A Study of the Impact of YouTube on Drama Spectatorship Among University Students in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This research primarily focuses on studying the impact of the usage of YouTube on the theatre spectatorship of university students in Sri Lanka. Spectatorship can be described as interest and tendency (students’) to watch a live theatre performance. This research focuses on students in the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences of three major national universities, incorporating the University of Kelaniya, the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, and the University of Colombo. The liveliness and the performing quality of dramatic art grab the audience’s attraction via aesthetic experience. Through live and recorded artistic creations, YouTube conveys the aesthetic experience to the audience. Using YouTube, we can have aesthetic experiences from anywhere, any time and cheaply. According to the DATAREPORTAL.COM statistics on April 2023, YouTube is used by a community of 2.527 billion of the world’s population and 6.68 million of the Sri Lankan population. In this situation, whether an audience is willing to visit the theatre, buy a ticket and watch a play. This research is expected to be conducted on whether YouTube has impacted the spectatorship of Sri Lankan university Students. The main objective of this research is to examine the impact of YouTube on the inclination to spectatorship in theatre among university students. Quantitative research methodology is used for this research. Data is expected to be obtained from the students of the three national universities, and expected to analyse the data come to conclusions.