Watching TV as a class practice: Brazilian coaches and the therapeutic critique of consumption

Abstract

This article explores how YouTube life coaches repurpose traditional anti-TV discourse for the social media age. While previous scholarship critiqued television as a ‘bad object’, this study reveals how such rhetoric now serves digital capitalism and self-optimisation ideologies. Analysis of eight videos shows how coaches blend anti-TV messaging with content creation, creating a paradox: they criticise ‘passive’ media consumption while producing content for viewers who scroll through endless recommendation feeds. This analysis contributes to media studies by showing how historical critiques of television are reconfigured within YouTube’s attention economy, reshaping cultural capital and digital labour in the platform era.

Keywords

Television coaches self-help culture neoliberal subjectivity cultural distinction Brazilian media

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