YouTube, one of the most downloaded apps in the world, is losing its touch. Many would argue that the “Golden Age'' of Youtube has passed and that the app is spiraling downward. In recent reviews, there are several complaints regarding unskippable ads, unnecessary censorship, and views getting deleted. Despite YouTube’s endless amount of updates and changes to its algorithm, many users are still left unsatisfied with its current version. An infamous new trend seemed to evolve with the shift of the platform’s original purpose: cycles of YouTubers rise to fame, peak at a certain point, and then decide to take a break from the app. The safe haven for uncontained creativity has transformed into a large money-making corporation.

Several of YouTube’s original content creators have opened up about their discontent with the website, among whom is Ryan Higa. Kicking off his Youtube journey with lip-sync videos and later writing his own songs and comedy sketches, Higa’s channel, NigaHiga, became the most subscribed channel in 2009 and remained so for 677 days. But as Youtube progressed towards its monetization policy, Higa’s content shifted in order for his channel to stay afloat. In his video “Why I haven't been posting recently…,” Higa describes how in the beginning of his career his sole focus when making videos was to maximize quality.

“I started in a time where you could not make money off of YouTube and the videos, so the fun part was always trying to get better than the last video and just keep improving because the better your content was the more YouTube would promote it,” Higa said.

However, as YouTube changed its algorithm, creators were forced to modify their content as well. Longer videos were being recommended more often and getting more watch time, meaning that in order to earn money, YouTubers had to meet the 10 minute mark. Instead of creating the content they wanted to make, YouTubers are now practically forced to conform to new trends. If they don’t discuss a certain hot topic or use a certain thumbnail, their videos are in danger of being overlooked by viewers and the algorithm.

YouTube also came out with new policies that obviously favor more popular content creators over smaller, newer channels. In 2017, YouTube adjusted its Partner Program, which gives creators greater access to YouTube resources and features. To be an eligible member of the program, a channel needs a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 valid public watch hours. The stricter requirements were fueled by certain YouTubers posting inappropriate content while still earning money off those videos.

“We’re making changes to address the issues that affected our community in 2017 so we can prevent bad actors from harming the inspiring and original creators around the world who make their living on YouTube. A big part of that effort will be strengthening our requirements for monetization so spammers, impersonators, and other bad actors can’t hurt our ecosystem or take advantage of you, while continuing to reward those who make our platform great.” announced YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, Neal Mohan and Chief Business Officer, Robert Kyncl.

Felix Kjellberg, better known as Pewdiepie, has publicly criticized the new policy in his video “Is YouTube Screwing Over Small Channels?” Being the first individual content creator to cross the 100 million subscriber threshold, Kjellberg points out that the smaller channels are suffering due to the mistakes of more popular YouTubers’. Without registering in the program, the channels are unable to make money as their videos are not monetized. Although the barrier to enter the program may seem low, the wait-time for approval after applying is 30 days. During this time, the creators aren’t profiting from their videos, and the wait can be even longer since there have been complaints about not being monetized until months later.

Besides his critique on Youtube’s updated Partner Program, the Swedish Youtuber is also known for holding a grudge against YouTube’s copyright strike system. Kjellberg repeatedly gets copyright striked for the use of other “original content,” but he notes that on many occasions, he references the content in order to communicate an idea better for his audience. He expresses his frustration towards the contradicting factors of the system, saying that borrowing original content has always been a common phenomenon on YouTube. In his video “STOP DOING THIS - Copyright Strike Criticism etc,” Kjellberg gives his own reasoning as to why borrowing original content should not be the target of copyright strikes.

“I don’t know exactly what the percentage is, but I would say 90 percent of content on the Internet — or at least YouTube or Twitch — isn’t a hundred percent original content,” said Kjellberg. “It’s commentary, it’s reaction, it’s review, … it’s gameplay. People tell me all the time ‘Oh just make original content’ — Well, guess what? Every single gaming channel is not original content. They’re reacting to someone else’s video game. It’s someone else’s content and they don’t own the rights to it. It’s just the same way with other reaction [videos]. But it’s fair use because it’s transformative work, because you’re adding your own commentary to it.”

Further frustrations with the social media platform originate from YouTube’s decision to unnecessarily suspend accounts. Markiplier, a popular gamer on the platform, has complained about the issue in his recent video titled “YouTube has a huge problem…” Hundreds of his fans’ accounts were banned during one of his live streams when he asked them to vote in a poll through emotes. The unexplained and unfair suspension caused for more discussions to arise concerning censorship. Accounts posting inappropriate content seem to go by unscathed while innocent channels are being suspended for no clear reason.

With all the issues the new YouTube algorithm causes, the creators are spending more time being cautious about the technicalities of their channels and videos. Many feel like they are straying further away from their objective, which can sometimes be as simple as sharing their stories and entertaining their audience. YouTube was once a creative outlet, but now it's falling out of touch with the original creators, leading to its downfall. And without the organizers realizing these issues, there might come a time when the biggest platform starts to drown among its competitors — and one day without us realizing, it might just become a sunken tale of the past.