This topic got me thinking and it made me realize,
maybe there's a bigger problem here.
[music plays] Do you know what forced positivity is
or false positivity? PewDiePie made video about this recently
and he was talking about how some YouTubers just seem
a little bit too happy and some even turn their merch into it.
And that sort of upset him a little bit.
Casey Neistat responded to it and so did Phil DeFranco
and that's the one that really caught my attention
because you guys in the comments are so nice and you talk about how happy and positive
I am and it got me to think and so I want to talk to you about it.
[music plays] Why am I always so
happy in my videos. Well, to be honest, it's fun.
It's big fun. I get to hang out with my pal, Ben Churchill,
and we get to laugh and talk and figure out
what we're going to do. And it's fun when the camera goes on.
The whole process is a great time. It's a fun day or night
whenever we do this. Of course there are times where I'm not as happy
as I normally am, right? Maybe I'm in a bad mood
or maybe I'm hungover so something like that. You know, whatever it is.
But when I come into this room and sit in this chair
I have a responsibility, don't I? I want to make something that's going to make
you happy and quite frankly I'd like to watch something that's
going to be happy. I don't want to watch somebody all grouchy and
grumpy. Just like I don't want to hang around with somebody who's all
grouchy and grumpy. Could you imagine if somebody put up a video of me
in a horrible mood just being a crank? [laughs]
Nobody would watch it. I wouldn't watch that.
And I wouldn't expect you to either because that's not what I do. That's not who I am.
You know what's funny? Right now, as we're shooting
this it's five til 3 in the morning. You know, we've been hanging out
a little bit and we started watching some videos and then, Ben and I got to thinking
"Oh, maybe we should we do something here." Yeah, of course we could be out
drinking beers and hanging out and stuff and having fun, but you know what?
This is just as much fun... and nobody
has to worry about driving afterwards. [music plays]
Listening to PewDiePie talk about this reminded me of my time
working in radio and I worked for there for a long time
on the morning show and I would get up at 3 o'clock in the morning
and that in itself is hard to do. There are times where I just
wanted to stay in bed until maybe 5:00 or 6:00
and then go in, you know, but the show started at 5:00.
And that was my responsibility. That's what I did. And you know what the cool part was?
As soon as I walked in that door and got behind
that microphone I was good. You know, because again
doing radio was fun for me. It was something I really enjoyed.
I had another radio job where I worked at night and that afternoon
I took my guide dog to the vet and the doctor came out and said,
"This dog can't work anymore." And I said, "What? This is my pal. We go
everywhere together." And it was so sad and I had to go to work
and play oldies that night and laugh and smile and
make jokes and the whole thing. And that was really difficult but you know what?
I got in that room, put the headphones and I was able to do it.
Because radio is fun. I had a good
time doing it. It was also the thing
that put food on the table. [laughs]
[music plays] I guess what I'm trying to say is
there are times in our lives where it might not be a perfect
situation and just have to sort of buck up and take it, you know.
Here's the thing. My father used to say something to me
that bugged me and bugged me and bugged me and now I sound just like him.
He would say, "That builds character." And as a little kid
I didn't understand it, but boy I get it now. And it did build character
and it made me a better person. [music continues]
A lot of people say in the comments, "How can you be so happy as a blind person?"
Well, I'll tell you what. It wasn't always so easy, you know.
And I get it, if you have a mental health problem you can't really make this choice
but I was able to. And I simply chose to be happy...
everyday. To wake up and be happy and have fun
and play. And I don't make that choice anymore. I just get up and I'm happy
everyday. And it's wonderful. [music plays]
This brings up another thing
I wanted to address. There are some YouTubers I've seen
and I don't watch their stuff because it just doesn't feel genuine to me.
It doesn't feel real, you know. They just show me the best parts
of their day and that's --- you know what, I just feel
like that's a lie --- it's false representation. And I think that's the
bigger problem, you know. People who aren't really living their lives
they're living a fake life but to look cool on YouTube.
And that's not right. Nobody's life
is that cool. Every single day you're doing cool stuff
and going to cool places and --- no, it ain't real.
I get it. In a movie cool stuff like this
happens --- of course because it's a story, it's make believe, right.
But when you're doing a daily vlog and you're saying that
this is your real life... you're just deceiving the audience.
And that ain't cool. You do stuff like that
it makes me question your motivation. It makes me wonder why you do it.
However there are some YouTubers that really open up
and show us some of the more vulnerable parts to them
and I'll be honest with you, I think that is some of the most compelling
stuff I've ever seen. I wish we could see more of it
and hopefully we will. Well, I won't but...
[laughs]
[music plays] So let me know what you think about
this topic and more specifically what you think about people who
falsely represent their lives here on YouTube. I'll tell you what I want
to know, who are some YouTuber that don't. You know, some
of your favorite who are genuine and honest and real with you
and show you their lives for what they are. I would love to hear what you think
so let me know in the comments. [beep]
Oh my god, I hate doing this stupid video. I am out of here.
[hits light] Oops. [laughs]
[falls] Oh, no! Oh, Jesus dude.
I'm sorry. [laughs]