Gongbang: Watching while learning

There are already some online video trends where you watch other people doing something. However, learning has not yet been part of it.

However, that changed some time ago: these videos are called “Gongbang”, the Korean short form of “gongbu bangsong”, which means something like “learning show”.
Like Let's Play videos where you watch other people play, or Mukbang videos where you watch others eat (also called "food porn" by some), you don't do much... except watch.

In this video, for example, a young woman tests a learning method called the “Pomodoro Technique” and essentially invites viewers to join in:
25 minutes of learning, 5 minutes of break. The whole thing four times, then a 20 minute break, then all over again.

The basic concept of the videos is always the same:
you see people learning, and there is a timer showing how long they have been learning. You can often hear quiet, relaxing music in the background, sometimes just a slight hiss or relaxing noises that are not distracting.

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The purpose of the videos

But these videos are not as pointless as they seem at first glance, because they actually serve a purpose for many people: you have a virtual “learning partner”.
In addition, the people learning are putting themselves under a bit of pressure, especially if they are streaming live: At the same time, you want to show the viewers how hard and disciplined you are learning. Especially in eastern countries such as South Korea, where this video trend originally comes from, China and Japan, a lot of emphasis is placed on disciplined learning; many students study for up to 18 hours a day for important exams!

At the same time, these streams are a good counterbalance to the loneliness that you often feel when you spend hours alone poring over learning material, according to a Gongbang streamer with the channel “Man sitting next to me”:

“Watching Gongbang and chatting in real time can keep people motivated and feel like they belong. You can also share your study tips and testing information in the comments.”

Many viewers of these videos and streams leave them on the monitor the whole time while they are learning, which has a double benefit: you don't feel so alone when you are learning and you don't let others leave you so easily Distract yourself from things, since the hard-working streamer is also concentrating on learning.

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Does this also work here?

At least there are indications that this trend is slowly spreading to Western countries. Although there is not as much pressure from family and friends to get into the best universities as is often the case in South Korea, China and Japan, English-language “Study with me” channels are now also appearing.

, learning and memory expert Martin Korte contradicts the theory that you can learn better through videos:

“Attention is divided between what's happening on the screen and what I'm trying to do myself. And that means that you only have a part of your computing capacity and your ability to concentrate.”

According to the expert in the Bayern 2 podcast “Tagesticket” .

Conclusion

There is a superficial similarity to Let's Play videos, but while you just watch them (but also learn how to master some difficult levels yourself), the Gongbang videos encourage you to actively participate: “Look "I'm learning, just learn along" tend to have a more motivating effect.

It remains to be seen whether these videos will become as established here as in the Far East, because for some learners this virtual alternative to a study group, where you learn more and don't talk to each other much, may be too distracting.