 2017 Pew Research study</a>. Less than a third depend primarily on online streaming.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The preference for cable is even more marked among older Americans. For those 65 or older, <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/13/about-6-in-10-young-adults-in-u-s-primarily-use-online-streaming-to-watch-tv/">84% use primarily cable</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Honestly, I don't watch many cable programs," 16-year-old Grace Serdula told Business Insider. "I watch whatever is on, but I don't pay enough attention to them. But I find YouTube a better entertainment source. I can watch anything I want."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One key reason for the shift is the increasing use of mobile phones as a way to consume content. The majority of Gen Zs use smartphones as their primary medium to watch videos, while millennials primarily use actual televisions, according to YPulse data. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It's not because they don't have access to a television. If they're below the age of 18, they likely still live with their parents, who <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2016/nielsen-estimates-118-4-million-tv-homes-in-the-us--for-the-2016-17-season.html">almost certainly</a> have a TV. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Because of the decreasing emphasis on cable TV, this younger generation also has difficulty tolerating traditional ads. Variety reported <a href="https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/fox-tv-advertising-tbwa-inspirational-commercial-breaks-1202849117/">in June</a> that Fox outlets want to fill some of its commercial breaks with inspirational videos sponsored by pharmaceutical companies or other marketers. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"That's actively to try to appeal to younger generations," Bliss said of Fox's move. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b2abc5d1ae6621e008b4606-960/5ab3d09a095b114e008b45b2-960-720.jpg" border="0" alt="13 Reasons Why" data-mce-source="Netflix" data-mce-caption="Hannah's version of events might not have been entirely accurate." /><p class="source"><span>Netflix</span></p><p class="caption">13 Reasons Why has been a major Netflix hit.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Netflix is the top streaming choice for Gen Zs </span></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Netflix, the favored option among Gen Zs for all video content, lacks commercial breaks. It's also primed for binge watching, which is how today's teens are acclimated to watching television. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unlike previous generations who might tune in for a latest episode installment, Gen Zs told Business Insider that they enjoy watching older shows, too. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/nyregion/friends-has-new-bffs-new-york-teenagers.html">Teenagers adore "Friends,"</a> a sitcom that aired its last episode when some of them may have been in diapers.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"<span>There are more options than on cable, since you can rewind or fast forward and watch older shows like Friends easier," 15-year-old Sadie Madden told Business Insider. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Clark also shared that she loves Pretty Little Liars, which aired from 2010 to 2017.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I like the fact that these shows are on Netflix because I am able to binge watch them without commercial breaks in between," Clark said.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b2abd231ae6621a008b45f1-1283/screen shot 2018-06-20 at 44506 pm.png" border="0" alt="vlog squad" data-mce-source="Gabbie Hanna/YouTube" data-mce-caption="The &amp;quotVlog Squad&quot; is ultra-popular among teens." data-link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNWeIp4o21c&amp;list=PL2iBhsg3wpItlz2l2okoeNuGBHRLY2b8K&amp;index=6" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNWeIp4o21c&amp;list=PL2iBhsg3wpItlz2l2okoeNuGBHRLY2b8K&amp;index=6">Gabbie Hanna/YouTube</a></span></p><p class="caption">The "Vlog Squad" is ultra-popular among teens.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">YouTube offers a different experience than traditional media sources</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When teens watch YouTube, they're not seeking fictional plotlines portrayed by Hollywood stars.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One popular usage of YouTube is niche, hobby-driven content. Isabel Lagando, 14, watches lots of beauty and cooking shows. </span>Kay Parker, 15, enjoys watching gaming videos on YouTube. </p><p>"You can check out how a game looks from another person's perspective before getting it," Parker told Business Insider. "Instead of waiting for something you like to come on it's available on YouTube 24/7 and you feel like you can watch all of your favorite channels and their videos nonstop without getting tired of it."</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vlogs are also incredibly popular. One of YouTube's most popular vloggers is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/zoella280390/featured">Zoella</a>, who runs a beauty, fashion and daily life account with more than 12 million subscribers. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vloggers like Zoella are as pretty and personable as any celebrity. But their <a href="http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/gallery/zoella-vlog-anxiety-column-anxiety-video-and-advice">transparency</a> and frequent life updates makes subscribers feel more like they're spending time with a friend (albeit one who is an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NEqPvrKyp4">international runway model</a>).</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I find and vlogging interesting because it feels like I'm ... spending a day with a close friend and traveling and whatnot," Serdula told Business Insider. "The videos provide background noise that I can tune into without missing any important plot devices."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b2abd541ae6624c008b544e-1702/screen shot 2017-12-12 at 24338 pm.png" border="0" alt="Riverdale" data-mce-source="The CW" /><p class="source"><span>The CW</span></p><p class="caption">The CW's Riverdale has accrued loads of Generation Z viewers thanks in part to its distribution agreement with Netflix.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">How are traditional networks responding?</span></h2><p>The amount of homes with cable, satellite, or telco <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2017-reports/total-audience-report-q2-2017.pdf">is dropping</a>, according to a 2017 Nielsen report. </p><p>Bliss said the landscape for cable and network companies is "bleak."</p><p>Cable is the fifth most-popular outlet for video consumption, according to YPulse data on teenagers. Gen Zs are more likely to watch video content on YouTube, Netflix, Instagram, and Snapchat. </p><p>In response, some cable providers have moved their content onto those more popular platforms. CNN had a Snapchat show, but that flopped <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/22/cnn-cancel-snapchat-the-update/">after four months</a>. More positively, NBC's "Stay Tuned" Snapchat news show <a href="https://digiday.com/media/nbc-news-daily-snapchat-show-now-4-million-subscribers/">accrued four million subscribers</a> in its first five months - the majority of whom watch three or more times a week.</p><p>One notable success story is the ultra-popular Riverdale, the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/tv/2017/10/18/16492324/riverdale-season-2-teen-phenomenon">aggressively dramatic</a> reimagination of the Arhcie comics aired through the CW.</p><p><a href="http://www.vulture.com/2017/10/riverdale-premiere-ratings-are-stunning.html">As Vulture reported</a>, the CW has <a href="https://media.netflix.com/en/press-releases/netflix-and-the-cw-network-announce-new-agreement">a unique streaming deal</a> with Netflix, allowing season one to appear in May 2017 on Netflix a week after the season ended. That gave swaths of viewers access to the show that they might not have had otherwise.</p><p>Riverdale's second season <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2017/10/riverdale-premiere-ratings-are-stunning.html">reached viewership numbers</a> last fall that the CW hadn't seen since The Vampire Diaries 2012. And that was on their network - not Netflix.</p><p>That Riverdale could sway teens to tune in on an actual television with actual commercials is proof of one major point: The entertainment itself is more important than the platform.</p><p>"It's still about the content," Bliss said. "You have to make the content that they want to watch. You have to create the entertainment that they think is worth their time."</p>

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