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- YouTube: A Transparent Platform? The Hidden Truth
• YouTube User and Video Statistics Google Doesn't Reveal
- Google reveals 1 billion hours of daily viewing time on TV, but keeps monthly user numbers and the total number of videos secret.
- Estimates suggest that 1 in 3 people worldwide use YouTube monthly, with an average monthly viewing time of approximately 29 hours.
• Random URL Generation Scraping Method
- The research team developed a scraping tool that generates random 11-digit unique strings after "youtube.com/watch?v=" to check for the existence of the corresponding video.
- This process was used to estimate the number of actually existing videos, which is estimated to be over 140 billion as of 2024.
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2. Astonishing Facts about Videos and Viewing Statistics
• Total Number of Videos and Viewing Time
- If the average monthly viewing time for mobile app users is 29 hours, and considering 2.5 billion YouTube users, this equates to humanity watching for 8.3 million years.
- The annual viewing time comes to a figure close to 100 million years, hundreds of times longer than the entire history of humankind.
• Video Views and Length
- The research shows that the average number of views for a YouTube video is approximately 41, which is quite low, and 4% of all videos have zero views.
- The average length of the analyzed videos is 64 seconds, and over one-third are less than 33 seconds long.
- 38% of videos are completely unedited, and over 40% consist of music-only content.
• Content Creation and Revenue Structure
- Only about 0.21% of all videos have monetization (sponsorships, ads), and less than 4% contain messages encouraging likes and comments.
- It is noteworthy that videos uploaded by ordinary users far outnumber those created by professionals or influencers.
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3. YouTube's Ecosystem: Language and Content Diversity
• User and Language Distribution
- English content is the most common on YouTube, but it accounts for less than 30% of all videos.
- YouTube, with its mix of diverse languages and cultures, plays a significant role in global communication and information dissemination.
• Content Consumption Patterns
- Influencer videos attract hundreds of millions of viewers, but most videos are considered "niche" content that receives little attention.
- While videos uploaded by "ordinary users" constitute the majority, user engagement such as views, comments, and likes remains minimal.
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4. YouTube: Beyond a Simple Video Platform
• Role as Public Infrastructure
- YouTube goes beyond simple video streaming, serving as public infrastructure, such as broadcasting local government meetings and acting as an important online archive.
- Considering its role in disseminating information and ideas across society, ongoing discussions on transparency and regulation are necessary.
• Transparency and Algorithm Issues
- Google does not disclose basic information about platform operation, while the internal workings, such as algorithm recommendations, remain a mystery.
- Experts express concerns that this lack of transparency could harm overall societal trust and public accountability.
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Summary
Over 20 years, YouTube has shaped global culture and serves as an internet archive, yet basic information about its internal statistics, algorithms, and video ecosystem remains a "secret" guarded by Google. The figures and facts revealed through scraping research suggest that YouTube is an important piece of public infrastructure, going beyond simple entertainment. We hope for greater transparency and regulatory discussions in the future.
*Source URL:
https://www.bbc.com/korean/articles/c1wer4jzd49o
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