Online videos are a great resource for students to learn the ever expanding art of BJJ. However, for newer students I would suggest that there is more harm than good from browsing Youtube and a large majority of the instruction sites. As will be discussed below there are a number of problems with Youtube et al that the average white belt does not either understand let alone see as an issue. Though Youtube and the others can be helpful later on in the BJJ progression as a white belt your time is better spent drilling the basics and learning the fundamentals of movement.
The biggest issue, as a lowly purple belt, that I see with "white belt youtube" is that most people can't tell the good from the bad, the bad from the worse, and the worse from the bullshit. There is a ton of content on Youtube and most of it is done somewhere between good and ok. There is also a bunch of junk from both technique wise (the lug nut anyone?) and from a filming and instructional level (bad camera angles, lighting, explnation.
Even if the student can find a good instructional there are a number of issues that can arise. First, a white belt may not even understand how the technique fits within the larger pattern of BJJ. More problematic is that a number of good instructionals assume that you know the basics and don't point out small techniques or movements within the technique that make it functional or workable. At this point you are handing a white belt a move that they don't know when or how to use it and if by some chance they luck into the right spot they can't actually make it work because they miss some major point within the technique that went unexplained.
More problematic is the bad to worse techniques on Youtube. As mentioned above your average white belt is not going to be able to distinguish between good and bad Youtube. Now you are just handing a white belt poor technique that is only going to hamper their development. It may ingrain in their mind a fundamentally incorrect movement, concept, or even technique. The consequences of this don't need to be explained as they are clear and obvious.
The other major issues that arises is that Youtube can lead white and even blue belts down a narrow path of specialization. There is nothing wrong with having a great guard or incredible passing. However, from personal experience, Youtube and a few instructional sites let me focus in on very small subsets of the guard that I became very proficient at. However, it was detrimental to my overall game as I was working on very advanced guards while I ignored the basics of passing, closed guard, and some simpler open guards. Youtube and instructional sites allow this to happen because you can find a million and one videos on some esoteric guard or pass. You get focused in on this element to the determinant of your total growth.
This is not to say the Youtube and instructional sites are bad and should be completely ignored. They should instead be used as supplement to your training. For example, if you find a style of closed guard that you really like and want to learn a bit more then online instruction can be a good supplement. However, I would recccomend waiting until mid blue before starting down this route. It will help you seperate junk from gold. Be sure to focus on creating a well rounded game and not just chasing the current guard or passing position that is popular in the BJJ meta. Guards, passes, and styles come and go in the meta but the fundamentals of those styles will always work.
