Today's Bass Fishing YouTube influencers

[lunkerboss923]

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I find it very concerning that my kids watch these "influencers" who openly use tobacco products and drink beer while hosting their channels. I was watching one show with my boys, where the host was hammering down a beer and it just took the enjoyment out of it. I have a 7 year old and he asks lots of questions, imagine how much fun that was to answer.

 

These influencers are grown men and they can do whatever they want to, outside of YouTube, I feel like they have a responsibility to produce suitable content on their said channel or disclaimer like Netflix does with it's content. They should be held to higher standards, especially when the average age watcher is around 12-13. It matters and I'm sorry if I'm in the minority. Half of these influencers wouldn't be where they are without these 12 and 13 year olds who subscribe to their channel. 

 

In fact, the entire success of the fishing industry can thank the 12-13 year olds for reinvigorated the sport and pumping in revenue. 

[BrianMDTX]

I’m not a real “get off my lawn!” guy, but “influencers” only influence me to look elsewhere. 

[A-Jay]

Growing up my father was a provider, a teacher, a supporter, a role model, and perhaps most importantly, a distant authority figure who was not easily pleased.

 

Everyone on a tv, movie, and now PC & phone screen, is merely entertainment.

 

Knowing the difference is critical. 

 

A-Jay

[Glenn]

You're not wrong.  My suggestion is to help your children find more positive channels for them to watch.

 

I don't know where this is headed, but generally a "rant" post begets a flurry of negative comments.  Let's not go down that path this time.  

 

Keep it positive folks.

[MN Fisher]

Just now, A-Jay said:

Growing up my father was a provider, a teacher, a supporter, a role model, and perhaps most importantly, a distant authority figure who was not easily pleased.

For me it was my dad - for same reasons you state - and my grand-uncle John who taught me how to shoot guns responsibly and developed my interest in hunting.

[mcipinkie]

The nice thing about YouTube is you can post comments.

 

Tell the poster very politely, of your concerns.

 

If they get enough, they'll change.

 

I certainly understand your concerns but disagree to some extent.

 

Not sure your age (I'm 75).  Watch the movies and TV shows from the early 1940's through the late 1960's.  Almost every one, both men and women, smoked.  Almost everyone drank.

 

In business, you never went to a meeting where the room wasn't smoky, with ashtrays on 2'0 centers on the tables.

 

Both my parents smoked.  I never did, just my choice.

 

The world is NOT completely going to pot.  In some ways, it's better than when I was growing up.

 

Remember, YOU have to raise your children and teach them right from wrong.  If you don't others will. 

 

I see every day the influence social media has on the world and am glad I ain't raising kids any more, there are far worse influences out there than some fisherman smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer. 

[Aaron_H]

I mean, growing up people smoked and drank on TV all the time. As an adult, I don't smoke and I rarely drink. At the end of the day, I don't think it's YouTube's job (or place) to teach a child what to do/what not to do. That's the job of a parent.

[DaubsNU1]

I read once that kids learn fully 1/2 of what they know by the age of 4...think about that...

 

You are a good Dad and good role model. Stay strong. Your kiddos will know right from wrong. 

 

 

[928JLH]

2 minutes ago, mcipinkie said:

The nice thing about YouTube is you can post comments.

 

Tell the poster very politely, of your concerns.

 

If they get enough, they'll change.

 

I certainly understand your concerns but disagree to some extent.

 

Not sure your age (I'm 75).  Watch the movies and TV shows from the early 1940's through the late 1960's.  Almost every one, both men and women, smoked.  Almost everyone drank.

 

In business, you never went to a meeting where the room wasn't smoky, with ashtrays on 2'0 centers on the tables.

 

Both my parents smoked.  I never did, just my choice.

 

The world is NOT completely going to pot.  In some ways, it's better than when I was growing up.

 

Remember, YOU have to raise your children and teach them right from wrong.  If you don't others will. 

 

I see every day the influence social media has on the world and am glad I ain't raising kids any more, there are far worse influences out there than some fisherman smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer. 

My sentiments exactly. A 7 year old is more influenced by kids in his school than most people would think. 

 

Be an outstanding parent and guide your children. Be their number one role model.

[Boomstick]

While I can generally agree with the resentments in this thread and in this thread, at the end of the day, it's important that you raise your kids to know better and it's important that you lead by example.

 

On a related note, while not fishing related, KDH (a guitar channel) does a breakdown of a another guitar channel on Youtube with complaints that generally apply here. In many of his videos, he calls out other Youtubers and usually that will illicit a response, at times people's egos get threatened and others recognize his complaints and have made an effort to address them. But his complaints here apply to a large number of Youtube channels regardless of genre.

 

 

[Mobasser]

lunkerboss923, thanks for being a concerned parent and a good dad. We need more guys like you out there.

[lunkerboss923]

I guess you're right. I feel like my opinion is valid here. I kept my tongue and didn't throw shade on any influencers, although I did want to. 

 

It is frustrating, I don't believe in being one of those helicopter parents that hover over their children and get them out of binds. I don't believe that kids should be monitored 24/7...we have a trust system, but I do hang out with them and watch programs just to check out the content. So we can talk about things, if needed. I give my kids just enough rope to hang themselves, and hope it won't get to that point. I will not bail my kids out so easily either. they will pay the consequences for wrong behavior. 

 

I'm for equal opportunity exploration and I'm that way because I believe taught my kids right from and hope that their innate instincts can help them decipher and make good decisions, but eventhough i feel like I'm an average dad, doesn't mean the buck stops with me. Kids are influenced...they just are. 

[Fishlegs]

No parent is perfect. We all make mistakes (I know I have). No kids are perfect. They make mistakes too (I know I did). You’re right that they see influencers all around them all the time. We just have to do our best to teach them how to choose which influence to follow. If we spend time with them and let them know how much we care about them it will have a big influence on them throughout their lives. Keep fighting the good fight my man.

[huZZah]

3 hours ago, lunkerboss923 said:

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I find it very concerning that my kids watch these "influencers" who openly use tobacco products and drink beer while hosting their channels.

I’m with you. Most of my kids friends have cell phones and tablets with little to no supervision or controls. We have had to have numerous difficult conversations about it. I won’t let them play Nintendo/computer online (other than cousins) simply because of the chat.  They’re 7 and 10. I don’t feel I’m stunting my kids social growth at all. Exactly the opposite. My wife and I are both teachers, and we gave to deal with these schmucks daily. And their parents. 
 

Good for you.

[Koz]

4 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Growing up my father was a provider, a teacher, a supporter, a role model, and perhaps most importantly, a distant authority figure who was not easily pleased.

 

Everyone on a tv, movie, and now PC & phone screen, is merely entertainment.

 

Knowing the difference is critical. 

 

A-Jay

 

I agree with you, but unfortunately there is a large swath of society today that feels differently and adore celebrities and these pseudo celebrity influencers.

[Catt]

Simple, taught my kids & now grandkids, they're in the world but not of the world.

 

 

[ironbjorn]

I'd much rather catch my son watching a bass fisherman with a beer on deck and a smoke in his mouth than catch one of my girls watching that rap/hip hop/stripper dance/booty shaking/sexual lyrics garbage they marked towards kids these days. 

 

I caught my pre teen daughter watching some music awards where one of the trashy singers thanked God for her award for a song about her wet genitals. OFF NOW!!!! couldn't come out of my mouth fast enough

[Mike L]

Growing up my “influencer” was a child of the 1920’s who did the best he could to raise a child of the 50’s. 
 

This child of the 50’s did the best he could to “ influence” his children of the 70’s. 
 

Point being that we each see each other and live our lives through a filter. 
We are who we are because of the influence of others. 

Too many parents allow their kids to be “influenced” by too many outside forces  without control, and then wonder what happened when they become what they didn’t intended. 
 

I think it was easier for my parents to raise their kids and certainly easier for me to raise mine than what my kids have to put up with nowadays raising theirs. 
I don’t think I could do it now. 

Leading by example, teaching respect Honor and Integrity starts with the only “influencers” that counts. 
 

Call me old fashioned, a relic or dinosaur...that ok. 
I’ve been called worse. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[MGF]

I'm against censorship but I also realize there is a lot of trash on the net. When I was a kid we had one TV in the house and the folks knew what we were watching and how much of it. 

 

It's no doubt harder for parents today but it's the parents job. My daughter has two boys with the oldest being 14. He loves video games and the internet. She strictly controls when and what and how much. She also has all sorts of neat tricks to incentivize other (more healthy) activities.

[Choporoz]

I strongly agree with those above that suggest that you, as a good father, are best tool to counter your concerns.   But I also acknowledge that I'm quite happy my kids were grown (or mostly:) before I had to face tech, mobile devices and social media the way parents today must.  I think it was a lot easier to modulate the 'influencers' influences 20 years ago.

[huZZah]

On 2/21/2021 at 4:04 AM, Choporoz said:

  I think it was a lot easier to modulate the 'influencers' influences 20 years ago.

Keep in mind it works the other way too. There are also a ton of really good positive influences on YouTube/the internet. It’s just that they don’t get nearly the attention. (Dude Perfect, the box fort guys, etc are examples of great things my kids love.). I let my son watch Roland Martin videos and bassresource with me. I pre-screen but they tend to be very family friendly, funny, and informative.  Roland Martin reminds me of my dead great uncle so it’s enjoyable to tell my son stories while we watch. 

There are other fishing videos that just use too much language for me to be comfortable. 

[NYWayfarer]

I agree 100% Tyler is a great kid and a good role model for young men. His channel is informative and not full of silly challenges (full disclosure, I enjoy these from time to time) He does have sponsorships but he is not so in your face with them the whole video.

 

The only other channel that comes to mind as a healthy option for young folks would be Debo’s Fishing. He has no sponsors I know of so no influence other than a love of fishing and the desire to pass that on.

Growing up my influencers were my Dad and Grandfather (Mom’s side) I would be hard pressed to remember a time when these two didn’t have a cigarette dangling from their mouth and a beer in their hand, sometimes while driving a boat or car. My dad quit smoking and got lucky he didn’t kill himself behind the wheel. My Grandfather died of a complication during lung cancer surgery.

 

I don’t smoke, never have and when I enjoy a drink it’s at home or when someone who isn’t drinking has the car or boat keys. I was influenced by these great men but I had the common sense to know even the people I looked up to had faults.
 

The easiest ways to combat these influencers effects on your kids is to not be influenced yourself. In my house my wife and I are not into social media in the least. We don’t post pictures of every little thing we do on Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. Our son is the same. We all have friends that must do something every free minute and post it so the whole world sees their amazing life. Must be exhausting if you ask me.

[roadwarrior]

When I was growing up:

Harold Ensley, The Sportsman's Friend

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Ensley

[TriStateBassin106]

In regards to OP I would recommend showing your kids content that would help them become better anglers. I'm 22 and that's all I watch on the fishing side of YouTube. No "20 dollar walmart challenges" just videos on how to become better fishermen, also introduce the kids to the bassresource channel. Great tips for almost anything related to bass fishing. 

[fishwizzard]

"Bad Influencers" have always been around, but I think kids had to work a little harder back in the day to find a bad influence. 

 

I grew up pre/early internet and pretty much every bad habit I had/have was likely sparked by something I had read, often in a book from my dad's collection.  I know I first started smoking (filterless Pall Malls) due to reading a ton of Vonnegut when I was in my teens, Bukowski got me drinking bottom-shelf wine by the gallon, Huxley and Thompson got me to try psychedelics, the list goes on.  

 

Kids/young adults are always going to find inspiration to do things that they shouldn't, what's important is that they have been taught to not blindly accept everything they see and hear but to look at things with a critical eye, which is maybe the greatest thing my parent's taught me.