Teens Paying Absurd Money to Take Selfies with YouTube Stars

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Vice continues its hard-hitting vlogger conference coverage, and this time, writer Amelia Tait takes a look at vlogger conventions where tweens pay hundreds of dollars and wait in line for hours to meet their YouTube heroes. One girl featured spent $730 while at three-day event VidCon in California and waited in line for six hours to meet one YouTuber. At UK's Amity Fest, fans could pay $120 for VIP tickets that would allow them to get one hour to spend with nine YouTube stars—and since there were 75 VIP ticket holders, that works out to about 48 seconds with each YouTuber for the $120 ticket.

That's not much for the money spent, but Tait writes that some fans only want enough time to take a selfie. "It is a proof thing. I feel mean saying it, but sometimes people just want a selfie, they don't want a conversation," writer and vlogger Rosianna Halse Rojas told Vice.

All the craziness around the YouTube conferences and meet ups inspired beauty vlogger Sprinkleofglitter to make a video about her experiences with YouTube hero worship, telling fans it might not be worth their time and money to meet her. She says in the video: "I promise you, it won't be worth it. All you'll get is a hug, I'll give you the best hug I can, and a picture, and maybe a short chat, but then the security people are there and will move you along. What has the YouTube world come to? This is not the solution."
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