Truth be told, I am the kind of person who doesn't comment on any video but enjoys reading those of others. They literally act as spices to bland content videos. When the zealous creators ask us viewers to drop their reviews, they probably should specify it more clearly. Because after careful observation, I have noticed that plenty of users still haven't understood this assignment. Overly bizarre comments rule this world which are frankly discussed here. Basically, it's my review of the reviews people post on the videos they watched. So let the reality check begin!
There are basically two categories of commenters: ones who take the task too seriously, and those who would do everything else other than commenting relevantly. The sincere viewers express how they really feel about the creator and their content, post punchlines or go down the memory lane when they narrate their life experiences and incidents. They would somehow achieve their failed attempts of becoming bloggers, authors or even stand up comics in some cases. On the other hand, the comments that top the "most annoying list" are those which claim people have watched the video before others do. This imaginary race of viewership quite ticks off people, but those "participants'' don't seem to mind. What do they expect after commenting "1st" or "I am 2nd", an actual position on the podium with a medal? After this marathon, comes the art contest where people make portraits of their favourite Youtubers only by using special characters. It's quite impressive to be honest but it is no easy task. Hours are consumed while planning the positions of those characters to create the portraits to perfection.
I personally admire their talent and do deserve the most likes in my opinion. The tug-of-war over a particular comment comes next in line, because we all can't live without some drama right? And just like the Marvel Universe timeline, the discussion branches out into a whole new level of topics which has no relevance at all with the original comment. The roasting, comebacks and sarcasm is quite exciting to read, though it always ends in a draw with no final results. I didn't know that typing random letters, numbers or special characters at length could be a legitimate comment. It's quite the opposite of those artworks. A request to all those people to at least translate what they mean by those strings of haphazard characters because this: [dBzhLkn57$&#*437] sounds alien to common people. It makes me question whether people actually think twice before posting anything (not only comments) on the web.
"Binod" is the most trendy example of absurd comments ever posted. Apparently, some Binod Tharu commented on his own name which was featured in a video of one of India's most popular YouTube channels, SlayyPoint. Little did the Youtuber duo know that this name would travel overseas and get spammed on every video posted, in every gaming or live streaming conducted thereafter. It almost became a global movement on the Internet, though completely pointless. This is a sparkling example of the power of the netizens when they hail something completely ordinary. Something which wasn't existent to many is now recognised by millions around the world. A con of social media is that people nowadays consider their worth in terms of likes they receive on their posts, videos or comments. This leads them to spam on others' accounts to like their comment. Giving away their mobile numbers, fake well-wishing for their family, misleading internet links or polls resembling acts of tomfoolery are just some ways of getting more likes and subscribers. "Hit like and subscribe if you are a human'': so not doing that would make us a Transformer? On the darker side, trolls have an alarming impact on this section, thinking that posting abusive comments or death threats for the creators is cool enough to attract attention or to polarise the rest of the viewers. Hatred and resentment is quickly spread among the public, hence it is important to discourage such action.
Fortunately, the video sharing site has taken several precautionary measures to block such spammers and trolls to create a more conducive environment for positivity and appreciation. On our level, we could evaluate our words before we make it public so as to not violate the guidelines of peace. Moral of the story: Never underestimate the potential of Youtube comments section. It could be anything that people want it to be : their personal diary, art sketchbook, telephone directory, match-making site, blogging journal, promotion hoarding for their fake accounts, and so much more. So the next time when you have no idea about your pastime, try visiting the comments section of any random video on Youtube. Trust me, this endless reality show won't disappoint you.
The author is a student at KC College and is one of the winners of The FPJ's Pen To Paper Contest this year.
