Zoo YouTube videos prioritize entertainment over education

Zoo YouTube videos prioritize entertainment

over education

May 11 2021

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

YouTube channels run by zoos focus on entertainment over education,

according to a new study.

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The videos also focus disproportionately on mammals, rather than

reflecting the diversity of zoos' animals.

Conservation was the focus of just 3% of zoo videos in the study¡ªbut it

found that conservation content in videos is gradually increasing.

The study evaluated the most recent and most-viewed videos, so the

findings partly reflect the public's preference for certain species and

content.

Of the animals that appeared in zoos' most-viewed videos, the top nine

were mammals¡ªwith giant pandas top of the list¡ªand the only nonmammals were penguins in tenth place.

"They key question is: what are zoos using YouTube for?" said Dr. Paul

Rose, of the University of Exeter.

"If the aim is to get people to visit the zoo, then a focus on entertainment

and popular species might make sense.

"This way, education about wildlife and conservation can be done once

people get to the zoo, where they will spend much more time than they

would watching a YouTube video.

"However, some zoos have large YouTube audiences, so they should

carefully consider how they represent different classes of animal, and

how they can create educational material in interesting and accessible

forms.

"If an animal is in a zoo's collection, there should be a way for it to be

promoted."

Dr. Rose said he was encouraged to see an increased focus on

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conservation in zoo videos.

For example, videos about animals of conservation concern on the IUCN

Red List have featured more often in recent years.

Lead author Thomas Llewellyn, a graduate from UWE's Science

Communication Unit, said: "It is important that zoos produce a variety of

conservation-focused content for a range of different animals.

"Whilst it is reassuring to see YouTube channels upload more

conservation-focused videos in recent times, this research is especially

important to the conservation projects associated with those 'favoured

animals'.

"There is no doubt that YouTube has the potential to become an

effective and efficient tool for global conservation education, but more

research is needed to be done."

The study's information was gathered before the COVID pandemic, and

the content posted on many zoo YouTube channels has changed

dramatically since then.

"I've seen a lot more zoos doing live videos during lockdown to explain

the significance of their animal collections," Dr. Rose said.

"With zoo admissions essentially being non-existent this year, the

pandemic has only emphasized the importance of social media for this

type of online outreach", added Llewellyn.

The researchers evaluated the content of 1,000 videos from 20

zoological organizations (50 most-viewed videos from each channel)

from 2006 to 2019. More than 75% of these videos focussed on

mammals.

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Separately, educational content in a subsample of 300 of the most

viewed and most recent videos from three zoo YouTube channels was

cataloged and evaluated for the period 2016 to 2019.

More information: Thomas Llewellyn et al, Education Is

Entertainment? Zoo Science Communication on YouTube, Journal of

Zoological and Botanical Gardens (2021). DOI: 10.3390/jzbg2020017

Provided by University of Exeter

Citation: Zoo YouTube videos prioritize entertainment over education (2021, May 11) retrieved

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