According to the report by Hootsuite and We Are Social, in 2022, almost 9 out of 10 Italians watch at least one video a week on the web, from vlogs to fun ones, to tutorials for chores to do at home. After all, Italians spend an average of almost 2 hours on social networks. A share of time that is getting closer and closer to that reserved for television – streaming or traditional -, which just exceeds 3 hours.
The conflict
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by Simone Cosimi
It is no coincidence that, in 2020, for the first time Netflix has identified TikTok as one of its main competitors. Because those that were two tools that, until recently, also worked quite well together, such as TV and social networks, are increasingly in competition. After all, social platforms are increasingly oriented towards entertainment, rather than relationships, as evidenced by the recent evolutions of Instagram and Facebook.
And more and more they are social networks to determine the topics of our public debate. Think of the italics, the catchphrases born on TikTok or the interest in the Depp-Heard trial: a substantial part of pop culture passes through the videos we see online.
Reuters analysis
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by Emanuele Capone
YouTube knows this well, which has published a document called Culture & Trends Report 2022, which tells precisely the way in which the use of online video is changing popular cultureespecially that of Generation Z. Boys and girls, in fact, see moving images as a fundamental mode of expression: almost 9 out of 10 have published at least one in the last year.
Algorithms and custom videos
Watching videos online is very different from watching them on TV or on a streaming platform. Especially because, when we are on social networks, we live a personalized experience. In other words, the algorithms suggest what is best suited to our tastes; in this way, we spend time looking at things we like but not necessarily what others are looking at. Also according to the data collected by YouTube, 65% of boys and girls believe they are enjoying types of content that no one else they know watches.
Personalization, according to YouTube, generates trends, radically changes the consumption habits of users. And it has created, in the medium term, at least 3 main trends to keep an eye on.
Social network
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Communities of interest and niches
TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels. The real challenge of today’s – and tomorrow’s – social networks is the ability to build interest-based networks. In other words, to suggest the right contents to the right people, on the basis of a model inaugurated by the Chinese social network owned by ByteDance. This trend, according to the YouTube report, generates the emergence and consolidation of strong interest-based communities, from film to photography to stamp collections. Daughter of the communities is the phenomenon of fandom: over 6 out of 10 guys define themselves as avid fans of someone or something. And what is born as a side effect of the entertainment business thus becomes a concrete part of the entertainment itself. Just think of the case of the trial involving Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, which generated an impressive amount of content, so much so that, according to the Washington Postthe only ones to come out really winners were the content creator.
Everything is meme: the value of the remix
Following the trends also means remixing, continuously regenerating contents that circulate virally. In other words, create memes. According to the YouTube report, remixing is one of the cultural trends of 2022. After all, from TikTok to Shorts and Reels, at the center of everything is sound, music or voice that can be reused by creators in different and unpredictable ways. As in the case of Poor Seagullwhich we told you about some time ago: a neomelodic song that, dragged out of its original context, becomes a way to express dissatisfaction in an ironic, funny way.
Videos as tools of escape from reality
Also due to the pandemic, online we are increasingly looking for content that relaxes us, that transports us to some other place, even if only for a few minutes. They are the ones who YouTube defines of Responsive creativity, able to make the viewer feel in a different place. This category includes contents that show tropical paradises or dream scenarios, or even the ASMR, those videos or audios that generate a sense of well-being in the listener.