By Gavin Boyle
YouTube’s popularity extends to all generations that interact with the platform, with millennials continuing to use the site even as they reach middle age.
“The older millennials will turn 45 this year, and they really are the first generation to grow up with a supercomputer in their pocket. To them, there really is no difference between streaming a video on their TV screen and scrolling video in a feed,” Brian Albert, the managing director of YouTube Media Partnerships & Creative Works for Google, told Variety. “As they grow older, we just don’t expect them to consume media the way their parents did.”
“It’s not just the younger audiences that are gravitating to YouTube. It’s really all audiences,” Albert added.
This fact makes YouTube even more attractive for advertisers who already greatly value the site for its ability to connect them with audiences. Meanwhile, YouTube sits atop the streaming world – as it has done so for years – and roughly 2 billion people across the globe access the site every month.
The platform’s popularity is largely due to its ability to connect viewers with creators at such a close level, something that traditional media has never ever attempted to do.
“There are two really fundamental things that we do for creators,” YouTube CEO Neal Mohan told The Hollywood Reporter last year after the company announced it had payed out $100 billion total to its creators. “One is help them build an audience and connect with their fans, regardless of where those fans are in the world; and the second thing we do is we help them build businesses. That’s what that $100 billion represents for me.”
“I am a technologist, but I also love media and storytelling. I’ve been that way since I can remember, I’m a fan myself, fundamentally,” Mohan said. “Leading YouTube is a privilege where I can actually bring both those pieces together, that human storytelling and creativity and the best of technology, that’s what motivates me every morning.”
As traditional streamers have watched YouTube take over an ever-growing share of audience watch time, they have begun to fight back through efforts like launching podcasts that are available through their platform.
“Early next year, your favorite video podcasts are getting a bigger stage,” a press release from Spotify announced at the end of 2025. “Spotify and Netflix are teaming up to bring sports, culture, lifestyle, and true crime video podcasts from Spotify Studios and The Ringer to Netflix to complement the streamer’s existing programming and unlock new audiences and wider distribution for the shows.”
This effort, however, may not be as successful as these streamers hope as the shows they are adding to their libraries are likely to be extremely polished. Meanwhile, YouTube audiences love how their favorite creators, at the end of the day, feel like real people, rather than over produced Hollywood productions.
It does not really come as a surprise that YouTube has maintained its popularity with audiences as they continue to age, but it does pose a great problem for the company’s competitors.
Read Next: A Look at YouTube 20 Years After Its Launch
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
– Content: +2Share:
– Content: +1