Water-cooler chat used to be dominated by last night's TV, but now people are discussing pop science and the latest Brian Cox viral. Over 450,000 people tune into TED Talks every day, while homemade science videos have millions of views. So how has YouTube made science sexy?

PewDiePie is the most subscribed channel on YouTube, and its creator makes more than £2 million a year on ad sales. He's one of YouTube's elite – a new generation of hyper-influential media moguls. But why are 30 million teens watching a stranger play video games?

YouTube offers a lucrative career path for those armed with charisma and a concept that appeals to the masses. While stars currently upload short clips that can gain millions of views from fans, YouTube is now looking to use homegrown talent to make feature length films.

Did YouTube kill the Hollywood star? In the second installment of this two-parter, we look at why Gen Z value the talents and opinions of their digital peers, what services they are flocking to and how a shift towards user generated content will affect the future of media production and distribution.