“67,000 subscribers on Instagram, 7,000 on Twitter and Snapchat, 6,000 subscribers and 1.5 million views in 144 countries on YouTube. We could almost have filled the Stade de France. For several years, Mathias Miranda ran after the numbers. Driven by the desire for notoriety, he no longer counted the hours in front of his smartphone. The same ritual every evening. “Hey everyone, I hope you are well. Today we meet for a new one live … “On the other side of the screen, his community. Thousands of Internet users who have made him an influencer.
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Autographs, photos: an emerging celebrity
At 15, he was one of the Youtubers in vogue among teenagers. He calls himself Yourmath. Its success is as we recognize it on the beaches of the south of France. Young fans accost him, ask him for autographs and photos. He is not at all a star: on social networks, he is content to talk about his daily life and the problems inherent in a 15-year-old.
This pseudo-celebrity stirs the curiosity of others … and their hatred too. Victim of bullying in middle school, Mathias endures other ills in high school. “I started to be harassed without knowing it, from my first videos. Youtube started it all. It was new to people. They weren’t necessarily mockery, but they were in the judgment. He tolerates the glances and the jibes in public. In his school, the other students call him “Le Youtubeur”, a reductive nickname not always easy to accept.
“I would like to testify in schools, because the word of the teachers and the posters against harassment are not enough. Young people are exposing themselves too much “
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Stream of insults on the internet
On networks, its audience is starting to dry up. At the same time, an event deeply marked him. In late 2017, in response to a popular hashtag, he posted a photo of his make-up face on Twitter. A flood of foul-smelling insults floods his account. “This time I was faced with thousands of insults, hundreds per hour, tens per minute […] I hadn’t done anything to them. I was attacked for no reason. The following year, he reduced his activity on the internet. But the harassment continues on the street. He feels observed, mocked. Little by little, motivation declines. Reason prevails. In early January 2019, he deleted all of his accounts.
Now 18, Mathias tells his story in a book, Happy to exist, which will be released on May 23. A way to mourn these virtual years, with his own words. It is also a way of making young people aware of the dangers of social networks.
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“Let justice prevail”
“I would like to testify in schools, because the word of the teachers and the posters against harassment are not enough. Young people are too exposed. We see it on TikTok in particular. I would also like justice to crack down and punish harassers more justly. “
A new life begins for him. Far from social networks? Not definitely. “Who knows, maybe someday I’ll come back …”
Happy to exist, for a paid download on happydexister.com, thebookedition.com, as well as at the Leclerc des Capucins cultural space in Thionville and at the Audun-le-Tiche press house
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