Mom’s Cheat Sheet: The Biggest YouTube Stars for Kids and Teens
by Laura Lambert
The other night, my 7-year-old was quiet for a lot longer than she’s normally quiet — so I clearly had to investigate. Turns out she’d unearthed my husband’s old headphones and was thoroughly engrossed watching Kidz Bop on YouTube. I watched with her for a second, deemed it tame enough, and started to go back to whatever I was doing when it dawned on me that I was far too late to this party, and that I needed to get my YouTube act together, stat.
What are kids and teens watching on YouTube these days? Turns out, a lot of really random stuff.
What’s the big deal about YouTube?
YouTube is way too big to ignore, even if you’re a stolid Gen X-er like me. Last year, Variety commissioned a study and found that, according to teens 13-18, a bunch of YouTube stars — Smosh, PewDiePie — had way more cache than megastars like Kate Perry. Yes, bigger than Katy Perry.
How do they do it? Often, just by speaking to the camera. They feel accessible. And, if you’re a steady watcher, you quickly feel connected.
Who’s (meant to be) watching it?
While YouTube is officially meant for the 13+ crowd, we all know more than one toddler who can easily navigate to every known episode of Team Umizoomi.
Who’s big? What are they doing?
There is no singular YouTube aesthetic. These homegrown celebs are all over the map.
YouTube subscribers: 39.2 million
The almost unspellable Felix Arvid Ulf Kjelberg — a.k.a. PewDiePie — of Sweden proffers goofball comedy and Let’s Play video game commentary — and for that he earned nearly $8.5 million dollars last year and will soon be coming out with a book.
Smosh
YouTube subscribers: 21.1 million
Comedy duo Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, who topped Variety’s list, do improv, make funny shorts, and create viral videos — and make quite the comfortable living doing so ($4.5 million annually).
DisneyCollector
YouTube subscribers: 5.2 million
Melissa Lima is queen of the toy unboxing video.
Bethany Mota
YouTube subscribers: 9.4 million
Fashionistas love a haul video, and lifestyle vlogger Bethany Mota has been delivering since 2009. The Mota empire is built on sweet, upbeat videos about fashion, make-up, hair, DIY — and even her first music single. She’s since crossed over with appearances on “Project Runway” and “Dancing with the Stars” and was named one of the 25 most influential teens last year by Time magazine.
Michelle Phan
YouTube subscribers: 7.9 million
Any Sephora-loving tween or teen is intimately familiar with Phan’s epic make-up tutorials — including the one where she transforms herself into Barbie. (Should you want to check Phan out for yourself, in a non-web way, take a look at her New York Times bestseller, Make Up: Your Life Guide to Beauty, Style, and Success — Online and Off.)
YouTube subscribers: 2.1 million
Jenn McAllister started her YouTube channel in 2009, at the tender age of 12. Two million subscribers later, she now has a brand-new book, Really Professional Internet Person, a funny, confessional how-to, of sorts, for creating and navigating Internet fame. Check out “Things They Don’t Teach You in High School” and “A Letter to My Younger Self”.
Miranda Sings
YouTube subscribers: 4.9 million
I am so confused — but I also can’t stop watching. And I think that’s the point? Actress Colleen Ballinger Evans’s smeared lipstick, blustery malapropisms, and wacky music videos are totally insane. (Just watch her do the Nae Nae!) And while it’s not necessarily my brand of funny, I am seriously in the minority. Her book, Self-Help, is written in Miranda’s voice. Extra credit: She’s married to another YouTube sensation, Joshua David Evans.
EvanTubeHD
YouTube Subscribers: 1.9 million
A father-son duo are behind this highly produced channel that offers family-friendly content. Nine-year-old Evan, his younger sister Jillian, and his parents star in videos that feature toy unboxing, toy reviews, product challenges, science experiments, and pretty much anything else kids are into. All this fun is reportedly generating around $1.3 million per year. The family also runs a second channel, EvanTubeRAW, that has nearly 1 million followers and includes behind-the-scenes footage of video production, projects, and national publicity appearances.
What else should parents know?
YouTube is seriously the Wild West of content — so you really can’t be as naive as I’ve been this whole time. (There’s a whole genre called YouTube Poop — YTP — that starts off like a normal show, then gets really off-color really fast). You gotta get in there, watch, click, and marvel and at the weird, wild stuff people make and consume.
You can also…
- Start with the YouTube for Kids app, aimed at littles age 7 and up.
- In YouTube, turn on “safety mode” which helps to block NSFW or iffy content.
- Create playlists of parent-approved content.
- Don’t recreate the wheel — there are great guides to YouTube for parents, including this one from Common Sense Media.
What to ask your kids:
“Hey, whatcha watchin’?” is a really good start. Or, “What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen?” And then, as Common Sense Media and just about every other expert in the book suggests, watch with them. Teach them to be discerning. Learn about their sense of humor. Let them take you on their ride. The more you make it a shared experience, the more you’ll know about the media they’re consuming — and the more touch points you’ll share.