“Stressed” Jacksepticeye reveals why he’s considered quitting YouTube

Popular Irish gaming YouTuber Seán “Jacksepticeye” McLoughlin answered personal questions from fans, revealing that he’s considered leaving YouTube in the past due to multiple stressors that come with the job.

Known for his humorous gaming videos and collaborations with other huge personalities like Markiplier and PewDiePie, Jacksepticeye is often hailed as a unique face in YouTube’s gaming community — but the gig isn’t always sunshine and roses.

While being a big-shot internet star might seem like a cakewalk, the Irishman revealed that “being your own boss” in an industry rife with intense competition and confusing guidelines can be enough to make creators want to walk away.

McLoughlin opened up about his career in a video uploaded on January 14, where he answered “personal” questions from fans, one of which asked if the YouTuber had ever considered “just quitting” the platform.

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“Yup,” he answered through a laugh. “I’ve had that thought a lot, because when things get a little tricky or things get a little annoying — for different reasons, whether it’s, ‘Oh god, I’m sick of doing the same thing every day,’ or, ‘I’m just tired of YouTube’s algorithms and trying to fight a system that I have no idea how it works.’”

Although he clarified that he greatly enjoys his career, the gaming star also admitted that this is the most stressed and anxious he’s ever been in his life, thanks to multiple different factors like pressure from fans, coming up with content, and recording his videos on his own.

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“Doing YouTube, I absolutely love it,” he explained. “It’s the best job I’ve ever had, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. But it is the most stressed and the most anxious I have ever been in my life, doing anything.”

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He likewise claimed that such a career can lead YouTuber’s to place their “self-worth in numbers,” depending on view counts and subscriber counts — but in spite of the hardships, he plans on making a change to his content rather than quitting.

For now, Jacksepticeye hopes to “work when creativity strikes,” and teased a halt to his daily upload schedule for a more relaxed timeline hoping to create more quality content with better games in place of quantitative uploads.