Italian YouTube Insights

May 17, 2024

Insights

Italian YouTube Insights has become the primary platform for video distribution in Italy, as it offers easy access to free videos, as well as an online space for instant discussions and information sharing. It was on this basis that the North American anti-vaccine movement was able to spread their messages, and subsequently influence Italians’ vaccine hesitancy in 2017-2018.

YouTube Channel Analytics

This is why it is important to understand the tone used in these videos and how they are perceived by viewers. To achieve this, we analyzed a collection of predefined Italian videos on YouTube, focusing on the following characteristics:

The results show that there is considerable heterogeneity in the content watched by Italians. We can distinguish a clear preference for video tutorials in the 16- to 24-year-old age group, while older viewers seem more interested in news channels and social activism. In addition, we observed a strong interest in sports and soccer-related content.

A key insight is that the way in which a video is presented influences its tone. For example, a video that is accompanied by a professional actor tends to be perceived as less negative than a video that has been created by an amateur and posted without prior approval.

A good example is the “Zecchino d’Oro” channel, which has been broadcast for more than sixty years and presents traditional children’s songs in different versions: as animation, in slow motion, and in stop-motion. In addition to the educational value of these videos, they also help improve listening practice and expose the viewer to the language in a natural context.