Youtube as a New Form of Media Communication

The Internet is a multi-faceted mass medium that creates a lot of various new forms of communication. The World Wide Web gives vast opportunities to any user who is at least a little capable of searching and using the information. This inevitably leads to the fact that nowadays, in order to be a thought leader and have prestige among the audience, which was previously owned by the authors, and thereafter by the journalists, it is sufficient to be able to use a smart phone or a computer as well as have a desire to produce the information product. For these reasons, one does not need any special education or professional skills — popular content on YouTube channels actively demonstrates it. Mass media market competition is constant and quite active. At present, if people have to choose either hot news broadcast or a new video clip made by the beloved vlogger, they often choose the latter.

The article traces and highlights the differences of YouTube as a new communication channel from the traditional media, as well as its advantages. Besides, in the course of the research (conducting the survey), the reasons for its popularity as well as the audience’s readiness to move from the traditional media to the new ones have been figured out. The preferences of our fellow citizens regarding the channels on the YouTube platform, particularly regarding the Ukrainian-language content, have been revealed.

The major problems of the YouTube channels’ content have been marked out, and recommendations for the right and safe viewing of the programs on the YouTube platform in terms of media hygiene have been provided.