Still from 'Elders Play Grand Theft Auto V (Elders React: Gaming)' by React/YouTube
This week in viral videos, we have been watching senior citizens play Grand Theft Auto, early Facebook advertising, a Dover Police dashcam confessional and a daddy-daughter stand-off.
About 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, Facebook videos see over 1bn views per day, and more than 700 YouTube videos shared on Twitter each minute, ensuring there is always video trending on the web.
With so much video available for viewing, we take a look at some of the most-viewed and most-shared videos on the web.
Elders play Grand Theft Auto V
The React YouTube channel, which puts groups of people in a situation they may not be familiar with and films their reactions, put some senior citizens inside the open world of Grand Theft Auto V for 30 minutes, with no information other than the basic controls. It’s hard for them to shake off the sensibilities of adulthood at first, as they obey rules of the road and wonder what a crash will do to their insurance premium. But pretty soon they take to the life of crime that welcomes them. I mean, they really, really take to it. But it’s important to note that these are all consenting adults who have been deemed mature enough to play this game – and that “it’s very fun to do naughty things!”
Uploaded: 21 January 2015
NFL 2015: A Bad Lip Reading of the NFL
It’s January, which can mean only one thing to American football fans: the Super Bowl is just around the corner. The big game is scheduled for 1 February with the Seattle Seahawks facing off against the New England Patriots. If you want to bone up on your American football knowledge before the game of the year, this bad lip reading is not the way to go about it – but it will give you plenty of laughs.
Uploaded: 22 January 2015
Early Facebook commercial from 1995
Back when Facebook was just starting to take off, Mark Zuckerberg and his co-founders relied on word of mouth across college campuses to encourage thousands of sign-ups, but in an alternate universe in which the platform was invented a decade earlier, they may have invested in some high-quality Nineties advertising like this, complete with unique stalker-y selling points.
Uploaded: 20 January 2015
Jimmy Kimmel asks, ‘What is your password?’
We know, thanks to a report issued this week, that the majority of online users’ passwords are disturbingly easy to guess and that, collectively, we are not very savvy when it comes to keeping our information secure. This was proven by US talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel last week when he sent a roving reporter out on the street to do some extremely low-tech password hacking.
Uploaded: 16 January 2015
Dover Police DashCam Confessional captures cop’s take on ‘Shake It Off’
Two images in your mind may need adjusting after watching this video. The first is your image of a typical Taylor Swift fan, and the second is your image of a typical US police officer. Evidently, Swift’s music reaches further than a demographic of bright-eyed teeny-boppers, as this ‘dashcam confessional’ from Dover Police proves. Haters gonna hate, but we say he should singalong without shame.
Uploaded: 16 January 2015
L Young & Da Youngstaz get funky with ‘Uptown Funk’
While it’s pop perfection, what’s lacking in the above video is a good, strong dose of funk, which Mark Ronson’s latest track with Bruno Mars has in spades. This a cappella take from L Young and his suspiciously similar-looking back-up singers Da Youngstaz maybe free of instruments, but it’s full of funk.
Uploaded: 20 January 2015
Adorable daddy-daughter stand-off
This father in pyjamas wants 15-month-old Lola not to stand on tables, but his toddler is defiant and – while she can’t necessarily say recognisable words – she talks back!
Uploaded: 17 January 2015
Life hack: how to drink out of a juice carton
We’ve all been there. You go to the fridge and spy a tempting carton of juice, smoothie, milk or whatever Tetra Pak beverage is your poison, and you decide to take a sneaky sup. There’s no time to be getting a glass and be adding to the pile of washing up – but what if you spill from the carton? Then the jig will be up and you’ll be caught out. Worse still, if you have to tilt your head back for a drink, that could draw attention or – worse still – cause an injury. Well, finally, someone – AKA Duke O’Smiley – has a solution.
Uploaded: 16 January 2015
Stay informed – get daily updates on the latest happenings in technology directly to your inbox.
