Your Tuesday Briefing – The New York Instances

At home, we have our best suggestions on how to live a full and cultured life during the pandemic, with ideas on what to read, cook, see, and do while staying home safe.

Vacuuming floors, scrubbing bathtubs, folding laundry. In addition to a household to-do list, this is a list of what to find in a popular genre of the YouTube channel in videos like “Clean with Me” or “Extreme Cleaning”. The Morning Newsletter looked at the popularity of the videos.

The videos are mostly motivational: some people watch them while cleaning their own houses, others use them as inspiration – especially during the pandemic when a lot of people need a pick-me-up. “The influencers play the role of cheerleader and best friend, lamenting the chaos and offering strategies on how to approach it,” writes Ronda Kaysen of the Times.

The genre also has a sophisticated quality, much like home improvement TV shows. The houses are usually large with extensive kitchens. The videos are set to soothing music and their stars are often young women. The videos reshape and monetize their work.

Jessica Tull started her channel in 2017 as an attempt to make friends while she was at home with young children. “My ex-husband laughed at me,” Tull told the Times. He said there was no way to make a living cleaning the house on YouTube. She has over half a million followers and YouTube is her full time job.

That’s it for this briefing. Until next time.

– Melina

Thank-you
Carole Landry helped write this briefing. Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh took the break from the news. You can reach the team at [email protected].

PS
• We hear “The Daily”. Our latest episode is about the GameStop Rebellion.
• Here is our mini crossword puzzle and a clue: The third largest birds in the world after ostriches and cassowaries (four letters). You can find all of our puzzles here.
• Apoorva Mandavilli, our science reporter, spoke to the BBC about why US coronavirus cases may be falling.

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