Karima Moradi
Bayan News – YouTube is considered one of the most popular video-sharing networks in the world. YouTube can be a good source of income and a platform for achieving fame in Afghanistan. Due to the restrictions imposed by the Islamic Emirate government on media outlets, many young people inside and outside the country express their social, entertainment, humorous, and nostalgic experiences through YouTube.
Maryam, a 22-year-old who works on YouTube, defines the reasons for creating a YouTube channel as follows: “The first reason I wanted to have a YouTube channel was because I had studied journalism, and I wanted to create something of my own through YouTube that would be beneficial to the community.”
The second reason is the restrictions imposed by the Islamic Emirate government on media outlets, which have limited the participation of women in the media. For this reason, Maryam started working online from home. She has been active on YouTube for a month now but has not generated any income yet.
Maryam explains that she created the YouTube channel with a friend, and their goal was to provide education and entertainment for the young generation in Afghanistan. Maryam usually records her programs at night.
Meanwhile, Sanam, a YouTube user, watches entertaining programs that involve humor and jokes. She spends two hours a day on the virtual world and YouTube, as she believes that people need to give themselves a “mood” apart from the problems and daily struggles of life.
Sanam has completed twelfth grade and was preparing to take the university entrance exam, known as the Kankor exam, but she was deprived of taking the exam, and she couldn’t pursue the education she wanted.
Sanam says that these days she spends her time on social media and mostly watches video content on YouTube. She watches both entertainment and educational programs and wants to make the current conditions more bearable.
In the past two years, after the return of the Islamic Emirate government to power on August 15, 2021, YouTube has gained more popularity for two reasons. Firstly, the restrictions on media outlets and the shutdown of some media have led Afghan citizens inside and outside the country to turn to YouTube to watch diverse and favorite programs.
The second reason is the economic situation. With fewer job opportunities and income sources, a significant number of people have chosen YouTube as an opportunity to meet their expenses and generate income by creating diverse content and attracting more viewers.
The activities of YouTube channels in the previous government required a publishing license from the Ministry of Information and Culture. However, in the Islamic Emirate government, many restrictions have been imposed on reporting and content production. Without a license from the Ministry of Information and Culture of the Islamic Emirate government, registering reports and producing content faces significant challenges. Currently, the issuance of licenses by this ministry has been suspended.
Why does video content have higher views?
To answer the question of what is the best topic for a YouTube channel, you need to first know what you are interested in in your life. Music, cooking, painting, drawing, interior design, mechanics, gaming, teaching, cinema, photography, editing, sports, politics, or perhaps posing, eating, storytelling, cleaning, and delivering profound speeches!
This list can be endless, and the good news is that all of these infinite topics can be the basis of your activity on YouTube.
There are no restrictions on choosing a topic, and we don’t have the best topics for a YouTube channel, but there are certain topics that have more followers among the general public. If something you are interested in is one of these popular topics on YouTube, it will be easier for you to start your YouTube journey. However, it is important to note that if you start your work properly, any topic can attract a large number of followers.
Jamshid Jahanfar, a YouTuber in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh Province, says that the world has turned into a small village, and the expansion of social networks has influenced human relations worldwide.
He believes that the content produced on social networks by Afghan users does not receive much appropriate feedback from today’s society. Jamshid believes that some young people are trying to create divisive social content or touch on ethnic issues, which is not in the best interest of the people of this country.
As a YouTube employee, he says that he has produced various social and cultural programs from different parts of Afghanistan and published them on social networks. Recently, Jamshid has traveled to provinces like Jowzjan, Faryab, Takhar, Badakhshan, Kabul, and Bamiyan to produce programs and capture the historical and recreational sites of these provinces, which have had viewership.
Entertainment, sports, challenges, cooking, comedy, fashion, education, films and series, and art and craft tutorials are among the popular and best topics for YouTube channels.
