Our Pop Culture Panel looks at the Internet fallout for Logan Paul and his Suicide Forest visit, the resurrection of Vine, the decline of YouTube and capitalizing on the dearly departed.
Logan Paul says sorry
While filming at various locations in Japan, internet star Logan Paul and a group went to Japan’s Aokigahara Forest, a spot known for the high number of suicide deaths that happen there.
On their tour, the group stumbled across the body of a deceased man who appeared to have died by suicide, and consequently proceeded to make jokes.
This was later posted for viewing to YouTube, where millions of people saw it before Paul took it down.
Paul has posted apologies online (monetized, of course), but some think this most recent display is unforgivable. We ask our pop culture panelists: Has Logan Paul gone too far?
Banking on a six-second success
Vine was designed as a platform to share short, casual videos between users. Instead, it grew into a millennial phenomenon that saw the rise of internet stars like King Bach, Logan Paul, Nash Grier, Cameron Dallas, and Lele Pons. But much like the videos it hosted, Vine’s success was short lived.
Recently, founder Dom Hoffman announced online that he has been working on a second version of the app, called Vine 2. Should we expect a revival of the six-second entertainment trend?
You and YouTube
Researchers at SocialBlade examined subscriber and channel view trends for YouTube stars Pewdiepie (known also as Felix Kjellberg) and Zoella Sugg, who have 70 million subscribers combined. It found a downward trend starting in early 2016, after each had experienced their peak.
As YouTube launches its own paid subscription video service, how will its role in popular culture change?
The business of Afterlife
An Alberta family was surprised to find an online obituary package and condolence gifts for their family member hours after her death. The website responsible is called Afterlife, and is a third-party company that describes itself as a database that simplifies the process of honouring and paying tribute to loved ones.
It gathers its information through publicly accessible channels, and posts obituary and funeral announcements throughout Canada. Users can also purchase a flower arrangement or to light a digital candle in honour of the deceased.
Does the family have a right to be upset? Or is Afterlife capitalizing on life after the internet?
Our Pop Culture Panel includes: Marty Chan, playwright and author; Josie Balka, on-air announcer for 98.5 Virgin Radio in Calgary and Kari Watson, editor and writer for TheYYSCENE.
