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Spartan Shield

The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield

The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield

When life’s a beach, you clean it up

MrBeast+and+Mark+Rober+use+social+media+to+ensure+images+like+these+become+less+common.+
Photo by Dustan Woodhouse via Unsplash.com
MrBeast and Mark Rober use social media to ensure images like these become less common.

Social media is a way for users to share photos and videos, stay in touch with friends and family and find funny or entertaining content. However, one pair of social media influencers are taking a unique approach and using their platform to positively impact the world. 

YouTubers Mark Rober, MrBeast and a group of 17,000 content creators are using their large fanbases to raise awareness about the huge amount of trash currently in the ocean. Rober and MrBeast have recently started their TeamSeas campaign to remove 30 million pounds of trash before 2022. For each dollar they receive, they will remove one pound of trash out of the ocean. 

So far, they have removed 15,888,050 pounds of trash according to the TeamSeas website. This is great news for TeamSeas considering this fundraiser began on Oct. 29, 2021.

MrBeast’s initial projects did not necessarily have a direct and positive impact on the community. He was better known for his crazy challenges such as spending 24 hours underwater, giving $20,000 to the last person to leave a rollercoaster and even ordering a pizza and giving a tip of a house.

However, as MrBeast’s following grew, he shifted his challenges to do something for people in need after realizing he could significantly help the community around him. More videos rolled out such as giving $1,000,000 of food to people in need, donating $200,000 to people who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and, as a part of his 20 million subscriber special, planting 20 million trees.

Teaming up with Rober and his fanbase, MrBeast, his fans and 8,800 fellow YouTubers came together to plant trees and raise money for the TeamTrees initiative. The team was a force to be reckoned with because not only did they reach their goal of raising $20 million, but they surpassed it, raising $23 million in the short two-month window from Oct.-Dec 2020. 

During the TeamTrees initiative, MrBeast and Rober not only used their platform to positively impact the environment, but they inspired many young influencers in the process. The initiative sparked the idea that everybody has the potential to change the world. 

PV alum Evin Ersan, an Instagram positivity influencer, is inspired by Rober and MrBeast’s efforts to make the world a better place. “Personally, I have been a frequent viewer and admirer of Mr. Beast and Mark Rober,” expressed Ersan. “They are two of the most influential Youtubers on the platform who use their channels to not only entertain audiences all over the world but also to make the world a better place in so many ways! This, in my opinion, is the greatest deed of them all, and that is why I hold the utmost respect for them.” 

Ersan explained how influencers who use their platform for something good truly inspire others to do the same. “I speak from experience when I say it isn’t easy growing a platform on social media, especially one dedicated to positivity,” explained Ersan. “There will inevitably be setbacks. However, if you can manage it, you can not only inspire positive change but also the future positive influencers and leaders of the world.”

Social media influencers have the power to persuade their followers. Some use their power to promote their sponsored products while some channels use their power to inspire people and even clean the environment. 

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About the Contributor
Mukul Kulkarni, Copy Editor
Mukul Kulkarni is a Senior at Pleasant Valley High School and will be working as a Copy Editor for the Spartan Shield. He is a passionate musician, teaching himself drumset and successfully auditioning for a snare drum [position on the Spartan Drumline after less than a year of experience. Mukul wishes to continue exploring talents by joining the PV jazz band as a drummer and being a part of Drum Corps International. Hoping to be an engineer in the future, using and teaching STEM principles is a central part of Mukul’s life. Mukul volunteers for the non-profit STEAM On Wheels, an organization that encourages elementary school students to pursue STEM careers by conducting creative hands-on experiments. Mukul has a job as a tutor for Mathnasium, a math only learning center. Although Mukul is undecided about which university he will attend, his creativity and interest for engineering can be seen with his woodworking projects, a skill he taught himself. 
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When life’s a beach, you clean it up