Mapping of Learning Efficacy Through YouTube: An Empirical Study of Media Learners in Kolkata

YouTube has augmented from a platform of entertainment and information dissemination to a brilliant tool of learning and sharing knowledge.Supporting the mechanism of online education, social media became a podium where knowledge could be shared easily and interaction was possible despite the strict confinement protocols during Covid 19.Social distancing hampered the educational process and social media tried to fill the gap thereby making interactions possible between teachers and learners, and kept them connected.During this time YouTube emerged as a learning tool which facilitates understanding of concepts and expertise.This research attempts to study the utilization of YouTube for the purpose of learning.The research methodology adopted is qualitative and focussed group discussions have been conducted and analyzed to understand the usage of the platform by the learners of media and communication studies.The research substantiates the social learning theory that erudition can take place by observation of media like YouTube and acts as an aid to understanding concepts and procedures.The study delves into reasons for which media students can efficiently learn from YouTube like easy and cheap accessibility, audio-visual content, content in various languages, significant resources, and varied content.There are also reasons like poor quality of the audio-visual content, frequent advertisements and misleading content which can lead to obstruction in a pleasant experience of learning.The primary reason which emerges from the analysis for the popularity of the medium is 'micro-learning' which enables learning through simplification.