Whether or not we are aware, we’re all apart of a public sphere. What is a public sphere though? The brains behind this theory is a man named Jurgen Habermas. He described it as ‘a space in which people debate and express opinions about common concerns’.
In the age of the internet, social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have all become public spheres. Places where anyone can go and discuss topics, express opinions, and form new ones. Twitter being a key platform to discuss topics due to the introduction of the ‘hashtag’. Although I often use both Facebook and Twitter, I rarely share my opinions or discuss topics on them. However, the comment section of YouTube is a completely different story.
YouTube’s public sphere operates how most social media platform’s spheres would, (with the limitation of video content only) which is by discussing topics through comment sections and threads. Discuss, debate and express your opinion to content creators and other viewers. You find a video interesting? Disagree with a topic discussed? Wanna let a YouTuber know why you really dislike them by using mean words (please don’t be one of those people)? The comment section awaits, go for it kiddo.
How do I engage with YouTube as a public sphere though? Or a better way to put it, what kinds of public spheres and audiences do I engage with? Although it sounds trivial, I think that Pewdiepie’s Pew-news often brings up interesting topics, such as the controversial Gillette ad, where I decided to engage with other users in the comment section and discuss my issues with the video. But I think the prime content creator and audience I involve myself in, would be FriendlyJordies and his comment sections.
His audience is one I frequently engage with and is pretty much my only source on information and how I form opinions when it comes to Australian politics. He covers topics such as Australian politics and media while adding comedy and skits into his videos. I find his comment sections easily accessible as majority of the viewers are Australian and I can relate to the discussions and humour within them. A recent example is his video about Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party, and the Al Jazeera documentary ‘How to sell a Massacre‘, where he voices his opinion on the matter.
Jurgen Habermas conceptualised the ideal public sphere alike an 18th century coffeehouse, but in the age of the internet, which public sphere are you apart of?
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