“With me” videos are hours of live videos of an everyday activity such as studying or painting. That sounds boring, but it inspires millions of YouTube users worldwide. We take a closer look at the phenomenon of hands-on videos.
From filming to editing to algorithm-friendly titles, you can spend hours creating a successful YouTube video. Or you can just record yourself doing an everyday task for hours and stream it live, generating millions of views.
This is exactly how a “With me” video works, a very special genre of YouTube videos. The phenomenon is not new, but has seen a boom this year.
„With me“-Videos: Trend startete mit „Study with me“
The “With me” videos were viewed for the first time in 2007. For a long time, the category of “Study with Me” videos (German: Lern-Mit-Mir-Video) dominated.
Schoolchildren or students film themselves while studying – either at their own desk, in a library or a café, sometimes with or without background noise or music.
The whole thing is then usually simply broadcast live and can take eight hours. Watching other people for hours while they roll through books doesn’t necessarily sound like a recipe for success.
But the videos inspire hundreds of thousands of viewers. They in turn watch these videos while they study for themselves. If you have the Comments below these videos may believe, these learning videos provide viewers with better focus, more motivation and higher productivity while learning.
In fact, studies show that the environment can affect productivity. In a British study with around 3,700 primary school children Scientists found that when compared to other external factors, the environment has a 16 percent impact on students’ academic performance. The same goes for the Workplace.
It is therefore possible that a “Study with me” video creates a pleasant learning atmosphere for the viewer, such as that found in a library, and that they actually work more concentrated and productive.
Motivation is contagious
In a “Study with me” video, the phenomenon of Emotional contagion play along. Simple examples of this are: the other person smiles or yawns – and you unconsciously imitate the behavior by also smiling or yawning.
This can also happen in films. When a character with whom you strongly identify cries, you cry with them in front of the screen.
While there are no well-founded scientific studies on the productivity of Study with me videos, it is conceivable that they could have a similar effect of emotional contagion.
Something similar happens in sports. When others are motivated in sport, you are in it Motivationsklima self-motivated – and more productive. While the demand for “Study with me” videos may well be understandable, this year a new mega trend has emerged: the “With me” video.
In the lonely lockdown, viewers discover the “With me” videos
It’s no longer just about learning together, but about hands-on videos in general. These videos have titles like “Craft with me” or “Color with me”, where a person really just tinkers or paints something.
These, too, are often just hours of live videos, usually without anyone speaking. The videos are very popular and sometimes have more than 100.000 Views. Even the “Study with me” videos were given a huge boost. Some are now even recording over six million views.
YouTube reported From mid to late March 2020 alone, 600 percent more viewers for “With me” videos. The platform is not completely uninvolved in this. With the first worldwide lockdown, YouTube encouraged its creators to post content on hashtags like #stayathome.
This in turn generated the rediscovery and rediscovery of the “With me” videos. Because watching a “With me” video and doing the same activity on your own screen at the same time creates a sense of community.
You don’t learn or do handicrafts alone, but with someone else – in silence togetherness. It can even have a calming, meditating effect. That’s something that certainly doesn’t hurt in stressful pandemic times.
