YouTube is full of storytellers - and every day, millions of us are learning from the diversity of stories on YouTube.
Take Lallalin Mahasrabphaisal, 37, who owns a supermarket in Manchester. A chef who ran a popular Thai cafe in the basement quit with just two days warning. Wanting to keep her business running, Lallali put on a toque and taught herself to cook using YouTube videos. She’s now a celebrated chef, now known as Chef May.
And 33 year old full-time mother, Briony Williams - who, having been inspired to bake by her nan, took to YouTube to perfect the art of baking. This year, Briony got through to the final of the Great British Bake Off.
These stories are driven by everyday audiences who flock to YouTube to meet their daily needs and fuel their passions. It’s true that most of us aren’t looking to become professional chefs by watching YouTube videos, but new research shows that 43% of us use YouTube to help with cooking every month1: whether its techniques for chopping an onion or complex baking recipes.
Learning and YouTube is a natural partnership.
We’re not just learning to cook either. Our recent research with Public First shows that two thirds of teachers show YouTube videos in class every month.2
Creators like Mr Bruff are using YouTube to provide resources for students. Today his videos have had over 30 million views from over 212 different countries. At our recent YouTube on Stage event, a celebration of the positive impact of YouTube, Mr Bruff said: “In 10 years in the classroom I taught roughly 1,000 students, but in one day online I can hit as many as 700,000 views. The impact is staggering.”
He’s right. The impact is staggering. Every year, 31 million people use YouTube to figure out how to do DIY and 43% of school pupils in the UK use YouTube to help with their homework every week.3
These are big numbers and the appetite for learning is growing. This is why we are doing more to support and grow learning on YouTube.
In July, Susan, our CEO, announced YouTube Learning, an initiative to support all those who use YouTube to share their knowledge with the world and the millions of users who come to our platform to learn. Susan shared that we’ll be investing $20m globally to expand this initiative as we strive to make YouTube even better for educators and learners.
Learning is one of the best parts of YT and we’re committed to empowering both the creators who want to share their knowledge with the world and the users who come to our platform to learn - from the basics of cakes to discovering the wonders of the universe.
