So, What?

To finish the postings on this blog, I will toy with the significance of all of the statements made throughout all of the previous postings. So, how true are the analyses of each given video clip? Each clip, on its own, says something different about American culture and the possibilities for YouTube to reflect different things about America. Singular instances of certain phenomena are always available, so how well do the claims made about each clip really reflect everything out there on the internet? It is impossible for one to examine every video on YouTube, so can conclusions about YouTube really be made? An analysis can use a sample size of videos to draw deductions, but how valid are these conclusions? The stipulations formed from the analysis of a phenomenon as broad as YouTube are indeed valid, based on the sample size, but may not be suitable for extrapolations about YouTube as a whole. This statement is supported by the evidence that on YouTube itself, many videos are posted “in response” to others. For example, two videos may be assuming completely different claims, and so which one ought to be used to draw conclusions about American culture?

The inherent lack of similarity between all YouTube videos makes it tough for everything witnessed on YouTube to assume validity and truth. So, is it bad that not everything we see on YouTube or, consequently, can conclude about YouTube, is true? I claim that this very characteristic of YouTube makes it a realer representation of American culture. Within our societies, there is often dispute, debate, and conversation between members of opposing groups, people with different ideas, children with different views of the world. The lack of commonality amongst YouTube videos, and the fact that they can be interpreted in so many different ways, is demonstrative of America’s individualism and respect for each other’s voices. There is a collaborative spirit within a competitive one, where diversity is the norm, and assumptions, conclusions cannot always be made.