Introduction

This paper explores how the social media platform, YouTube empowers online educators by creating learning communities and democratising access to technical knowledge, through participatory content creation, algorithm-driven discoverability and collaborative audience interaction. This aligns with the Social Media, Communities and Networks steam, as it examines new forms of community engagement. As of February 2025, YouTube is the second most popular social media platform in the world, with over 2.5 billion monthly users (Statista, 2025). Since its launch in 2005, it has transformed the educational landscape and has become one of the most influential educational platforms online. YouTube emerged through the introduction of Web 2.0 technologies which redefined how people engage with online content. Online media no longer became just broadcast, it allowed for users to begin to interact with the content in a whole different way (Kim, 2012). It has provided amateur creators and professionals alike the opportunity to post their content online. As the platform grew in popularity, more and more people started to see the reach of widespread audiences, therefore creating an entirely different way that educational content could be delivered as well as be consumed. This shift has had a profound impact on the way people around the world learn, as it removes geographical, financial and institutional barriers to education. YouTube has democratised access to technical knowledge on a global scale. Educational content can now be shared with individuals in remote areas, from low-income households and non-conventional learning environments. YouTube content is often delivered in more engaging and digestible formats than traditional lectures. The platform is shared with amateur and professional educators who use it to share tutorials, lectures and insights into niches subject matter content. This had led to the emergence of a unique ecosystem and online culture that promotes participation, community and the lifelong discovery of knowledge.

Breaking Barriers to Education

YouTube has played a pivotal role in democratising educational content by breaking down traditional barriers that have limited access to learning. One of the most significant examples it addresses is geographical location. Unlike formal educational institutions that typically require physical attendance to classrooms, YouTube has provided students access to high quality learning materials from virtually anywhere in the world that has an internet connection (Maynard, 2021). This can be especially beneficial for remote communities or rural areas that have limited access to these types of educational institutions. In addition to geographical liberty, YouTube also alleviates financial barriers that could otherwise prevent individuals from seeking further education. Traditional education streams require tuition fees, textbook associated costs and other fees related to settings up the course. YouTube, however, is free to access and majority of the content produced on the platform does not cost the user any form of currency. Therefore, as a result people from low-income households or developing regions are no longer excluded from the ability to acquire knowledge and develop industry sort after skills. This can have a positive shift for communities with social economics or systemic issues such as lack of finances or overly populated schools that are understaffed. Where these types of issues hinder learning outcomes for individuals, access to YouTube for education purposes can genuinely transform people’s lives by offering tutorials, lectures and industry related skills that can fill in the gaps neglected by in access to educational institutions (Maynard, 2021). Furthermore, educational videos on YouTube are not just accessible, they are often more engaging than traditional lecture formats due to the creators offering compelling visuals, storytelling and real-world examples to enforce and enhance learners understanding. These videos often catering to contemporary attention spans by being well edited and elicit conversations via the comment section of the video, allowing users to further connect to the content provided.

Algorithmic Visibility and Engagement

YouTube content creators, commonly referred to as “YouTubers” are typically aware of how the platform’s algorithm influence can help visibility and ultimately the success of their videos when being posted (Olsson, 2022). Knowing this, the creators can then tailor their content to align with what the algorithm favours in order to maximise the reach to audiences. The YouTube algorithm itself is a complex, data-oriented system composed of a series of computational processes designed to recommend content that would have the highest appeal to consumers. Rather than simply recommending videos based on popularity or similarities, the algorithm takes in to account a range of platform usage indicators to personalise the feed for the individual user. According to the research by Kirdemir and Agarwal (2022) the algorithm operates by modelling user behaviour metrics such as their previous liked videos, shares, comments and similarities to other videos watched. Therefore, creating a loop cycle in which content that receives more interaction from users, is more likely to get promoted by the algorithm. Which in turn often leads to further engagement and visibility on the platform. As a result of this, YouTubers are often incentivised to produce or adapt strategies that sync with the algorithms preferences. This includes several things from increasing production value of videos, spending significant effort creating attention grabbing video thumbnails, naming videos that resonate the best with audiences, as well as optimising the video’s length. Creators also include segments to their video for call to action for their audiences to like, subscribe and leave a comment to appease this engagement loop of the algorithm. How this relates in terms of educational content, YouTube educators are then forced to create higher quality and relevant videos to compete. This indirectly elevates the standard of video being produced for the user to consume. Traditional educational institutes have no such competition, and often the lecturer is highly knowledgeable in the subject matter, however, is unable to produce the same level of dynamically rich material, often leaving students feeling disconnected from the educational content being provided.  

YouTube vs Traditional Education

While YouTube has proven itself to be an invaluable educational resource for learning, in terms of online accessibility and range of educational content. It still lacks formal recognition that is typically associated with traditional types of tertiary studies. One of the fundamental limitations of platforms like YouTube, there is no measurable and standardisation for the learning outcomes from watching the videos. Unlike tertiary formats of study that are national recognised and come with an accredited certification, YouTube does not lead to anything tangible that can be recognised by industry. Most professional industries still require some form of formal education as a prerequisite before hiring. Despite YouTube’s superiority in terms of educational content quality and engagement, the platform continues to be viewed as a supplementary learning tool, rather than a substitute for formal education. This does not mean however that the YouTube platform is valued any less. It can still offer knowledge in niche fields that are industry relevant. Some of these skills such as specific software languages are often not even touched upon in conventional curriculum or are sometimes too new to have made it into the course content yet. YouTube often makes the better choice for self-directed learners or industry professionals looking to stay relevant in the ever-evolving digital landscape (Greeves & Oz, 2024). YouTube is also used or referred to within educational settings. According to Sherer and Shea (2011), educators are often using and referring to YouTube videos as an academic tool to explain to students about complex concepts. “Increasingly being used by educators as a pedagogic resource for everything from newsworthy events from around the world to “slice-of-life” videos used to teach students within an English as a Second Language course. From instructional videos to an online space to share student authored media” (Duffy, 2008, p. 124). These examples show that while YouTube may not produce any formal accreditations, it can still serve as an additional way in which people can increase their knowledge alongside conventional study mediums.

The Power of Participation and Community

One of the primary features of YouTube that sets it apart from conventional institutions, is the conduit for communication between content creators and their respective audiences. YouTube facilitates an open dialog with the consumers of the content and the person who created it. Viewers are no longer just passive watchers, they can post comments, ask questions about the content, offer feedback to the creators and offer suggestions to cover future topics. This participatory culture helps to create conversation around a shared interest. Scholars such as Danah Boyd (2010) refer to these types of platforms as network publics. These are communities that are both constructed and maintained on technology networks and promote shared social practices where active participants engage with the content dynamically. Many educational related YouTube channels develop strong levels of trust with their audiences, by consistently producing high quality, engaging content. These microcelebrities often embed themselves as trustworthy, relatable figures, with their combination of expert knowledge along with personable demeanours which make complex topics more palatable for the average person. One prominent figure to use an example is the YouTuber Derek Muller from the channel ‘Veritasium’. His channel has amassed a following of over 17 million subscribers. Derek often breaks down complex subject matter into approachable, well researched explanations and the videos released are typically well produced and polished. The channel has established itself as a reputable and trustworthy source for scientific, physics grounded educational knowledge. These videos are often well received by the respective audience, leading to spin off content on other channels referencing his videos. This trust relationship between creator and audience shows the strength of community engagement overtime. Communities can offer people a sense of belonging around scientific curiosity. People who participate in discussions help to reinforce one another’s learning and help to deepen scientific expertise. These interactions become central to communities in practice and sustained mutual engagement (Farnsworth, Kleanthous, & Wenger-Trayner, 2016). YouTube is not only a platform for people to share videos, but is a thriving environment filled with leaners, educators and decentralised democratised educational content.

Conclusion: YouTube’s Role in Future Learning

YouTube has undeniably redefined the online educational landscape by offering a complementary method of learning alongside conventional teaching and learning. As this paper has demonstrated, the YouTube platform has defined itself as more that just a social media platform, but as the go to place for educational content that offers participatory driven communities, algorithm-based recommendations to video content and high quality and engaging learning experiences. It has transformed the online learning ecosystem by breaking down entry barriers related to geography, financial cost and institutional blockers. YouTube has democratised access to knowledge and has empowered the online educational community to openly share content, cost free to billions of people around the world. This shift of democratised knowledge has opened opportunities for people who may have once be systematically excluded from traditional educational systems, enabling everyone to have the ability to learn and gain industry knowledge and seek relevant skills. In some cases, even influencing or moulding the direction of discourse through means of participation. While YouTube does not offer any accreditations for interacting with the course material, it still serves value to its users complimentary to traditional tertiary education, as it offers niche, relevant knowledge that is engaging to learners. YouTubes algorithms also help by suggesting content to the user that they may find interesting based on their watch history and platform engagement metrics. In conclusion, YouTube empowers both the educational creators and the consumer or learners by fostering a culture of collaboration, community and knowledge discovery. Since YouTube’s emergence to the current day, I imagine as the platform evolves, its role in shaping how we study, learn and connect with knowledge with only become better as the community matures.   

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