The big-hearted MrBeast

In the vast landscape of social media influencers, few have made as significant an impact as MrBeast. With over 200m subscribers on his YouTube channel, he has achieved his childhood dream of becoming the most-subscribed YouTuber to date.

He has 4.5m likes and 16m followers on Facebook, 24.8m followers on X, 45m followers on Instagram and 91.3m followers and 890m likes on TikTok. Let’s just say that MrBeast is a mega-YouTube sensation, and most of his fan-base are children ranging from about age 6 to 16.

The boy behind the Beast

The popular YouTuber was born Jimmy Donaldson and by the age of 13 he had already developed a passion for making videos which he started posting on YouTube. The content he produced then was always around gaming.

He learnt fast and began to diversify his videos so that they included stunts, challenges and philanthropy. They went viral and before long his engaging personality and original content saw his rise into the stratosphere of fame (and fortune).

His often-extravagant stunts and wacky challenges showcased an exciting blend of creativity and humour, and even better he proved to have a big heart for giving back to his community. Children lapped it up. They couldn’t get enough of MrBeast and his audience grew into the obscene millions.

Positive impact

One of the most remarkable aspects of MrBeast’s online presence is his commitment to charitable activities. Through his YouTube channel, he has donated millions of dollars to various causes and individuals in need. His philanthropy has even made its way to South African shores where he has contributed to several initiatives aimed at addressing poverty, education, and healthcare issues.

So, while his stunts and challenges may seem quite ridiculous and over-the-top to parents, it is comforting to know that he is serious about performing philanthropic deeds. In fact, his involvement is indicative of the global impact that social media influencers can have when using their platforms for positive change.

MrBeast’s South African connection

Perhaps what makes him more endearing to South African children, and a smattering of adults, is that MrBeast’s current girlfriend, Maddy Spidell, hails from South Africa. And now, his clothing merchandise can be also found at Edgars stores while his chocolate range is being sold on Takealot as well as at Game and Makro stores. Top this with his philanthropic causes, such as donating 20 000 pairs of school shoes to South African children across the country, and it isn’t surprising that he has cemented a giant following here, too.

Read Managing your own screen time

But is his content always appropriate for our kids?

MrBeast’s content primarily falls into the category of family-friendly entertainment. While some of his challenges may involve physical activities or stunts, they are good, clean, harmless fun. However, it’s important for parents to be aware that certain stunts may not be suitable for very young children, as they might attempt to replicate them without understanding the risks.

In other words, if your child is 8 or younger, you may want to treat MrBeast videos as PG (Parental Guidance), which means previewing the content your child wants to watch and using your discretion when determining whether they can handle the content.

Young kids seem to be quite obsessed with watching MrBeast videos on YouTube when parents should perhaps be managing the amount of screen time they are getting as it is.

Read Good digital habits for your kids

The pros & cons

So, when looking at it from all sides, MrBeast appears to be a force for positive change on the social media landscape. His content, while sometimes a little mindless, does also offer educational aspects and his videos are always upbeat and entertaining. At the end of the day, he uses his fame to do good in the world.

If parents have anything to worry about, it’s that their smaller kids (6- to 8-year-olds) might try emulating one of MrBeast’s more stupid stunts. In this case, parental guidance should come into play.

But really, this slightly nutty, big-hearted YouTuber seems to be dedicated to making a global difference and he is doing it brilliantly. If our children are influenced by his philanthropic ways, well as parents we should be all for it.