Learning, Having Fun and Solving Problems with How-To and Knowledge Videos

Based on an online questionnaire survey of 5,002 internet users representative of the French population aged 15 and over, this article shows that watching how-to and knowledge videos (e.g. on cooking, DIY, popular science, personal development, etc.) has become a widespread, cross-cutting digital practice (80% of respondents watch them) across all social classes and age groups. To be sure, viewing reproduces gendered differences (knitting for women, mechanics for men, to take the extremes of traditionally feminine and masculine poles), but gender differences are less marked in viewing than in practice, pointing to curiosity about each other’s practices and a loosening of boundaries. While young people watch more than older adults and explore a wider variety of domains, some domains are favored by retirees, such as gardening and DIY. The viewing of these videos is by no means a passive form of consumption or one that is imposed by algorithms; it is part of long-term commitments, often linked to a taste for the practice in question, and embedded in broader social networks. We explore the continuum between practical and intellectual knowledge, then characterize several ‘worlds of practices’ based on combinations of the domains viewed. Video has indeed become a resource in the construction of knowledge and know-how, as the analysis of the relation between watching videos and actual practice shows.