Questions such as “What is glyphosate?”, “What is going on in People Pleasers?”, “What are the rules on nuclear weapons?” or “What is Max Mustermann’s name in other countries?” no longer require hours of research in the library. Knowledge influencers explain these topics to us quickly, clearly and often entertainingly on YouTube or Instagram.
What do knowledge influencers actually do?
Knowledge influencers are the pocket encyclopaedia of the 21st century. They are usually experts in one field – people who are very well versed in politics, history, psychology, math, chemistry or other areas. In short, clear videos, they convey knowledge that would otherwise be complex or difficult to understand. Ideally, the presentation remains factual and informative without influencing viewers in a certain direction or being too judgmental.
Who is actually explaining the world to us?
Math, German, politics, psychology – the world is full of exciting topics and the Internet is full of people who explain them to us.
- One of the early and best-known online world explainers is Mai Thi Nguyen-KimThe chemist initially launched her private YouTube channel “The Secret Life of Scientists” in 2015. Today, she is active on YouTube and ZDF with her show “MaiThink X”. She explains scientific phenomena for a younger and older audience, but also answers questions about politics, psychology and health in a clear and scientifically correct way. She has also published several books for adults and children.
- Mirko Drotschmann alias MrWissen2Go focuses on current topics from politics and current affairs. The journalist explains the background to topics that dominate the current news, such as election campaigns, the Middle East conflict and the AfD ban. His YouTube channel has over 2.3 million subscribers and is a service provided by ARD and ZDF.
- Leon Windscheid shot to fame in 2015 when he won a million euros on the TV show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” – and then realized his dream of sharing knowledge from his psychology studies in lectures, podcasts and videos. In his podcast “Betreutes Fühlen”, he discusses topics ranging from falling in love and the feeling of not being good enough (Imposter Syndrome) to stress reduction and depression.
What fascinates children and young people about it?
Politics, climate or Max Mustermann – sounds boring, but suddenly becomes exciting on Instagram and YouTube! Knowledge influencers manage the balancing act of conveying complex knowledge in an entertaining and understandable way. They are often young, close to the lives of their target group and appear humorous, relaxed and approachable.
Children and young people are curious by nature, want to understand, form their own opinions and have their say. Those who present their knowledge in an interesting and clear way quickly become role models. Some knowledge influencers even become stars in the school playground. Particularly exciting: they pick up on current topics or even school material. This allows young people to find answers to questions that are already on their minds. In doing so, they not only orient themselves in terms of content, but also adopt language, ways of arguing or develop a new interest in certain school subjects and possible fields of study.
What can be problematic?
- Susceptibility to error: Even knowledge influencers can make mistakes; not all those who claim to be knowledgeable are real experts.
- Limited depth: Complex topics can rarely be fully explained in ten minutes.
- Age appropriateness: Not all content on social media is suitable for young people – even if it conveys “knowledge”. Some topics can be overwhelming, scary or one-sided.
- Monetization: Many channels earn money from advertising, sponsored content or data. Products in the video may have advertising purposes.
What parents should pay attention
- Watch the videos together with your child and talk about the content. This will also give you a feel for whether the content is appropriate for your child’s age and stage of development.
- Discuss critically which sources are trustworthy and why multiple sources are important.
- Explain that not everything can be shown in full and that some details are left out.
- Discuss the monetization (earning money) of content, advertising and possible conflicts of interest. Products in the video may have advertising purposes, and the channels sometimes earn money from this.
