YouTube suddenly blacked out without warning on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Users were blindsided when the popular streaming service displayed videos showing black screens with a continuous buffer rotating in the center. YouTube sent out a public notice about the issue.
“If you’re having trouble watching videos on YouTube right now, you’re not alone — our team is aware of the issue and working on a fix. We’ll follow up here with any updates.”
Even though none of the videos were functioning, the live chats continued to operate. The silent screen left a lot of people with time to share their thoughts on the latest disruption of an online media platform.
Social media and chatrooms spiraled into conspiracy theories that included everything from Donald Trump trying to thwart YouTube because of the election results to the world coming to an end.
Eventually, YouTube would reset and function as normal, but it definitely scared its users. The tweets and YouTube live chat posts revealed how many people depend on the platform to retrieve information and entertainment.
About 1.3 billion people use YouTube, watching five billion videos per day. The service has even replaced cable television and competing streaming platforms for the Gen-Zer.
There’s no direct ties to Donald Trump or evidence of the reason why the blackout occurred. However, it is clear from this social experiment that people are addicted to YouTube. Stay tune!
