The rise and fall of StudyTube: hustle culture and TikTok consumerism

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In 2018, Sutdytube was one of the fastest-growing niches on YouTube. A year later, creators like Ruby Granger, Jack Edwards and Jade Bowler were making national headlines which hailed them as beacons of hope for students hoping to improve their grades everywhere. Fast forward to the pandemic years and the popularity of 'study with me' videos reached a popularity that none of the teens posting study tip videos in 2015 could have imagined.
But with the study with me boom came increasingly extreme content, chief among them, the real-time 12-hour study with me stream.
Elsewhere on StudyTok, the TikTok studying niche, "study inspiration" videos began raking in millions of views, despite offering little to no actual advice, but rather functioning as cute and aesthetic vehicles for the consumption of stationery and studying gadgets.
In this video, I trace the history of the online study community, from its beginnings to its hustle culture-fuelled peak and its current consumer trend-based form.

timestamps

00:00 - intro
00:43 - what is studytube?
1:48 - studytube and hustle culture
4:55 - the origins of the online studying community
6:09 - first gen studytube: the relatable study buddy
8:17 - second gen studytube: the 12-hour work day
11:04 - when the criticism goes too far
12:25 - studytube and mindfulness
14:25 - the importance of "how to study" content
15:59 - studytok and overconsumption

videos referenced:
Alice Cappelle: study with me videos have gone too far... (hustle culture and studytube)
   • Видео  
Tiffany Ferg: The Impossible Standards of College Admissions
   • The Impossible Standards of College A...  
The Workload of College is Overwhelming
   • The Workload of College is Overwhelming  
EllisJ: The Problem with James Scholz and Study With Me YouTube
   • The Problem with James Scholz and Stu...  
Mariana Vieira: the studytube community + consumerism // an honest conversation
   • the studytube community + consumerism...  

Studytubers mentioned (in no particular order - also keep in mind some of them no longer make study content):
Jack Edwards, Ruby Granger, UnJaded Jade, James Scholz, Study with Merve.

Articles and resources mentioned:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StudyTube
https://inews.co.uk/news/education/st...
https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k9qv...
https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-494...
https://theorbital.co.uk/studytube-he...
https://thestray.org/2021/04/02/im-so...
https://studybreaks.com/tvfilm/studyt...
https://www.trillmag.com/life/social-...
https://www.theguardian.com/education...
https://glasgowguardian.co.uk/2020/12...

the song used in the intro is William Tell Overture (by Rossini)
Licence: YouTube Audio Library

As always, thank you so much for watching and I hope to see you in the next one xx

#studytube #studytok #commentary