Global ‘census’ of chemistry on YouTube finds thriving ecosystem of indie producers

The first large analysis of chemistry YouTube channels shows that the majority are made by independent content creators. The preprint, which hasn’t been peer reviewed, also reveals that members of the public with an interest in science resonate with the kinds of authentic individuals seen on channels such as NileRed, who has over 6.7 million subscribers, and Extractions&Ire , with more than 200,000 subscribers.

There has been continual growth in social media in recent years with YouTube now one of the most popular sites in the world recording over 2.5 billion users monthly. A consequence of this is that the video-sharing platform has also made chemistry accessible to wider audience, leading to an increase in channels that focus on chemistry education, revision and experiments for fun.