The death of a YouTuber may seem obvious at first glance the most normal thing in the world, because ultimately it is that and no other destiny that we all share. So what is so special about the death of a YouTuber? What makes this something noteworthy, even newsworthy? Why am I writing (and you are reading) about the death of a YouTuber?

Let’s start by naming it. The deceased YouTuber called himself Technoblade, although his real name is Alex, and he created Minecraft content for his community of over 12.8 million followers. Granted, back in the day I hardly ever posted videos, but of course facing cancer is a full time job. A job that ended tragically with the death of Alex a few days ago. I was 23 years old.

As a farewell to his community, Techoblade he recorded and uploaded a video to his channel, in which he briefly thanked for everything and he was happy for the life he led. An exercise in shared reflection, using the characteristics of a platform on which he has been able to do what he loves most for years and turn it into a profession. Something truly enviable.

If you’re curious about Technoblade’s farewell video featuring his parents, you can watch it below:

But back to the original question. Although Technoblade is a celebrity in the Minecraft community, Is the death of a YouTuber news? Well, I think that’s the most remarkable thing, yes. Just as the death of musicians, actors, celebrities and people who have done remarkable work has been in the news for a long time, popular content creators are also joining the same bandwagon.

For the older ones and especially for those who are not particularly attracted to the modern ecosystem of content creators, YouTubers, streamers, etc. it can almost be a misdemeanor. Give an obituary to the person who uploaded Minecraft videos to YouTube when we did it a few weeks ago with Vangelis, Andrew Fletcher, Dave Smith, Bernie Stolar, etc. But it’s an acknowledgment that we’re more or less talking about public figures who make their they were able to deserve the space… and that space is very large.

Alex’s case is quite special because we are talking about a very young person. To die at 23 is almost against nature. Content creators are quite young these days (some are already in their 40s, but with some exceptions they are the oldest in the industry), so everyone is expected to live for quite a few more years. However, cases like Technoblade, the YouTuber who left us, they are the first of something that will happen more often in the medium and long term.

What is special about the death of a YouTuber? For someone who didn’t know him, probably nothing. Undoubtedly a lot for your community. And yet media outlets like The Verge repeat it, It is a sign for both that whether we follow this type of content or not, whether we are 20, 40 or 60 years old, “new” (actually, they are less and less new) creators are already part of the communication ecosystem, celebrities and , therefore obituaries. A milestone as unpleasant as it is non-negotiable.