Skits and vlogs are all the rage on YouTube. Just as Brent Rivera.
His eponymous YouTube channel boasts more than 30 million subscribers, all hoping to see videos with zany titles such as “BREAKING 100 RULES IN 24 HOURS!!”, GUY FLIRTS WITH MY SISTER IN FRONT OF ME” and “THEY WALKED IN ON US IN THE BATHROOM!”
Yep. There may be an issue with the Caps Lock.
Those video titles suggest that parents may have some issues to think through before letting their kids watch. And boy, are they right.
Brent and his friends seem to have fun performing their skits and pranks.
A large amount of Rivera’s videos reference sexual situations: A woman in revealing clothing dances on a pole in once instance; in another, a prank makes it appear like a man and woman are kissing while naked in the shower. And so on. Some pranks reference intimate body parts. Rivera plays a game which involves him and a woman touching each other’s bodies. Men often dress up in female clothing, and in one video, a few men are tasked with wearing thongs. Men and women wear swimsuits. Rivera and his sister perform strangely intimate yoga moves together in public. They also reference other sexual topics. Rivera is pantsed in public.
Additionally, thumbnails often reference sexual situations: A video depicts a man and woman under the covers in bed with the clickbait title “they caught us doing this in bed.” Dozens of videos display men and women kissing.
Rivera has frequently been accused of stealing ideas and thumbnails from other creators. Some videos mimic the beats of other content creators’ videos almost exactly. Many of these copied videos often end up taking away potential views (and revenue) from the smaller YouTubers who originally created them.
Light language, such as “h—” is used. God’s name is frequently taken in vain. Heavier language, like the s-word, f-word and “b–ch” are censored.
To be as honest as I can be, I’m not sure who Rivera’s channel is for. The thumbnails, skits and acting certainly feel like the channel hopes to attract younger viewers. But the sexual content present makes it wholly inappropriate for that potential audience. That, and with the many allegations claiming that Rivera copies a lot of video ideas from other channels, parents may want to encourage their children to skip this one.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
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