How Do Learners Decide Which Tutorials Are Trustworthy?

(Oct. 24, 2025)

There are thousands of tutorials online for whatever a viewer wishes to learn. It won’t take too long for learners to understand that not all content is equal. People skip through steps, or will label videos “beginner friendly” yet walk through advanced concepts, etc. And there was no real way to avoid these kinds of content creators. In my case, I never selected videos simply by looking at the views. Instead, I looked for channels that described in detail what they were doing, showed confidence in using the tools, and explained how to deal with errors. This in itself is no easy task, you had to go through many videos from channels to see which worked for you best.

The comments section became a huge credibility filter: If others dealt with problems or succeeded, that guided my trust. This is in line with educational research published by peer-reviewed journals that found that students consider content accuracy, instructor expertise, and clarity of instruction content important in learning through YouTube. My personal experience confirms that learners prioritize credibility more than just plainly consuming content. While keeping viewers hooked is a part of content making, delivering information is another big part of it.