I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a YouTube addict.

I mean, it’s simply amazing. Where else can I watch obscure music videos that only I remember? Where else can I revel in the absurdity and hype of the latest viral phenomenon?

Where else can I waste hours of my life that would be better spent on actual productive work? (Okay, so maybe that part isn’t so amazing, but still, you get the point. I love YouTube.)

Which is why the latest news regarding my beloved companion saddens me greatly.

UPenn and other schools creating their own YouTube accounts? No. That’s just not right.

YouTube was my gateway to the guilty pleasure of procrastination. My escape from the harsh and cruel world of academic responsibility. Now it’s decided to become part of that evil system? Looks like the Man has finally held it down.

I can see it now. I need an excuse not to start my latest paper for my English class. So I browse YouTube hoping to find an adequate time waster. But instead of a dramatic chipmunk, I come across a friendly reminder from my English professor that my analytical essay is due the next day. It gives me a headache just thinking about it.

I suppose it only makes sense for Penn and other schools to capitalize on YouTube. After Google bought it and celebrities like Oprah started making their own accounts, universities gaining access is the final step in YouTube’s dramatic loss of cool.

In the long run, I’m sure I’ll find this beneficial. Anything that could dissuade me from going on YouTube is ultimately good for me. I’ve suffered too many all-nighters doing homework because I spent the first two hours of my night watching song parodies.

Still, I can’t help but reminisce about the days before YouTube sold out. The days when videos were on for short periods of time because they broke copyright laws. The days when you actually felt hip and ahead of the pop culture curve whenever you watched the latest video. But just like disco and iPods, a trend can’t hold on to its hipness forever.

And it’s definitely going to take me awhile to come to grips with all of this. I mean, come on, schools having YouTube accounts? What’s next? Your parents friending you on facebook? Oh wait…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 11:27 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.