Communication, Education and Cyber Culture: Baudrillard's Consumerism in the YouTube Generation

Luis Miguel Cardoso, Maria Joao Nogueira

Abstract: In 2006, Time magazine considered the YouTube platform the best invention of the year, and considered it a space where citizens can participate actively, commenting and exposing their criticism and personal tastes. Youtube has become a phenomenon of popularity and its users, the youtubers, have become opinion leaders capable of moving the masses. Today, society is consumerist and buys many products unnecessarily. Youtubers are, in this sense, one of the opinion leaders that lead the community to acquire products that they present in their channels. Jean Baudrillard is one of the authors who speaks of this problematic in his book Consumption Society that is the theoretical basis for our study.

Keywords: Communication, Cyberculture, Baudrillard, YouTube