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...that is the question. Well, Shakespeare wouldn't agree with that one but it's always good to paraphrase the Bard himself once in a while, right?
I've been fighting with myself over starting YouTube since I was around 12 (8 years ago - yeesh!) and when I brought it up to my Mum initially, she hated the idea. The thought of her precious little girl exposing her personality, accent and mannerisms through singing (yes, singing) videos on a website made her skin crawl. All she would say to me was 'What if someone liked what they saw, found out where you lived, stalked you and then kidnapped you? What if he kills you Saffron? SAFFRON WHAT IF HE KILLS YOU?!?!' ...now you know where I get my dramatic side from. Because of her strong views against YouTube mixed with my 'good girl' persona, I knew that it wasn't a great idea. Plus, she kinda had a point.
There was an absolutely brilliant TV show on Channel 4 a couple of weeks back called Cyberbully (watch here). It was based on several true stories and was about this hacker gaining control of Casey(the protagonist)'s computer and blackmailing her into doing things to stop nude photos of her from being posted on the internet. Now I know this isn't exactly the same - but it does show what can happen when you end up on the internet's bad side. This person knew all about Casey's life - from her ex boyfriend to her best friend - and even had access not just to her laptop, but to her phone too. For over an hour the cyber-stalker tortured Casey - both mentally and physically - and it really made you wonder how these extremely common objects control us nowadays. Almost everyone in the UK has at least one computer in their home, with a hefty majority having more than one to themselves. Not to mention the amount of people with iPhones... Cyberbully made me realise that the internet can be a dangerous place - but as long as you remember that there is life outside of the internet (yes, there really is) then you should be okay.
Putting yourself on YouTube is a big deal. Absolutely anyone with an internet-enabled device and WiFi at their disposal can view your videos. Many people think that it's just others like them that will watch their videos - teenagers who love their bed and food more than the fresh air and family parties. Kids who would rather watch a 10-hour Keeping Up With The Kardashians marathon (guilty) than going to school. Girls and boys who will stay up till 4am watching videos of a cat dressed as a shark riding a roomba (you have to watch it) and wondering how the hell they ended up getting to that when they initially started binge watching Salad Fingers episodes. But - shock horror - not everyone that watches YouTube is like me. I know it may sound ridiculous for me to say, and I know some of you may roll your eyes but it's true - the internet is never as safe as you think. Don't get me wrong - you shouldn't fear the internet, but at the same time you shouldn't think it's your friend either. There are too many people out there who can find out where you live by just knowing your name or your face - and that's scary.
As a blogger, these things do cross my mind every so often. I think 'if they can stalk someone because of YouTube, what makes me think they can't stalk me because of my blog?'. And I guess I'm still conflicted over the response. I go by my gut instinct a lot. If I feel that somewhere, something or someone is unsafe for me - I stay away. And YouTube is just another one of those things. My blog on the other hand, is not. When I initially set up my blog two years ago, I wasn't scared at all. I wasn't scared when my page views hit 10,000 or 20,000, but the thought of posting that first YouTube video terrifies me. I guess not only is the whole 'the internet isn't safe' thing looming over my head, but also what if my channel gets popular? What if people are mean to me because of my strong opinions, thick Yorkshire accent or simply because my hair colour isn't to their taste? To be quite honest, I'm very split when it comes to criticism. Either I get really upset or shake it off and think 'Balls to them, I'm fabulous' (which is very true, I am indeed fabulous). I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are currently too many negatives over my attempt at conquering YouTube. The idea of making a load of money for doing hardly anything may seem very attractive, but I don't quite think it's worth my safety. Not yet, anyway...
I have actually posted videos on my own YouTube before - two in total. The first was me singing a cover of Fly With Me by the Jonas Brothers for a competition yeeeears ago. I was absolutely obsessed with them, and to be honest I still do fangirl over them once in a while...
The second video was of me and my friend-but-more-like-a-brother, Connor. We did the cinnamon challenge and it involved a lot of sick. I was still finding chunks of spewed-up curry (TMI, sorry) weeks after the explosion.
Even though I'm still in the middle of the 'should I or shouldn't I' conflict going on in my head, for now I'm gonna stay away. I'm almost 20 now, and even though I'm legally an adult (hahahahaha) I still trust my Mum's judgement and advice. She doesn't think it's safe for me, plus I'm still terrified of the idea. So until I gain a little more confidence behind the camera, you lot won't be able to hear my hilarious jokes and sassy statements. You'll just have to read them for now instead.
What's your take on YouTube? Would you ever take the plunge?
"The more helpless the creature, the more that it is entitled to protection by man from the cruelty of man." - Mahatma Gandhi
"The more helpless the creature, the more that it is entitled to protection by man from the cruelty of man." - Mahatma Gandhi
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