The New Occupational Field of YouTubers in Germany - Inequality and Self-Economization in Algorithm-Based Markets

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Roland Verwiebe
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 497035457

YouTube is currently one of the most popular Internet platforms in the world and is also representative of the digital transformation of society in Germany. The platform is increasingly becoming an object of research; among other things, because it enables new modes of paid work, which are also the subject of the present application. In this context, studies point to both a high degree of self-economization, dependencies on non-human actors (algorithms), precarization tendencies, and freedoms and opportunities for social advancement that are typical of platform-based work. Based on these findings, the planned project will investigate social inequalities within the newly emerging occupational group of YouTubers. In a first step, we will conduct qualitative interviews with YouTubers to investigate key aspects of this group's professional practice. In a second step, we create a dataset via the YouTube API, which we obtain from the population of YouTube channels registered in Germany. Using manual and automated classification methods (including the dictionary method) and a multi-platform search, we will add to this dataset information on the social composition of YouTubers and on temporal trajectories of professional activities of this group. In a third step, we will supplement and validate the collected information with the help of an online survey and additionally inquire about the subjective importance of professional activities as well as the workload and satisfaction of the YouTubers.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Lena Seewann