Tuesday, February 19, 2008

YouTube stats, a panorama of the cultural landscape?

I believe it could be viewed as such. I've been thinking about this for some time and, after examining it in some detail, I've come to the conclusion that one can gauge the culture of America by examining YouTube and observing certain statistics provided by it. Yes, I know folk from all over the world can view these videos, but I think that simply means that America's overall cultural landscape is increasingly mirroring that of the rest of the world, i.e. more decadent, debauched, and corrupted. So, yes, take it as the world's cultural pulse if you like.

For instance, the most viewed video of all time is not anything pertaining to science, geopolitics, philosophy, or religion, but something "intellectually stimulating" called the Evolution of Dance with over 75 million viewers! Before anyone asks, no, I haven't viewed it as I have a near zero interest in the evolution of dance. If folk do have such interest, more power to 'em. I'm just pointing out the most viewed video of all time.

In fact, one can cycle through from the most viewed on down the list and the top contenders are nearly all celebrity-centric videos concerning hip-snot bongo-bangin' noise some call "music", movies, or about sex.

I've said many times on various blog comment forums over the last few years that the core problem with America is not the government bureaucrats, the police, or the politicians, but rather it's the regular folk themselves. The commoners, as I like to call us ;). After all, a given government is merely a reflection of the society at large, the aggregate people. However much government is involved or entangled into economics, education, philosophy, religion, etc. is a clear sign of the overall prevailing societal and cultural mindset concerning the same - economics, education, philosophy, religion, etc.

In short, the cultural landscape doesn't look pretty; in fact, it looks downright rotten to the core.