About a billion hours of video are watched every day on YouTube and some of the random categories racking up millions of views are people playing video games, unboxing things and making quiet noises called ASMR. Now there's another unexpected crop of videos racking up the hits and they’re all about the great outdoors. Bryan and Andrew Need's channel Adventure Archives has attracted millions of viewers who sit on their couch to watch them hike, camp and backpack. They're not alone. Joe Robinet boasts more than 300,000 subscribers and 28 million views, and Shawn Crawford's channel sintax77 has nearly 7 million views. So what makes people sit down and watch the outdoors, indoors? Jared Cotter has three reasons why camping videos are a great way to go on vacation this summer, without leaving your home.
1. Living Vicariously
A lot of people are interested in watching hiking videos for the same reason people are into watching other people play video games which is really surprisingly a multi-billion dollar industry. These camping videos put you right in the middle of the action and you feel a part of it.
2. Learn What to Do
People are learning what to do when they go out there themselves. They can learn that it's ok to make mistakes and can learn that it's ok to bail out on a trip if you don't want to be out there.
3. Entertainment Value
The entertainment value has families gathering to watch. They are grabbing beers and popcorn and making an evening of it.
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