'Misery Loves Company': 'Study With Me' Videos Offer Virtual Support System For Students Preparing For Big Exams

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Young people studying for everything from final exams to medical boards have found a new source of camaraderie online, where students are actually watching videos of each other study.

They say it's helping them make the grade. Upon first glance the videos may seem boring, but during finals season are some of the most popular in the millennial world.

Jamie Lee from says she gets viewers from as far as Asia and Europe. She records herself studying for medical school for hours and uploads the clips to YouTube channel for The Strive Studies.

"I know a lot of people go to the library so they can be around other people, but that has it's ups and downs," she said. "It can be noisy and distracting."

To avoid the distraction, young people are increasingly relying on videos that vary in style -- some have music or encouraging messages, while others subscribe to a study rhythm of 25 minutes in the books followed by five minutes of rest.

"A lot of people study at home and they get lonely and they feel like I'm their study buddy," video-maker Sarang Choi said.

Some of the videos have hundreds of thousands of views and comments about how the digital study group helps students focus. Dr. Jeffrey Gardere says the videos can help with loneliness and the sense of defeat that often sets in when studying for a big exam.

"This kind of study cam is something I think is very akin to 'you are not alone in you endeavor to do something that is very very difficult'," he said.

Certain videos offer very little interaction, while others have vibrant comment sections with students helping one another.

"When you log in and you see everybody is doing the same kind of thing as you, you know misery loves company," video-maker Gary Hundal said. Hundal just finished med school, and says he plans on passing his channel, Aware and Care, down to a pre-med student who still has years in the classroom.

After all, a digital study group is better than no study group at all.

Some of the people posing videos have even managed to make money through advertising and marketing deals, but some have declined ads on YouTube so the study time isn't interrupted.