"Don't be a salad, be the best damn broccoli you could ever be," is what YouTuber PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg) wrote in his book This Book Loves You. Yes, I do own this book, and yes I love PewDiePie (do not judge). He is a big influence in my life because his videos, in a way, offer an escape from the stresses in my life. Whenever I'm feeling the pressure from HISP, I usually just take a break and watch one of his videos because they make me laugh. I also admire him because he is able to act like himself in front of a camera, even if he is a bit weird, and he has the confidence to share it with his nearly 41 million subscribers. PewDiePie has taught me that it's okay to be myself even if it doesn't fit in with "normal" because a.) not everyone is going to like me and b.) I would be much happier if I just honestly expressed myself rather than cover it up out of fear of what others might think.
Some think it's weird to be so interested in a person who doesn't even know I exist, but to me and his other subscribers, it doesn't really matter that he doesn't know each of us individually because he shows that he cares about his fans by featuring their fan art in some of his videos or when his book came out he did a book tour to meet us. People feel that you need to know someone personally and physically in order to have a connection to them, but media is able to provide a connection for us without having to do any of that. Media is a strong medium for communication; just by watching videos of someone or listening to an artist's music we can feel connected to them or maybe we can even relate to them.
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I am mild PewDiePie fan and I agree with most of what you've said. I'm going to disagree with you on the idea that he is comfortable on camera. Sometimes when watching him be goofy and loud, I wonder if it's because he's nervous. He says he doesn't want to impress but everyone wants to be accepted. The hateful comments may impact him more than he admits and the pressure of being watched by 41 million people is huge and scary. That may be the PewDiePie talking rather than Felix. But I do agree with everything else you've said.
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