YouTube will soon be abbreviating the displayed subscriber count of creators. The move was announced back in May, but it will be slowly rolling out this coming September.
Subscriber Count Abbreviation
Last May, YouTube gave creators a heads-up that it will soon abbreviate the subscriber count displayed on desktop and in the app for anyone with more than 1,000 subscribers. This means that if a creator has 4,227 subscribers, it will be abbreviated to 4.2k until the channel reaches a subscriber count of 4,300.
Back then, YouTube did not give any more details as to why it was making the change, but acknowledged that it knows how important subscriber counts are to both the YouTube creators and their fans.
Stress And Well-Being
On Aug. 29, YouTube announced that it will be gradually rolling out the abbreviated subscriber count this September, reminding the public that while they will see the abbreviated counts, creators will still be able to see the specific numbers in YouTube Studio and YouTube Analytics.
This time, however, YouTube explained a major reason for the abbreviation. Evidently, apart from consistency, YouTube made the change to address the stress and well-being of creators. The idea is that by abbreviating the subscriber count, creators will experience less stress about it and focus more on telling their story and creating content.
‘Positive Step For The Community’
“While we know not everyone will agree with this update, we hope it’s a positive step for the community, both those viewing and creating content,” YouTube notes.
True enough, the comments on the announcement are less than accepting of the change, with some saying that no one wanted or asked for it, and others saying that it is a bad idea. Some, however, are suggesting that the change be an optional one.
On the flip side, there are those, though less, who are thanking the YouTube team and some who agree that this would help creators focus on creating decent content rather than competition or the subscriber count.
