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GaldraChevaliere wrote

Tl;dr Stop trying to give them 2-hour long theory heavy sermons. They're children.

Longform, Felix is successful because he presents a polished but intimate (in the sense of mostly unscripted and with viewer interaction) show in small, digestible chunks that are high energy and loud as shit, which keeps the average 12 year old's attention. Every successful youtuber that appeals to the child demographic does so through that same pattern, whatever they end up using that platform for. You've got folk who try to be genuine good influences like TheOdd1sOut, and you've got your PewDiePies and your Logan Pauls, and they're using the exact same strategy. Be loud, be dynamic, let the kids play with you.

None of these folk ever present themselves as authorities, kids fucking hate that. They always invariably position themselves as kindly big brothers, the fun cool kid at school who sits with you despite being like two grades ahead because you're just so much cooler than the other 4th grade dweebs. Felix never positions himself as someone telling the kids what to do, it's a hell of a lot more insidious than that. He's not out there telling them with utmost sincerity they need to secure a future for the white race. He's telling them that it's a game, it's fun, and it's fun to do rude things in a game because it's all in jest, and who'd get mad over a little teasing? He escalates that into slurs being fun words you say at people you're mad at, but only as a joke! No, never say it to someone for real, he'll say, but he won't sit down and discuss it with the kids because then it's a lecture, and lectures aren't fun. But everything being a game? Being able to excuse anything as just a funny short temper in a tough match-up or a joke meant to upset the adults for a laugh? That's fun. Kids can engage with that.

When you've got them thinking it's all in good fun, anyone who tells them to stop looks like the killjoy. They're the boring nerd who studies all day and who never wants to go out and get in trouble with you, or who will snitch on you to your dad if you go out without them anyway. If everyone's kidding, what's the harm? And when someone points out the harm, aren't they just the individual who's too sensitive, isn't it their fault that the game got too far in the first place? Kids want to be cool. They want to be liked by their peers, they want respect and they're shaping their personalities around what they think will get it for them. That's why there's cliques, that's why there's fandoms, that's why there's nerds vs jocks. They want to look cool and someone has to be the uncool, the other to be positioned against. Pewdiepie and his peers exploit that by positioning his cool, fun "army" (kids fucking love organization as long as they don't have to do anything in it) against the square SJWs who target their poor big brother who just wants to have a little fun and take them to fun places. So his detractors and anyone who sounds like them becomes the enemy, but it's still ultimately a game until someone gets really hurt, right?

Kids aren't assholes by nature. But they are usually impulsive and insensitive until an adult or the consequences of their actions teach them not to be. Most of them will cut the shit, they'll grow up when they beat a kid up on the playground and see them crying and realize "oh I fucked up". Usually, anyway. We still have to get shitty adults from somewhere. But online, they're taught to believe that they're insulated from consequences. It doesn't matter if Rafiq is scared to play with the guild anymore because Johnny keeps calling him a sandnggr, he's still right down the street and won't say anything to Johnny at school because he's afraid he'll get beaten up, or god forbid, Johnny's dad finds out they hang out at all. It doesn't matter if Lina drops out of all her social circles or hurts herself and gets the internet taken away because her "friends" keep telling her she's really a boy and gross and disgusting for being different, or her parents see the logs and start abusing her to beat the faggot out of her. What does Johnny or Sally care about that? She lives miles away and it's not like they see it happen. She just had a funny overreaction and dropped, it's not their fault, right? If kids don't have to think about it, they don't learn from it. Felix and Logan thrive on encouraging them not to. After all, they don't want to ruin the fun either, do they?

If you want to get kids to listen to you, you have to engage with them like they're kids. They're not tiny adults, they don't want to be tiny adults, and treating them like tiny adults isn't the same as respecting them. You need to be entertaining, engaging and as unlike a parent or a youth pastor as possible. You need to level with them without condescending and you need to keep things short enough that they don't get bored or feel trapped into listening to you. Don't talk about the fucking revolution, they don't care. (Teenagers, however, absofuckinglutely do). Talk about social issues that affect them. Talk about bullying, get a little personal sometimes and share embarassing stories about yourself. Talk about environmental issues or social issues and appeal to the things they care about instead of broad, theoretical approaches. You're not getting anywhere telling Johnny that he's enacting systemic oppression on Rafiq and Lina and that it's a function of the society he lives in. But you can get a better shot of reaching him by telling him how certain words and behaviors hurt his friends, make them not want to be his friends anymore, and how they degrade him too by making him act like the same bullies that pick on him at school for being the nerdy kid. You can teach kids how to trust their community by actually being someone they can trust without looking like someone who'd punish them like any other adult for fucking up. And they're gonna fuck up.

Because they're kids.

18

shanc wrote (edited )

Tl;dr Stop trying to give them 2-hour long theory heavy sermons. They're children.

tbh this is also good advice when reaching adults.

Last week a comrade was v disappointed that I hadn't read a link she'd sent me the week before. It was 20,000+ words long. I have work and a kid. I don't want to spend my evening reading pages and pages of text on my laptop. What I do want is a new Contra video to watch on my train ride home, or a podcast with a few comrades shooting the shit and dropping in some theory now and then, or a short article that I can read on my break.

Not much to ask really. The fash have tonnes of stuff like that. PewDiePie is just the tip of the iceberg

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RedEmmaSpeaks wrote

In addition to the "no sermons," you should follow the lead of texts like "The Little Red Schoolbook." It was first published in the 70's but remains very relevant today and gods, how I wish I had this book when I was an angry teenager. I had to learn the stuff it teaches by experiment.

The book kind of takes the tone of the cool older sibling, like your big brother or sister who gives you the kind of advice Mom and Dad can't. Mom and Dad may mean well, but their experiences are far removed from their kid's, whereas the cool older sibling can more clearly remember what it was like. The cool older sibling is also less likely to be a sermonizing dick about what you're going through. Granted, I'm aware not every older sibling is cool, but I believe I've made my point.

Anyway, kids would probably easy relate and enjoy stuff in the tone of the book's opening.

Grown-ups do have a lot of power over you: they are real tigers. But in the long run they can never control you completely: they are paper tigers. Tigers are frightening. But if they’re made of paper they can’t eat anyone. You believe too much in the power of grown-ups, and not enough in your own capabilities.

Children and grown-ups are not natural enemies. But grown-ups themselves have little real control over their lives. They often feel trapped by economic and political forces. Children suffer as a result of this. Cooperation is possible when grown-ups have realised this and have started to do something about it.

In addition, just point out that there's nothing edgy or world-changing about being a dick. Anyone can be an asshole, but it takes real courage to care about things and try to fight for an actual cause, rather than just triggering UR libs!!!!!1!!!

Heck while schools tend to focus on adult leaders in political movements like MLK, Jr. and the like, the real truth is that the vast majority of civil rights marchers or anyone working for a progressive cause, were young people, teens and twenty-somethings putting themselves on the line for something they believed in. But again, history is taught as strictly being made by upper-class White Adults. Geez, I wonder why...:eyeroll:

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Exlurker wrote

This reminds me why I hate the 'Virgin vs Chad' template so much, it's just a bunch of people who denigrate themselves sucking up to their 'Cool big Bro' who doesn't even exist!

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rot wrote

this meme is accurate as fuck the left is way too acedemic and sometimes weirdly puritanical

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Fossidarity wrote (edited )

Expanding on this idea a bit more I think there's a lot of room to create engaging content for kids from a way better perspective.

There's so many things that could be made "cool"; for example fighting against authority ("why you shouldn't listen to your parents and teachers"), illegalism (graffiti, civil disobedience, etc.), anti-racism (fuck anyone who tells you you can't play with foreign kids), antifa, etc.

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n_n wrote

With puppets. :D

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ArielleAndromeda wrote (edited )

Lots of memes as well as leftists that do things other than talk about leftism. Pewdiepie is a video game streamer first and foremost and that is the gateway.

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rot wrote

that's why so many reactionaries love him, he's not an alt-right or fascist youtuber he plays videogames but will let a racial slur or link to a fascist channel slip in occasionally . it gives them a cover

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Asshat_Anarchist wrote

Here's what we need to do.

4chan started out as an anime board. It wasn't political by design.

fascists noticed it was EXTREMELY anonymous and already had people using slurs occasionally.

What we need to do is make a site like Raddle have a non-political Draw and use it for a lot more than just talking about theory. There are probably less than 1,000 people on this site. It's still young we can do this.

0

Snowy wrote

Who is PedDiePie?I watched a few videos of him, they are boring and extremely attention whoreish...

0