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Every news outlet in the UK wants to chat to us
Jordan Schwarzenberger
July 31, 2025
Yesterday was a little nuts to say the very least.
Kids are off for holidays, so I'm trying to work around chaos at home, when suddenly every news outlet in the country wants to chat 😅
Two massive YouTube stories dropped at once.
First: Australia's government banned YouTube for under-16s (which is mental, more on that below).
Second: Ofcom just confirmed YouTube has overtaken ITV for home viewing in the UK.
So within 24 hours I was on:
BBC Radio 4 Today Programme
BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast
ITV News
And somehow ended up on BBC News at 19:30
Channel 5 and Sky News also asked, but couldn’t make timings work
All asking the same question: "How did YouTube get this big?"
So, this is what I kept telling them:
It's not mainstream vs YouTube anymore.
YouTube IS the mainstream.
We've been saying this for years, but now it's official.
People are watching more YouTube at home than ITV.
We've moved away from the 'monoculture' to personalised content streams.
Your YouTube feed dictates your passions, hobbies, communities.
Even your beliefs.
Traditional broadcasters built their empires on everyone watching the same thing at 8pm.
That world is simply gone, no question about it.
Which makes Australia's decision even more baffling to me.
They initially got it right - exempted YouTube from their under-16 social media ban because it's not "core social media."
Then competitors cried foul.
Called it a "sweetheart deal."
So Australia caved and added YouTube to the ban.
This is a massive mistake in my view.
I get the concern about social media and teenagers.
But we're treating YouTube exactly like TikTok.
One serves 15-second dopamine hits designed to keep you scrolling forever.
The other?
It's where teenagers search "how to solve quadratic equations" at 11pm before their math test.
It's like closing libraries because some books contain controversial ideas.
Yes, every platform has moderation challenges.
But we're throwing away humanity's greatest learning tool because politicians can't tell the difference between education and endless scrolling.
The irony kills me though.
Kids will still access YouTube logged out.
They'll just lose the ability to save playlists or subscribe to channels.
But for me, it goes much deeper than education.
For loads of teenagers, YouTube is their third space.
Where they develop deep passions, engage in communities, discover their creativity.
The Sidemen couldn't have started under this law - they wouldn't have been able to make accounts.
That's thousands of hours of content never created.
Millions not raised for charity.
Billions of views never realised.
We have to give kids creative outlets.
We can't ban platforms because the people in charge don't understand them.
As I said on Radio 5 Live yesterday:
Moderation should primarily fall to parents, not platforms or governments.
Are we protecting teens from real harm, or just making it harder for them to develop?
Anyway, that's been my week so far.
Also did this brilliant BBC Radio show called Radicals yesterday with Amol Rajan - way more philosophical than the usual "tell me about your career journey" questions.
Talked about philosophy, religion, socioeconomic trends alongside media.
Most enriching conversation I've had in ages.
PSA to podcast hosts: Please stop asking people about their career journey. It's boring. Get into the deep stuff. Way more fun.
But yeah, mental few days watching YouTube dominate the news cycle while trying to explain to traditional media why they're losing to creators with cameras.
Welcome to 2025.
Remember, the creator mindset is all you need to grow 🌱
P.S.
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