In the past 4 weeks, popular YouTuber Shane Dawson has released an 8 part documentary series on Jake Paul entitled “The Mind of Jake Paul.” No stranger to controversy himself, Shane decided to tackle the story of one of the most hated content creators on the platform. Before the series was even released, Dawson received backlash for giving a platform to someone who has made poor decisions time and time again. Jake Paul is fairly new to YouTube, especially compared to someone like Shane Dawson who has used the platform for over a decade. Despite the short life of his channel, Jake Paul has over 17 million subscribers. His channel has gone through many ups and downs, and his antics have even garnered attention from news outlets across the nation.
Criticized as a poor role model for his young audience, Jake Paul has sparked many debates on YouTube. His content has been denounced as over-sexual, irresponsible, manipulative, and even dangerous. Even so, Jake Paul’s account is one of the most popular on the platform, and it’s growth has yet to slow down. Paul is the leader of his own talent company, Team 10, and his videos have earned him sponsorships of “seven figures.” The backlash against his channel has caused debate of YouTube monetization policy and community guidelines, as well as the appropriateness of content marketed towards young kids on the website. YouTube has only recently grown to a size that allows creators to make videos as a career, and the uncontrollable growth of Paul’s channel reveals the inadequacy in the platform’s policies to support this type of channel.
Though the series morphed into something larger as Dawson took in fan responses, the original idea of the documentary was identifying whether Jake Paul was a “sociopath.” A now outdated clinical term, “sociopath” describes a person with an antisocial characteristics and a lack of remorse for their actions. Psychologists would now say that someone who is a “sociopath” would be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. The word sociopath comes with extremely negative connotations, but the truth of the matter is that most people diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder live average lives as long as they have the right support.
The first episode of the series followed Shane as he planned to interview Jake Paul. He explained his intent with the series, and filled the audience in on the series of controversies Jake Paul has been involved in. In the second episode, Shane met with YouTube and therapist Kati Morton to discuss sociopathy. He brought up the idea that many YouTubers, especially those who make their living by vlogging their own lives, may have some level of narcissism or even antisocial personality disorder.
In episode 3, Shane examined the strange family dynamics of the Pauls. Both of Jake Paul’s parents have their own YouTube channel, and of course, his infamous brother Logan Paul has a channel. The controversies Jake Paul has been involved in are rivaled only by his brother, who sparked intense debate on YouTube policies in early 2018 after posting a video where he filmed the body of a man who died by suicide. In episode 4, Shane interviewed YouTube Nick Crompton, former business partner of Jake Paul. Before the release of parts 5 and 6, the internet was abuzz with what may come in the episodes where Shane finally met Jake Paul and sat down to interview him.
In episode 7, Shane interviewed YouTuber Alissa Violet, ex-girlfriend of Jake Paul, who has made several videos accusing Paul of abusing her during their relationship. She admitted that some of her accusations are exaggerated, but there seems to be a consensus between everyone involved that the relationship between Violet and Paul was toxic. In the finale of the series, Shane gives Jake Paul the opportunity to tell the truth about everything in his past- but the nearly 2 hour long video fails to provide the viewers any new information. The majority of the video focuses on Jake’s feelings towards Alissa Violet, something that had been discussed in many videos before it.
What began as a series seeking to expose Jake Paul for the toxic personality many believe him to be seemed to end as a call for viewers to pity him. Reactions to the series have been mixed all along, and viewers continue to be divided on the final installment of the series. On one hand, it seems impossible that a 21 year old has created a manipulative YouTube empire designed to exploit other creators and model bad behavior to children. On the other hand, the idea that Jake Paul may just be a young man who has let his career overshadow his common sense is a disappointing end to a sensational series. On a whole, “The Mind of Jake Paul” has raised many questions in the YouTube community that will continue to be explored as the platform continues to grow into a viable career option for aspiring creators.