Just one place exists where Miss South Carolina, Lauren Upton, and fans of Britney Spears can make fools of themselves, where Harry Potter fans indulge themselves on a daily basis and where videos about shoes garner an astonishing amount of hits.
This place? YouTube.
YouTube is a website where users can upload, share and view short video clips.
Sophomore Lauren Edwards finds great enjoyment in one of the popular videos on the site.
“There’s this baby panda eating, and it starts sneezing which freaks the mom out,” Edwards said. “I started cracking up [when I watched it].”
Freshman Hannah Blau likes YouTube for the entertainment value.
“I think that the David Blaine parodies are hilarious,” Blau said. “Because of him, I spend a lot of my computer time on YouTube.”
However, the most popular video of the day is not the only excitement available on YouTube. Junior Samantha Swartz has discovered a very effective way to waste away an afternoon on YouTube.
“All day yesterday I was watching Disney movies on YouTube,” Swartz said. “When I got to ‘Fox and the Hound,’ it made me cry.”
Sophomore Peter Hopmann doesn’t think YouTube has made much difference in his life.
“It hasn’t really influenced me that much,” Hopmann said. “It’s just a good way for me to relax and have fun.”
Junior Matt Hewitt is one of many who enjoy looking up music videos on YouTube.
“I look up music and ignore whatever’s being played,” Hewitt said. “However, my favorite video is dog on a skateboard.”
In the age-old debate over whether YouTube should be allowed in school, Hewitt is against much of the blocking employed by the school.
“It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Hewitt said. “Study hall is your time to do whatever you want.”
Edwards, however, believes that this strategy has pros and cons.
“There are good points and bad points,” Edwards said. “If people are looking to just play on it, then that’s a problem. But if someone is looking for a video to use for a Powerpoint then [YouTube] can be helpful.”
Sophomore Ariel Vitardes agrees that there is merit to allowing YouTube in the classroom.
“I think YouTube has its advantages because teachers use it in their classrooms,” she said.
History teacher Michael Featherstone hasn’t been sucked into the YouTube craze.
“I’ve seen a couple things on [YouTube] like links from friends or family, but I don’t regularly check up on it,” Featherstone said.
He is far more passionate about YouTube’s growing role in the political arena.
“So much of what’s going on is on YouTube,” Featherstone said. “[It] has transformed the way politics are done, especially current events. [I don’t know] whether the academic benefits outweigh the cons.”
Although technology director Paul Ross said he recognizes the benefits of YouTube, he says there is no way for the district to discriminate between the good and bad content available.
“It only takes about three clicks to get to questionable content on YouTube,” Ross said. “We have no way to verify [the videos].”
Published February 2008. Digitized 2025.
