The Drama of Metrics: Status, Spectacle, and Resistance Among YouTube Drama Creators

Abstract

How does it feel to have one’s online worth and status be based almost exclusively on metrics? We examine this question through a qualitative study of YouTube “drama” channels. Drama creators cover the conflicts and scandals taking place among top YouTube celebrities. As producers of meta-commentary, they often rely on metrics as indicators of influence and celebrity on YouTube, thus constituting a relevant site to examine the connection between social media metrics and status. Based on interviews with English-speaking drama creators, we report three main findings. First, creators have a double orientation toward YouTube, which they understand as a site of both economic opportunities and tight-knit relationships. Second, the meanings that creators attach to metrics—their own and the ones of top YouTubers—reflect this double orientation: for them, metrics correlate with economic revenue and social status. Due to this central and multifaceted role of metrics, we find that traffic numbers can turn into a spectacle of their own for drama creators. Third, even in a context in which metrics are central, we identify several distancing strategies on the part of creators. We conclude by discussing whether—and why—resistance to metrics can be found everywhere.