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Logan Paul Knocks Zoella Off Top Spot As Children's Preferred YouTuber

Logan Paul Knocks Zoella Off Top Spot As Children's Preferred YouTuber

It was only weeks ago that the YouTube star found himself at the centre of a scandal, but now a study has placed him as kids' favourite.

Paddy Maddison

Paddy Maddison

In the space of no more than a couple of weeks, YouTuber Logan Paul has gone from being the most hated figure on the internet to knocking fellow streaming service star Zoella off her throne as the most popular YouTube personality with children. The findings were presented by a study conducted by research firm Childwise.

The 22-year-old was embroiled in a scandal earlier in January when he posted a video to his channel showing the body of an apparent suicide victim in Aokigahara Forest in Japan - a location renowned as a suicide hotspot.

His rise in popularity suggests that children are moving away from wholesome big sister/brother-type figures like Zoella, and are seeking out edgier YouTubers to keep them entertained in their downtime.

The Childwise study looked at the media habits of 2,000 children in the UK aged five to 16. It found that YouTube is now the most popular destination, with virtually all children in the age bracket visiting the site on a daily basis.

"Zoella losing her top YouTuber slot to Logan Paul shows that we could be moving into a new era with a change in the kind of vloggers that are popular with children," said Simon Leggett, research director.

Zoella/YouTube

"Children used to mainly follow wholesome, big-sister/brother types who offered chatty advice and company. However, children's favourite new vloggers are more edgy, with a style more akin to negative playground behaviour, where the most popular vloggers are the ones that do the worst possible things they can get away with on YouTube."

YouTuber Paul took a short break from his channel after he received widespread negative attention regarding a video which shows a dead body.

The video was removed from the streaming site following a barrage of criticism, and the vlogger was taken off its Preferred programme, which lets brands sell ads on the top 5% content creators.

"Prior to this year, Logan had not been chosen by children at all," said Mr Leggett.

Logan Paul/YouTube

"His growing audience, which starts as young as age nine, were potentially exposed to shocking content over new year after Logan's ill-considered decision to upload a widely criticised video of his visit to Aokigahara, Japan's 'suicide forest'."

Paul has since apologised for the video which was branded tasteless and disrespectful. He added that he did not expect to be forgiven.

The YouTube star also filmed a suicide prevention video and has pledged to donate $1 million to a suicide prevention charity.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Entertainment, Logan Paul, youtuber, world entertainment, YouTube