This whole thing blew up, family all angry at each other and somehow I’m the bad one
My younger brother (15) has become obsessed with some AI thing called “Vubo” to make these stupid brain rot videos and thought he was going to get rich. Yeah…
I told him the truth that it just doesn’t make sense. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
It’s simple economics. Why would a website let you make these videos that can supposedly be monetized if they could just make them themselves.
Anyways my brother asks my mom for some tax document to submit to YouTube for Adsense.
I went behind his back to my mom and told her not to do it.
He finds out and throws a giant fit saying I’m ruining his life and crushing his dreams. That I’m secretly jealous he will be rich and I’ll be a loser forever with a “normie job”
Long story short, he ends up convincing my mom and she gives him the documents. Nuts.
Anyways his “big payday” arrived which was like $700 after 2 months. If you calculate that as hourly pay it’s probably $1/hr he could’ve made more getting an actual job at McDonalds.
But of course now I’m the ahole he’ll never forgive. Won’t speak to me.
Whole house basically turned on me like I’m some Betty downer and have no ambition and I’m a pessimist. So AITAH? Anyone was in a similar situation? Thanks. Will be showing responses to family. I feel like I’m losing my mind here.
Comments
YTA. It wasn’t hurting you. He’s only 15, so it’s not like he’s missing out on a big career by producing these videos instead. Let the kid live, even if it’s something stupid.
At 15, dreams, even unrealistic ones, feel deeply personal. If someone undermines them, especially secretly, it’s easy for him to interpret it as jealousy or a lack of belief in him.
YTA – you are a “Betty downer…and a pessimist.” At least you were, here.
Not only did you dismiss his idea based assumptions while not looking at his business plan (unless you left that out), you went behind his back in a way that did not suggest you were trying to help him rather than enforce your opinion being best.
Why not help him think through the plan and improve it practically, getting him some useful experience whether or not it succeeds? Because YTA.
I think you’re afraid of him becoming one or the myriad online slop con artists as his career, but there are so many other paths that your actions here maybe yanked him away from.
Also, he’s 15. Let him make some damn mistakes.
The best way for people to learn is through their own experiences and mistakes. Whilst he is young and living at home, the environment is a safe place to make mistakes.
The best thing a big brother can do is to support and help him overcome his mistakes.
When teaching I can tell students what the right way and wrong way is. Invariably people always do it the wrong way, then finally realise why it was wrong, and why the right way is right.
There are people who make money as content creators but they have to work EXTREMELY hard at it to gain a large following. You don’t make any real money without a huge audience which requires way more hours a week than a “normie” job. Unless he is truly dedicated, it will be nothing more than a hobby. It also sounds like he just gave all his tax information (which is enough to commit fraud in his name) to some random org on the internet. There is a way to be smart about things but that doesn’t sound like the path they are following. NTA just a realist.
This story seems fake to promote a product tbh. Assuming it’s real 700 bucks after only 2 months isn’t bad at all. Especially for a 15 year old. Most teenagers work close to minimum wage 10-20 hours a week.
Umm, several hundred bucks every couple months is still a solid thing to have as a side hustle. Sounds like you were just wrong and now you’re mad.
Yup you are the asshole. Making 700 dollars in his first two months is extremely impressive and super rare – particularly when he is new to the YouTube game. You are working against your brother who is putting in honest work to achieve his dreams and is already showing great results. You are in the wrong.