Now at Home, People Bring Their Offline Passions Online With YouTube

For many months, we’ve been exploring how people around the world look to online video to adjust to life during a global pandemic. From finding new ways to connect with people while social distancing to learning how to replicate activities they would normally outsource, we’ve seen people gravitate to YouTube to cope with and adapt to life at home. And now, with the world a few more months into the Covid-19 crisis, we continue to see new behaviors emerge that go beyond simply addressing daily essentials. With more than 65% of viewers saying that YouTube content feels like real life, it’s no surprise that people are using the platform to access and explore the things they’re passionate about while forced to stay at home. [kickout id="1"] Here are three specific ways that we’re seeing people turn to YouTube to experience things they love during this time. Indulging in the arts While springtime in the Northern Hemisphere signals the start of music festival season, much of this year’s slate was canceled or postponed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Almost immediately, livestreams emerged as a digital replacement to alleviate fan disappointment, boost morale and give people a way to continue enjoying their favorite music, along with many other performing arts. [kickout id="2"] In mid-April, hundreds of thousands of live viewers around the globe tuned in to #OneWorldTogetherAtHome, a star-studded concert series produced by social movement Global Citizen and the World Health Organization. Other organizations have taken to offering free live broadcasts on a regular basis, too. The Seattle Symphony, for instance, streams performances several days per week, and National Public Radio has evolved its popular, intimate Tiny Desk concert series into an at-home format. Even the legendary Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow has joined in, rebroadcasting its most popular past ballet and opera performances live. And it isn’t just prominent institutions making live music and performing arts available virtually. Since March 15, more than 1,500 videos with “virtual choir” in the title have been uploaded to YouTube, earning over 9 million views. Take London’s Camden Voices choir as proof. Its rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” has gained over 1.5 million views in one month’s time. Keeping the faith Restrictions around mass gatherings have also had a significant impact on how and where people worship and practice spirituality. As churches, temples and mosques around the world closed, many religious leaders took their services online as a way to continue to connect with the faithful while limiting human interaction. And the faithful have embraced this new digital approach. [kickout id="3"] During March, for example, when Pope Francis began livestreaming mass from the Vatican, Vatican News more than doubled its combined lifetime subscriber base across its YouTube channels. And in early April, millions of viewers joined livestreamed services in observance of Passover and Easter. On Easter Sunday alone, religious livestreams in Brazil, Mexico and the U.S. represented over 30% of each country’s top 100 most popular livestreams. In fact, religious services have been among the biggest livestream events on Sundays in these countries since social distancing took effect. With Ramadan now underway, time will tell what other communal rituals will occur virtually. Connecting over shared interests The opportunity to venture out and connect with others who share our interests—whether it’s book club, cooking class, or cafe culture—has all but vanished during this pandemic. As a result, we’ve seen an uptick in viewers turning to YouTube for a temporary alternative. [kickout id="4"] One way that people are connecting with like-minded communities is through “Day in the Life” videos, which allow everyone from college students to celebrities to share what a typical day is like for them. Uploads for this genre have increased more than 85% since March 15 compared with the start of the year. Since social distancing restrictions have been in place, we’ve also seen a subgenre emerge that exposes daily life under quarantine. Videos with “Day in the Life” and “quarantine” in the title crossed a milestone of 100 daily uploads by March 21. Another way people are connecting to interest-based communities is by replicating their community’s rituals at home. Cafe culture is a great example. For those craving a visit to their local barista, videos about specialty coffee drinks are providing a fix. Beginning in mid-March, the “dalgona” whipped coffee trend took off on YouTube, through tutorials showing how to prepare the cafe-style treat using just three ingredients (instant coffee powder, sugar and hot water) and a hand mixer. Between March 15 and April 6, the average view of videos with “dalgona” in the title increased by more than 5,000%. While growing in popularity worldwide, this trend is particularly hot in Asia, which houses many of the top videos on the topic. As we’ve adapted the way we live and do the things we love, online video has emerged as a resource for keeping passions alive. Whether it’s enjoying a virtual choir performance, participating in a Mediterranean cooking class or connecting virtually for daily prayers, video is helping a world under lockdown feel a little less restricted. Gina Shalavi is a product marketing manager for YouTube at Google.