Social media can bring out the ugly in teens. The kind of ugliness we’ve all experienced in some way or another that has older generations thinking the same thing- it’s the devil’s creation, it should be abolished entirely, get off my lawn.

   The flip side to all the negativity, bullying, and tiny glowing screen addiction is the ability to use it for good. To create something funny, exciting, informative, or just stupid enough to be entertaining.

  And nowhere can you find better examples of this than YouTube.

  For Wavy Leon, that means teaching his subscribers how to style their waves.

   For the past two years, South Broward High School senior Eric Leon has been making videos on YouTube dedicated to teaching people how to get waves. Whether it’s demonstrating the right techniques or reviewing hairbrushes and durags for his viewers, Leon’s focus is on helping people style their hair properly.

  “I started off trying to help people get 360 waves,” said Leon. “After 4 months, my views started to go up I shared my channel through all social medias and made sure to post often.”

  Today, he gets thousands to hundreds of thousands of views every video, and the topics range from showing off his drip or checking other people’s in public.

  Contrary to popular belief- it IS easy to become a YouTuber. Just not that easy to get big, and even harder to make a living off of it.

  For less established content creators, Leon has this advice to give:

  “Have confidence, consistency, the heart to do it,” he said. “Don’t give up. The fans will come eventually.”

  According to YouTube’s own analytics from 2017 to 2018, the number of channels with more than 1 million subscribers increased by more than 75%. In the same year, the number of YouTubers who earn six figures per year has increased by more than 40% and the number of YouTubers who earn five figures per year has increased by more than 50%. On the other hand, over 400 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.

 The numbers are getting better, but the competition is only getting steeper. Of course, those stats only offer encouragement for start-ups like SBHS senior Mark Lindor, who started making YouTube videos last summer. His channel, MarkSan, is about film and entertainment with a focus on skits, short films, and cinematography.

 “I feel like I wanted to get my work out there and get reactions from people,” Lindor said.

  In under a year, he’s amassed over 300 subscribers and 6,000 views across his videos. but it hasn’t been easy to get off the ground for the YouTuber.

“It’s extremely difficult. Thousands of people are pushing content and it takes time and patience to receive any type of recognition,” he said.

  So far, the senior has invested nearly $1,000 on camera and film equipment. He’s dedicated time and effort to growing his channel, promoting it on social media and having a couple friends give him a shout out.

  Making content for YouTube challenges Lindor to make even more and more creative videos.

  “I always see if there are any other ways to improve,” said the senior. His advice for anybody else thinking of starting their own channel?

   “Be yourself, take your time, and don’t worry about the views and subscribers, just have fun.”