Ever since the video-sharing app Vine shut down in January of 2017, plenty of content creators have been finding success on different platforms, with YouTube being the most prominent. Among these were Jake and Logan Paul, two brothers who have amassed tremendously large followings through their vlogs and music videos. The two have experienced their fair share of controversy since they became breakout internet personalities, mostly through legal trouble or public shame as a result of their ill-advised actions.

Logan Paul has recently come under fire for a video he uploaded on New Years' Day called "We found a dead body in the Japanese Suicide Forest..." in which he and his friends visited Aokigahara Forest in Japan (better known as the Suicide Forest) and recorded themselves wandering off trail. The forest is well-known as a tragic site where some local citizens come to commit suicide and has subsequently become the focus of a number of different horror movies and videos. In Logan's video, the crew comes across the body of a suicide victim hanging from a tree and proceeds to film both the horrific sight and their reactions, which mostly included worrisome chuckles and awkward laughter.

Many have opted to criticize the YouTube star because of his apparent disrespect for suicide victims and mental health in general. Though it is tremendously important to recognize those aspects of the situation, there are plenty of other conclusions that should be extracted from what can only be called a heated controversy.

1. Despite breaching YouTube's rules, Logan Paul was not touched by the YouTube policy enforcers.

It is definitely worth noting that even though Logan Paul's vlog violated the YouTube community guidelines, YouTube made no effort to remove the video at any point before Logan Paul himself removed it. YouTube community guidelines prohibit the posting of "violent or gory content that's primarily intended to be shocking, sensational, or gratuitous". It's hard to tell whether YouTube would've stepped in if he hadn't taken the video down, but the mere fact that the site let it exist for so long points at what many are recognizing as bias towards a personality that contributes to YouTube's success.

What makes that fact even more disturbing is that Logan Paul's primary audience is comprised of young children, suggesting that YouTube paid no mind to a disturbingly graphic video that was witnessed by countless impressionable children. The video reached #2 on YouTube's carefully selected trending page before it was taken down.

Personally, what seems like the most sophisticated step for YouTube to take in light of the situation would be to suspend Logan Paul's channel for any amount of time. Doing so would send the message to other creators that what Logan did is unacceptable on the platform and comes with consequences. As of yet, YouTube has not punished his channel in any way.

2. Logan Paul's career will continue to thrive, as shown by his defensive fanbase.

Lots of reaction videos and articles are calling this situation the "end of Logan Paul" or the long-awaited downfall of his YouTube success. As online news personality Phillip DeFranco pointed out on Twitter, Paul's horrific video garnered around 600,000 likes before it ever sparked community outrage. Logan Paul's most dedicated audience doesn't seem to care what terrible things they see their idol do on camera. For every few pieces of genuine outrage toward the situation, there's also adverse cases of Logan Paul's fanbase coming to his defense.

Additionally, reports are saying that Logan Paul's subscriber count has actually increased by at least 100,000, a statistic that makes absolutely no sense. There's practically no explanation for the thought process in a kid's head that would lead him to hit the 'Subscribe' button after a stunt like this. In case you're skeptical like I was, try looking up a live subscriber count for Logan Paul's channel online and sit in awe as the number increases.

3. These reaction videos are feeding the chain of exploitative content.

Following the posting and removal of Logan's video, the community of YouTube creators has taken to their personal channels to give their opinions and to criticize Logan's actions. The videos vary from sentimental to outright outraged, but they all seem to touch on the fact that the video exploits a disturbing and shocking situation for the sake of garnering views on his channel. After all, even the video's title is meant to entice curiosity and plays up the situation for shock value.

What the reaction videos fail to note, however, is that they themselves are doing what they are calling Logan out on. Even if their intentions are genuine and not for the sake of views, the huge storm of needless reaction videos not practicing what they preach is a testament to the hypocrisy present in the YouTube community.

4. No one seems to care how Japan feels about this.

Among this huge storm of outrage and backlash, most channels criticize the original video for its exploitation of an innocent suicide victim, for which Logan and his friends showed no respect. But what the majority of people fail to realize is what this situation reveals about how ignorant folks like Logan Paul feel about other cultures.

The Suicide Forest is considered one of Japan's greatest sins, a place the country does not take pride in or market as any sort of attraction. Plenty of Western media, however, has capitalized on the creepy nature of the forest, making it the setting of things from terrible horror movies to tasteless YouTube videos like Logan Paul's. For him to visit the forest with a camera and to traverse into a restricted area shows the lack of respect he holds for Japanese people and culture.

5. Logan Paul showed no interest in respecting a suicide victim.

At the tail-end of his video, Logan Paul addresses the audience directly to speak out against suicide and to give a positive message of support. Trying to spread awareness for suicide and discouraging it in front of your massive audience would normally be a noble feat, but the fact that the message comes seconds after Logan and his friends chuckle at the sight of a suicide victim nullifies whatever effect his statement was supposed to have. Instead, it comes across as a failed attempt to justify posting the atrocious video at all.

Above all else, Logan Paul's recent actions have proven that the creators like him who hold no respect for other cultures are not worthy of the fame they've received, nor do they deserve positions of visibility in front of an entire generation of impressionable children.

It is through times like these that the worst parts of the Internet are exposed, and I hope that if we take away any lesson from this situation, it's that all cultures and people should be respected and handled with the utmost care.

If you or someone you know needs help, you can reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or you can text HELLO to 741-741 to receive support from the Crisis Text Line.