addictions of a kind of innocent sort... maybe

by Rain Trueax

bobcat in our Tucson backyard

Everybody has ways they waste time… Maybe not everybody but I do. I am not sure I can justify my own choices for what I do instead of something important… Well, maybe we need to define important, but after just going into the immigration issues, I am not going to define anything here—just describe what I do when I should be cleaning house or something more noteworthy, like writing on the next book.

My time waster began innocently enough. Don’t they all! I got interested in people who live a full-time RV life. I can’t describe right now how I found the ones I began to check out on YouTube. Maybe because I joined some Facebook groups about RVs since we have one and were looking at changing to something different. Because I also have a YouTube channel, with very little on it, I had interest in the art form, and know from experience that it isn’t the easiest thing to create something others want to follow.

With those full-timers, I began with one woman who was in her early 50s and living a solo life in an RV. From there, I found others based on YouTube recommendations, which it is good at doing. The first one I had started with ended up interesting me less, even annoying me some. If an addiction is annoying, time to let it go. She's so popular that she didn't need my watching to give her an income.

YouTube offers a lot of choices to follow any interest. I even found some political ones (politics is another of my addictions). Some who were forced off major cable stations, like Bill O'Reilly have found a new place to share their views. I also found some with conspiracy talk. Frankly, I prefer reading about politics rather than watching it anywhere. Besides which, I want to spend less time online rather than more. There were also psychics, which again I delved into but wasn’t a permanent interest. Then I came across this one guy, [Rusty West], who reported on people who disappeared in state and federal parks… that might qualify as conspiracy talk as these are true mysteries with no explanation. He doesn't post often, and I do find his programs interesting for who the people are and what kind of search was conducted.

Basically, there are those like the RV woman who make a living from their videos. More probably only make coffee money. The ones I watch have been a mix. [Monetizing a Channel] Since I had no interest in monetizing mine, rarely put one up, I didn't go that route as mine were intended to share nature or my books.

What some might not know is that putting yourself out in public can lead to harassment or even threats of violence. YouTube full-timers are in campgrounds (federal, state or private) or boon docking (staying on BLM land, Walmarts, stealth camping-- all with no hookups to electricity, water, and sewer). Because they are out there in rigs, they can be found if they give out too much info. That’s the problem with the internet— combining a desire to share and maybe help others with being careful too much info is not revealed. It can be misused many ways including false IDs using family stories that might convince a bank an imposter is you.

When I first got onto the internet and into chat rooms, I learned how anonymity changes the game. How people can turn weird. Back then, because of my interest in human nature, I learned some people make up identities to lure others to them (I think now, they call it catfishing). In one chatroom, a man pretended to be a woman to attract a woman who preferred women. That turned bad when he decided they should meet. What was he expecting to happen? I heard stories, male and female, of loaning money that they never got back. People would think they knew someone but photos can be stolen as well as names. This was all before the YouTube era changed the game yet again.

YouTubers pretty much have to be who they are if they use their identity to build up followers. They do not have to use their real names though. Many have partial IDs with some kind of nickname. It gets to feeling like we know them, but we do not. People even on YouTube share what they choose. We know what they want us to know. There are all kinds.

Of the ones I came across, one was a young guy from South Africa, who was spending a year living in his car to travel the US and tell his story. There was a young woman who spoke of her mental illness and the choice she made to want to live in her car. There were couples with big and small rigs as they shared their experiences. Some of those couples would meet, come together, and split up all while YouTubing. 

Full-timers call themselves nomads. Some use a rig to enable travel between jobs and not all are old or retired. Most share the scenery through which they are passing.

For me, the appeal of watching full-time RVers is getting a piece of a life I will never live, would not choose to live for assorted reasons, but vicariously, it’s kind of fun to see the issues they come across. The problem is I can get to caring about someone who I don’t have in my life. Because of only wanting to spend so much time wasting my time lol, after a lot of experimentation, I have only 3, I check on regularly.

There is Caravan Carolyn, who was a nomad for 2 years, traveling mostly in a van and across the West. She has most recently transitioned to a travel trailer in a fenced RV park in Phoenix. She is cautious on giving out too much info as she’s been harassed. Check out her channel-- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6kvjMxJkARZuuvKg5E7tGg

Then there is Blue Van Dan, who I came across because he’s a friend of Carolyn’s and they have camped together. He has a property in California but lives in a van when he can go desert camping. His posts are mostly nature oriented. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS0XBNvsIwcdjCtL94s6PyQ/feed

Last but not least is Campervan Kevin, who has traveled in a van with three adorable Yorkies that he calls the Woof Pack with good reason. He recently got a Class A for the four of them. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ-ZCmivKdbf46c7t1mugcg

Maybe it’s not wasting time as it does contribute by my time there to their check from YouTube (a tiny bit). Maybe learning about someone I’ll never actually meet is not a bad thing unless of course it replaces real life activities… like writing… and yeah that is a problem ….

Uh, in the interest of complete openness, I do have two other YouTube channels to which I subscribe. The first one is about history-- The History Guy. The second is a man in Canada who does gold mining today-- Dan Hurd.  I don't watch either of these as often. If you didn't know, subscribing costs the subscriber nothing (for now) but does let them know when there is a new post.