How do you feel about Tom Scott going on hiatus after 10 years?
I'll admit I'm a little lost/down, it came out of nowhere! Over the years he's produced an endless stream of genuinely interesting videos. I can't really think of any other video hosts that can make a wide range of topics sound so interesting.
Probably I'm just scared of change...
On the flip side though, I'm really happy that he's decided his personal happiness is more important, and has decided to focus on people close to him.
Like its fine. Youtubers owe you nothing. Its his business what he does with his time.
And like, who really cares what youtubers are doing? I mean is that something you should be caring about? Didn't you have something important you were suppose to be doing with your time?
It doesn't necessarily bother me that he's retiring from weekly videos, but there's something to be said for the comfort of regular videos from a person you've grown to like over the years.
Humans are by their nature social animals, and there's really no harm in mourning the end of an era, however small it may be.
I never said watching a video is a social activity, I said humans are social animals. They crave connection, be it face to face, or a parasocial experience. Some people take it too far - as can be said about anything - but the vast majority of people keep it well within a healthy range.
I also don't think it's sad at all. Humans have had emotional connections to "characters" for as long as storytelling has existed. If you can't see (or refuse to see) how this is an extension of that fundamental human experience, there's nothing I can say to convince you.
It's incredibly sad, and as much as I have never had to endure that yet I'm sure I and many other will experience it at some point in our lives as we get older and all our friends die, leaving us all alone.
So you've never felt sad or emotional about a character in a book, or a film? You've never regretted that a TV series ended? Never been attached to any inanimate object (favorite shirt gifted by a dead family member f.e.), or whatever? These are all the same function. Yes, a lot of people take it too far and invest themselves too strongly. But this is fundamental to all functioning humans.
Humans create connections by their very nature, and if they don't - they're mentally ill and probably not fit for human society at large.