A little rant….

N826AW said:
I see things a little differently. While I agree a good chunk of the content is cringeworthy, I can imagine a 15 or 16 y/o N826AW being pretty interested in following a pilot on social media and learning the ins/outs of their day. I follow a female Southwest pilot on the 'gram. I bet many of her followers are young women who have an interest in aviation, identify with her, and *hopefully* see themselves in the profession because of her. I think that's pretty cool.
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You mean the one with “0” turbine PIC, no B737 type rating and was an f/o for only a couple years at the Regional? Yep….times certainly have changed!
 
Autothrust Blue said:
(just kidding - it would appear some of this is if not expressly encouraged by certain corners, it’s at least tacitly approved, which, eh, whatever.)
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Some of it is probably encouraged or approved, but certainly not all. I can't find the thread we had about him, but does anyone remember Moon from PSA a few years ago? He had to take down the videos he made, apparently after getting in trouble for them. Of course, his videos may have gone a step further than most- I remember he filmed a "pew pew style" video in uniform.

Interestingly, Moon has also unsuccessfully run for a seat on the Westfield, Massachusetts city council.
 
Kingairer said:
Unfortunately I think hes an AA guy. We have Dacujji and this guy, oh my goodness, im going to go cry in the corner now.
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We are all little men, compared to that SkyGod pilot in that series of youtube videos. :)

Curiously, was that Swayne guy’s stuff allowed or encouraged by his airline?
 
A300Capt said:
Ugh, I’m probably gonna regret this when I sober up and get trashed with the usual “Ok..Boomer” type of responses, I try to keep my post upbeat but I guess got a little triggered recently. Yep…I guess I’m showing my age.

During some of my retired free time I occasionally like to watch some YouTube videos on “A day in the life of an airline/corporate pilot“ or any other profession I find interesting. This usually ends up with me going down a rabbit hole with all kinds of profession related videos. Some I have subscribed to are the Blancolirio reports and flying with big Ern. I find them well done and entertaining, for the most part, and take comfort in the fact that “I don’t have to do that anymore” but fun to reminisce. There are other Vloggers that I think put out good content for the general public, wannabes and young folks about aviation that I watch. They maintain a professional attitude, content and I respect their expertise and opinion on aviation related subject matter. Some serious, some comical and some a mix.

My rant has more to do with what’s becoming an increasingly common type of “Vlogger” that seems to pop into my aviation feeds lately. It usually consists of the relatively young, new hire jetjock emphasizing the “I’m an AIRLINE PILOT” mantra while practically filming their entire existence walking around and showing a day in the life…. This also usually include (lately) them walking around shirtless in their hotel rooms as they ready themselves for work. Is this important for the video? Sometimes just a towel wrapped around them as if they just walked out of the shower. I mean, who doesn’t get out of the hotel shower on a layover, wrap a towel around themselves (make sure it very waist low) and think, “Hey, let me grab my iPhone and film a short video and put it on social media for a bunch of strangers to gawk at….maybe I’ll get a chick’s number….or a dude, whatever you’re in to.

During their layovers they then film themselves working out (shirtless, of course) while flexing in the mirror and explaining to their audience this is the “airline pilot” lifestyle. At this point I half expected to see them oiled up, shirtless with jeans wearing Ray Bans and playing beach volleyball prior to checking out of the hotel. I get to see them adding gel to their styled hair, putting on their skincare products, multiple rings on their fingers and wrist bands (I guess this is a thing nowadays) before putting on their uniform shirt which is clearly a size too small to show their chiseled physiques.

Now, I’ll admit, I wish I had their physique when I was younger…I didn’t. My problem is the lack of filtering and this constant insatiable need to film yourself every minute of the day, you know…for content, and then posting all over social media for a bunch of strangers to view as if you’re the most interesting man in the world...you’re not. I thought initially I was gonna see videos about airline flying mostly from a technical side of things. What I get is an episode of “The Bachelor…Desperation Island“ along with someone explaining their laughable Looooong 5 year *struggle* from start of PPL to flying the big jets!

One vlogger I recently came across (Pilot Pete) flies for FedEx. I initially thought, cool….I’ll be able to relate and looks interesting. I quickly grew tired of this young man’s demeanor, the constant over emphasis on I’m an “Airline Pilot” with the accompanying cheesy swagger and smile along with the over exaggerated annunciation of “I’m flying the B767”. The worst is after the flight he usually ask the Capt to “rate his landing” on a scale 1-10 as he’s basically begging for positive affirmation for himself and to share with his audience. Off camera the Capt usually mumbles something complimentary while you watch Pilot Pete soaking in the compliment as if he just received a participation trophy. How about….pack your sh*t up expeditiously so we can get off this thing and get to the hotel van or drive home!

Does anyone else find these videos cringe worthy, embarrassing and unprofessional?? Is it just me? Had I done ANYTHING remotely like this at Brown during my career I would’ve been quickly marched into the CP office and then probably booted off the company property before I had a chance to get my phone out and call the union. Do these folks even take a second to think about how the company could use these videos against them in a disciplinary hearing/firing or how the FAA may view them? Most of them seem awfully young to potentially gamble their careers away like this.

IDK….I guess it’s a much different world and profession then the one I grew up in. Spend less time staring at an iPhone, do your job quietly and professionally. Be humble in success and gracious in defeat.
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You're not wrong at all! Although the boomers are represented by JerryW, so thats bad, although hes not doing it professionally. It's a weird feeling that the career that I always looked up to and held with such reverence as a kid is now turned into these yahoos turning it into a YouTube show while they hustle the latest junk products. I have yet to attempt to have a co-worker film our flights, but it would be unequivocally "NO!"
 
MikeD said:
We are all little men, compared to that SkyGod pilot in that series of youtube videos. :)

Curiously, was that Swayne guy’s stuff allowed or encouraged by his airline?
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When he was at DaccujAir I think it was in coorperation with the airline for propaganda (recruiting) purposes. At his new airline, I am not sure.
 
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
Swayne? Hasn’t made a video in over a year now on YouTube.


United probably realized, a white male doesn’t fit into their new DEI hiring scheme…
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Interesting. I just attended a new hire event at that airline. I took a class picture and just now counted the demographics. 40 total new hires. 31 white guys. Eight men of varying shades. And one woman. A white one.

This is relatively similar to the demographics one might see around one of their crew rooms.

I know you are not a white male but for the pasty fellas out there looking for pilot work, that airline hasn’t abandoned (or “replaced” 🙄) you, despite what Tucker said.
 
As a local under-30 I can assure you that the target demo is still not even for us, as others have pointed out it’s largely tweens and younger. I’d say the average 18 year old is already graduating out of interest in that kind of stuff. And aside from the theatrics there is something to be said about unofficial social media outreach, 12 year old me would have been eating it up. I stumbled upon FS2002 by complete happenstance, plenty of alternate timelines where that never happens and I’m working a desk job somewhere. It does raise the question of who the shirtless antics are even for but thats a different conversation…

We live in scary times, the cultural integration of this kind of behavior is absolutely concerning and hard to see us moving away from. That being said…I do think it’s a laughable notion that it’s a generational change more than a technological one. Given the personalities I’ve come across already in what has been an admittedly short career, I have to believe that if iPhones existed in 1975 we’d be suffering through egotistical musings the likes of which we’ve never seen.

Also once again on the plug: Cockpit Casual/speedtapefilms makes the best aviation content anywhere on the internet.
 
schloopy said:
That being said…I do think it’s a laughable notion that it’s a generational change more than a technological one. Given the personalities I’ve come across already in what has been an admittedly short career, I have to believe that if iPhones existed in 1975 we’d be suffering through egotistical musings the likes of which we’ve never seen.
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100% agree. Technology just enabled humans to embrace their most narcissistic and grotesque form. This phenomenon exists in every demographic that is capable of using said technology. I kinda wish it had happened in 1975 though. Maybe we would have moved past this by now, or at least it would have mellowed out.
 
///AMG said:
100% agree. Technology just enabled humans to embrace their most narcissistic and grotesque form. This phenomenon exists in every demographic that is capable of using said technology. I kinda wish it had happened in 1975 though. Maybe we would have moved past this by now, or at least it would have mellowed out.
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Sometimes I'm happy that cameras were not as prevalent in the '80s as they are now because reasons...
Sometimes I lament the fact cameras were not as prevalent in the '80s because reasons...
 
///AMG said:
100% agree. Technology just enabled humans to embrace their most narcissistic and grotesque form. This phenomenon exists in every demographic that is capable of using said technology. I kinda wish it had happened in 1975 though. Maybe we would have moved past this by now, or at least it would have mellowed out.
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I have a love-hate relationship with the technology of our day, including social media.

Once, long ago, I connected a cable to my TV, pressed a button twice, and it scanned every available channel I might watch; from that moment on I simply turned the TV on and chose the channel I preferred at the moment. It was seamless and fast.

I have a "smart" TV these days, which I personally believe is dumb as a rock. Instead of scanning all available channels I have to individually choose each one, receive a code to enter, and when I turn the TV on, have to scroll through a menu of things about which I don't give a damn to get to the channel I'd like to watch. And then if I don't watch something go on the "smart" TV for a couple days the damned thing forgets me and I have to identify my TV provider again. It takes five minutes to get to a show I'd like to watch.

And then I can see commercials that tout/sell the benefits of a damned air freshener with a computer chip that can talk to my cell phone, or a robotic vacuum cleaner that will tell me when it does my work (and no, I don't - and won't - own either).

I'm kinda' OK with people who post of their life's experience. I enjoy some and ignore others (much like posts on threads to sites such as this one). God knows I've done the same thing here, figuring some people don't give a damn about my dogs or dinner or life and just ignore those things; others simply glance at them and move on, some reply.

Despite the proliferation of information, aren't WE still ultimately able to choose the things we want to see/read/to which we respond? Ads come on and If I can't skip them I go take a leak, check the laundry, or pet my dogs; I feel no obligation to watch or be angered by the interruption. It's easy enough to hit "ignore" or move to the next post without replying, or get a drink/snack, or take a pee at that moment in time.

YMMV, I just think each of us are still in control of the things we watch or read, and how we respond at the moment🤷‍♂️
 
I know it sounds like a very hollow lonely life, but I refuse to pay any subscriptions. I don't have any streaming services, people will ask me if I've seen the latest episode of anything and I'll either give them an askance glance or ignore them altogether. People used to complain about the cost of cable/satellite TV and claimed to cut the cord. Now they're paying more than they were then. If I really want to watch something I can get it, but it doesn't happen that often. I haven't seen Oppenheimer yet, perhaps I will.
 
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