7) Tutorials

If you search for "tutorial" on YouTube, 13,500 videos pop up. "How to" yields about 110,000 of them. Clearly, we are a culture that relishes in creating and watching instructional videos.

From the soothing murmurs of Bob Ross and his brushes, to twangy Paula Deen and her pats of butter, we have long been fans of the tutorial. On YouTube, tutorial topics range from Photoshop, changing a tire, and picking a lock, to drawing anime, flossing, and moon walking. From the pinnacles of techiness (see: How To Reverse Engineer a Satellite TV Smart Card) to the depths of social know-how (see: How to Flirt or How to Kiss with Passion) to the just plain random (see: How to shark a 'guess the number of M&Ms in a jar' contest). Practically anything you'd want to know how to do can be found online as a tutorial.

Though some people actually put how-to videos to use (i.e. the ones following along, dabbing when Bob says dab and blending when Bob says blend), others often find themselves watching just for the sake of watching. We are fascinated by the process itself, rather than the end result. A tutorial allows us to break down and dissect the steps, appreciating the details along the way. For example, Bob Ross often makes his viewers stop and admire the amount of paint he has loaded up on his brush.

And while many watch certain Food Network shows for the personalities of the hosts, the prevalence and popularity of amateur-made tutorial videos online speaks to the democratization of instruction. Tutorials produce a liberating do-it-yourself culture, where it's not necessary to take classes or seek professional help in order to learn something. It's sort of like The Matrix where acquiring a new skill is as easy as plugging in and downloading the information.

So the next time you're wondering how to do something, search for its tutorial on YouTube. There's a good chance you'll find someone who wanted to share that very same know-how, and made a handy video to do just that.