MrBeast is intensifying challenges and prizes to keep his audience entertained. YouTube’s most-subscribed-to creator is known for putting contestants through grueling challenges that test their physical and mental endurance—with the promise of a large cash prize. Video participants willingly subject themselves to uncomfortable, sometimes extreme, conditions in hopes of becoming debt-free. Many contestants express their desire to use the money to pay off their debts, whether it be medical bills, student loans, or mortgages, making the weeks or months they spend filming worth it. It’s not hard to believe young people would basically do anything to be more well off financially when YPulse data shows the majority of Milliennials say they are constantly worried about debt. The American Dream now seems to involve enduring (viral) hardship to pay off debt as working hard to achieve financial success feels less attainable. (TechCrunch)
