Lifestyle

Humanizing the YouTube star: Reactions on Shane Dawson’s Jake Paul documentary

My eyes are burning but why am I still watching?

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On a Friday afternoon, I paused my work as I watched the highly anticipated last installment of what you can probably call a YouTube documentary.

The cast of characters? OG YouTuber Shane Dawson who has a penchant for creating in-depth videos on the internet’s most hated and, well, one of internet’s most hated, Jake Paul (second only to none other than his older brother Logan who earlier this year posted a vlog shot in Japan’s suicide forest which showed a dead body).

What is going on here? 

Now let me make it clear that I’ve never watched a Jake Paul video in my life (what any self-respecting adult would say), but I also had no idea who Shane Dawson was until the first Jake video dropped. And yet, I find myself glued to the screen excited for the one hour and 45-minute finale after having watched each minute of every preceding video Shane has churned out on the topic. And, I’m not the only one.

The very first video in this series posted three weeks ago now has 21 million views. And the last part which was posted 24 hours ago? 13 million and rising.

“Is Jake Paul a sociopath?” That is the question Shane sought to answer as he jumped into the rabbit hole of the YouTuber’s downward spiral from fame. Shane hypothesizes that it takes a special type of person to be a YouTuber. He goes on to research on the 21-year old’s YouTube history, family background, and even surrounding controversies.

It seems like an uncanny tandem: Shane, seemingly wiser in YouTube years, and Jake, young, reckless and crass. The question on everybody’s mind, will the young Paul redeem himself in this series?

YouTube killed the Vine star…

This whole thing plays out on YouTube which is fitting. It’s the next big controversy and it’s trending but there’s something peculiar about a seven-part-long series cut up into videos that run 40 minutes to almost two hours long each.

See, this is what YouTube has done. It’s created spectacles out of people and the next explosive thing to watch is what the audience jumps to. This is precisely how former Vine star Jake Paul has grown his YouTube empire. But, at a time when audience attention spans rival those of a goldfish and people have been trained to watch short, excitable, attention-grabbing bursts of nonsense in video form, this longer documentary format is refreshing. And surprisingly, it’s a success.

Spoiler alert

Those who hated Jake hated Shane for doing the series, knowing fully well that the series will humanize Jake no matter how shitty of a person he really is. Spoiler alert: We find midway through the series that Jake is unlikely to be a sociopath. Instead, at the end of the series, what we find is a confused kid who can’t process emotions or controversy.

Those who love Jake, well, I judge them — and that’s the thing. We want the bad guys to get called out. We don’t want redemption for them, for people like Jake who’s been accused of racism and abuse, recklessly burning down a pool, climbing atop a news van, and the list goes on. 

More spoilers: Any villain will seem less evil when we get to know them. That is what has happened here. Shane Paul has effectively humanized the YouTube superstar. And, some will argue, he’s humanized the worst of them.

So is there redemption after all? If the view count is to be believed, probably. As to if that’s a good thing, I leave that to the audience to decide.

One thing’s for sure: YouTube is an ongoing show and this is just one of the chapters.

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Cameras

What HYROX Hong Kong looks like up close

Photographed on the Canon EOS R6 Mark III.

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June 11, 2026

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HYROX drew people from all over the world for a single purpose: finish the course. In Hong Kong, athletes showed up at AsiaWorld-Expo ready to run, row, and push through 8 stations of pure functional fitness.

So, we brought the Canon EOS R6 Mark III to capture one of the most demanding fitness races on the planet.

The Expo floor is a lighting nightmare, a mix of harsh overheads and deep shadows, but the 32.5MP sensor handled the contrast without breaking a sweat.

The 40fps electronic shutter and Pre-continuous shooting meant we were already capturing the moment half a second before we consciously decided to press the shutter.

Covering a race means staying mobile, and the 8.5-stop IBIS let us move freely alongside athletes without losing the shot. The Dual Pixel CMOS AF II stayed locked on athletes even when they were squinting through the final stretch.

What came out were stories of triumph and determination. Even when their bodies were screaming, they pushed through anyway.

This is what HYROX Hong Kong looked like from the inside.

Words by MJ Jucutan. Photos by Sky Rodillas.

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Apps

The No-Nonsense guide to mid-year shopping

Let AI do the heavy lifting for you this Lazada 6.6 Super WOW Sale

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June 5, 2026

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The mid-year sale season is here, but the days of mindless impulse buying are over.

Shoppers are shifting toward intentional, value-driven decisions, focusing on quality, authenticity, and actual utility over flashy, low-quality gimmicks.

From 8:00 PM on June 5 until 11:59 PM on June 8, 2026, the Lazada 6.6 Super WOW Sale is dropping major discounts. But the real win is using the platform’s tools to maximize your budget.

Lock in the baseline discounts

Before diving into specific items, map out how to stack the core offers.

You can stretch your money by hunting down LazFlash Deals for up to 90% off, collecting up to PhP 3,000 in stackable vouchers, and ensuring every order qualifies for the free shipping offers available throughout the event.

True value comes from combining these three layers of savings on things you already need.

Jisulife: One of the participating, trusted brands you can get from LazMall

Filter for authentic value

Shopping smart means avoiding the trap of “too good to be true” counterfeits that end up in the trash.

Data shows a massive consumer shift toward trusted quality, with LazMall growth vastly outperforming standard listings during major sales.

To ensure your money goes toward genuine products with real warranties, restrict your browsing to official, brand-certified stores.

If you are upgrading your tech, parenting gear, or wardrobe, look to trusted names anchoring the sale like UGREEN, JisuLife, ANTA, Maserati Watches, Momcozy, and O.TWO.O.

UGREEN: One of the participating, trusted brands you can get from LazMall

Outsmart the noise with built-in tech

Don’t waste hours scrolling through endless listings or guessing which product is better.

The smartest way to navigate a massive mid-year event is to let the platform’s built-in features cut through choice paralysis.

Tools like AI Lazzie and AI Picks allow you to instantly compare similar items, analyze prices, and get personalized recommendations based on actual data rather than generic marketing hype.

Smart Shopper Tip: True value is a mix of the right price, verified authenticity, and a seamless return policy. Use this sale period to stock up on everyday essentials and high-quality upgrades rather than panic-buying items you’ll regret later.

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Entertainment

X-Men ’97 returns to Disney+ for second season

Emmy-nominated series to continue mutant team’s story

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May 30, 2026

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Marvel Animation’s Emmy-nominated X-Men ’97 is returning to Disney+ for a second season, starting July 1.

Along with this announcement, a trailer and poster have been made available. The first season of the animated series was one of the most-watched Disney+ originals, and a hit with fans and critics alike.

Season 2 continues with the heroic mutant team of X-Men, divided and thrown across different eras in time as they struggle to navigate their return home.

Meanwhile, back in the 1990s, suspicious foes and new strains of mutant intolerance are on the rise in the wake of the protagonists’ absence.

The second season will be comprised of nine episodes. The voice cast includes:

  • Ross Marquand as Professor X
  • Matthew Waterson as Magneto
  • Ray Chase as Cyclops
  • Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey
  • Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm
  • Cal Dodd as Wolverine
  • Lenore Zann as Rogue
  • George Buza as Beast

The series is executive produced by Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, Julia Lewald, Eric Lewald, Larry Houston, and Beau DeMayo.

Jake Castorena serves as the supervising producer. Episodes were written by JB Ballard, Beau DeMayo, Bailey Moore, Antony Sellitti, Brian Ford Sullivan, and Mariah Wilson.

The episodic directors are Emmett Yonemura and Chase Conley.

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