There’s been quite a bit of chatter about the “Brian Cox Effect” in the UK recently, as interest in science seems to be on the rise.  But I haven’t heard anyone talking about the “Charlie McDonnell Effect”.

Maybe it’s because Charlie appeals more to a growing movement of teens who just want to immerse themselves in awesomeness, rather than science advocates on the lookout for the next Carl Sagan.  Maybe it’s because Charlie doesn’t fit the mold as science communicator extraordinaire – he didn’t even go to University for goodness sake!  But like it or not, 20 year old Charlie McDonnell is reaching out to millions of teens when it comes to science, and engaging with them in ways few others are even getting close to!

Charlie McDonnell was lauded in today’s Sunday Times as the first Brit to hit 1 million regular viewers on YouTube (the story’s behind a paywall I’m afraid).  You may remember that I highlighted him as someone to look out for in the recent roundup of Science and VidCon.

Amongst the many things he talks about on his YouTube channel, the Sunday Times piece specifically mention his interest in science.  To quote the article,

“Among his latest releases is a four-minute video called Fun Science, in which he plays his ukulele while singing in rhyme about how sound works. It has had 1.7m hits.”

Here is that video, which at the time of writing has has 1,804,281 views, and received more than 21,000 comments:

This is pretty significant when it comes to connecting teens with science (it was only posted two weeks ago).  Charlie’s YouTube channel – charlieissocoollike – currently has 1,194,000 subscribers, and has received over 172 million views.  More importantly, there are millions of teens the world over who listen to what he says, are inspired by it, and act on it – actively engaging in a growing community, rather than passively absorbing received wisdom.

Charlie McDonnell may not fit middle class expectations of an educated yet hip science advocate.  But believe me, he’s the one your kids are more likely to be listening to.  Which means I expect that the “Charlie McDonnell Effect” is alive and kicking – albeit hidden down in the grass roots of a science-hungry on-line community.