How does it feel to have one’s online worth and status be based almost exclusively on metrics? We examine this question through a qualitative study of YouTube “drama” channels. Drama creators cover the conflicts and scandals taking place among top YouTube celebrities. As producers of meta-commentary, they often rely on metrics as indicators of influence and celebrity on YouTube, thus constituting a relevant site to examine the connection between social media metrics and status. Based on interviews with English-speaking drama creators, we report three main findings. First, creators have a double orientation toward YouTube, which they understand as a site of both economic opportunities and tight-knit relationships. Second, the meanings that creators attach to metrics—their own and the ones of top YouTubers—reflect this double orientation: for them, metrics correlate with economic revenue and social status. Due to this central and multifaceted role of metrics, we find that traffic numbers can turn into a spectacle of their own for drama creators. Third, even in a context in which metrics are central, we identify several distancing strategies on the part of creators. We conclude by discussing whether—and why—resistance to metrics can be found everywhere.

几乎完全基于指标来衡量自己的在线价值和地位的感觉如何？我们通过对YouTube“戏剧”频道的定性研究来研究这个问题。戏剧创作者讲述了YouTube顶级名人之间发生的冲突和丑闻。作为元评论的制作者，他们通常依靠指标作为YouTube上影响力和知名度的指标，因此构成了一个相关站点，以检查社交媒体指标与状态之间的联系。根据对英语戏剧创作者的采访，我们报告了三个主要发现。首先，创作者对YouTube有双重导向，他们将YouTube理解为既有经济机遇又有紧密联系的网站。其次，创作者对指标的理解（他们自己和YouTube上的顶尖人才）反映了这种双重倾向：对他们而言，和社会地位。由于指标的这种中心作用和多面性的作用，我们发现流量数字对于戏剧创作者来说可以变成一种奇观。第三，即使在度量标准为中心的情况下，我们也会确定创作者的几种疏远策略。最后，我们讨论是否到处都可以找到对度量标准的抵抗力以及为什么。