Civility is a word that is rarely used today. It harkens back to a distant past when humanity aspired to be civilized – well-mannered and cultured. Historically, it has also been used to refer to communities, governments and civilizations, but this usage also feels archaic. It’s time to bring the word back into everyday use, and MrBeast is the man to do just that.
Eighty-five percent of respondents to a 2023 American Bar Association civic literacy survey believe that “society is less polite than it was 10 years ago,” while only 6% believe that “society has become more polite.”
Social media was the number one reason respondents cited for the decline in civility, closely followed by the media. Additionally, 53% said people are not well informed about how their government works, and 17% said people are not informed at all.
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The unrest this spring is further evidence that the majority of people are not well-informed (or prefer to remain rationally ignorant) about what they are protesting and what their government represents.
While social media, along with the media, have been accused of spreading half-truths, sowing discord and encouraging clickbait, there is one exceptional online presence whose online behaviour should be examined and emulated: Jimmy Donaldson, known to many as Mr. Beast, a self-made YouTube personality who encourages calm and rational debate towards consensus rather than dividing society along fault lines.
MrBeast is one of the highest earners on YouTube, having recently amassed over 250 million followers, all obsessed with his elaborate stunts and contests. Though MrBeast does not shy away from controversy, his journey from obscurity to Gen-Z legend offers many valuable lessons for society.
Above all, examining how Jimmy Donaldson behaves online helps us understand how civility as a response to social pressure produces outcomes that unite people rather than divide them.
There are many examples where he has demonstrated his ability to simply defuse conflict: When Mr. Beast launched his chocolate bar brand, Feasibles, the craze and demand was so great that supply could not keep up, leaving store shelves cluttered and untidy.
In response, MrBeast tweeted his followers with an unconventional request: “Help me out!” [store shelves] Then, the next time he went to Walmart, he made sure to leave the shelves cleaner. He incentivized his fan base with a $5,000 prize for the best “shelf photo” showing a before and after. This approach encouraged his followers to be good citizens by leaving the shelves in the same or better condition than before.
MrBeast first attracted and then widened a niche base of gamers by producing low-quality videos of him playing video games and attempting unusual challenges (like counting to 100,000 without sleeping or being buried in a coffin).
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As his profile and audience grew, he moved to more elaborate scenarios and larger giveaways. In a 2018 video, he documented the beginning of his efforts to help those less fortunate, handing out $10,000 to a homeless man from one of his first sponsorships on YouTube. Over the next few years, MrBeast was able to give away more money through his videos by continually reinvesting the revenue he made from views and redeploying his capital resources to create new, amazingly elaborate videos that quickly went viral.
MrBeast’s story isn’t just a rags-to-riches story: He’s used sponsorship money to randomly give away millions of dollars to everyday people, from Uber drivers to Twitch streamers.
Since then, inspired by his success helping others and becoming a huge online sensation, MrBeast has become a philanthropist and now makes videos to help clean up the world’s dirtiest beaches, plant 20 million trees, cure blindness, and dig 100 wells to provide clean, reliable water to impoverished communities – all funded by his YouTube dollars.
While most of us would describe him as a kind-hearted person, his good deeds have been met with scorn from some, with critics pointing out that his charity work is posted on YouTube, bringing in even more money for Jimmy Donaldson/Mr.Beast.
Luckily, he’s brushed off the criticism with infectious enthusiasm, encouraging the next generation to work hard to make what they love, give back to those less fortunate, and be responsible with what they say and write on social media.
Through his work, Jimmy Donaldson actively fosters civility and social consciousness in society and public spaces. From Gen Z to Baby Boomers, we Americans should learn from Mr.Beast and strive to show love, empathy, and compassion to one another.
Wayne Gearing is a professor of education at the University of Texas at Austin.
