Internet sensation Shane Dawson has been creating buzz recently, as his most YouTube documentary series about YouTubers Jake Paul, Jeffree Star and Tana Mongeau have touched on extremely dark topics such as sociopathic tendencies and childhood abuse.
Dawson is a comedic actor, author, singer, songwriter, director and podcaster. During his time on YouTube, he has written two New York Times best selling books called “I Hate Myselfie” and “It Gets Worse,” hosted the successful podcast “Shane and Friends,” produced and directed the movie “Not Cool” and even recorded a few hit singles.
But his main focus is YouTube, where he’s known for his sketch comedy videos, conspiracy theories, food concoctions and, more recently, his docuseries about the real lives of YouTubers and their motives for success. His YouTube channels Shane, Shane Dawson TV and Human Emoji collectively have more than 30 million subscribers and 6 billion views.
His channel Shane is his current main channel in which he posts all the skits, conspiracies and docu series, while Shane Dawson TV was dedicated to his old content including short documentaries, old challenges, parodies and music videos. Human Emoji contains his oldest work, including question and answers and gaming videos.
Dawson started his channel in 2008, making videos while working at Jenny Craig. Dawson came from a single mother household and was bullied at school, so he turned to YouTube as an escape. Nine years later, Dawson was named the sixth most powerful influencer in entertainment on the Forbes’ 2017 Top Influencers List and is one of the most popular creators on the platform.
Though Dawson has been a family favorite for years, his most recent eight-part docuseries about the real life of other famed YouTuber Jake Paul and whether or not Paul is a sociopath has been a hotly debated topic. In the docuseries, he sits down with a therapist to clearly identify the signs of a sociopath, interviews people that have or had an impact on Paul’s life and ultimately interviews Paul to asks him directly about each of Paul’s scandals.
Since the beginning of his outrageous vlogs, Paul has been under fire for a large variety of reasons, including allegations of abuse toward his other channel members as well as his filming of inhumane pranks, creation of safety hazards and making racist remarks.
Some fans argue that Dawson shouldn’t be diagnosing others as sociopaths and that it is dangerous to label people without the proper training and credentials. Others want more information and criticize Dawson for not getting the full scoop and holding back key facts.
However, the biggest backlash has come from critics of Jake Paul, This group believes that Dawson’s docuseries will cause viewers to empathize with Paul and that Paul should not use mental illness as an excuse for his actions.
Overall, Dawson’s style of video, ideas and creativity has earned him immense success and fame and I feel that he will not be stopping anytime soon. I started watching Dawson as a middle schooler because of his comedic skits and have stayed a loyal fan ever since. With his docuseries exposing YouTubers, Dawson has revolutionized the platform. In the future, I hope Dawson will turn to more traditional forms of entertainment, perhaps creating a Netflix original or having his own talk show on mainstream television.