The ever-expanding internet has created an infinite number of online influencers vying for our attention, wooing us with fitness tips, farm life, food recommendations, comedic shtick and much, much more. It’s likely this is the reason most of us spend so much time glued to our screens seeking to be entertained.

Most of the influencers I can take or leave, although I admit it can be easy for one or more of them to lure me off the path of writing. However, there is one person I can usually count on to brighten my day, along with countless others—Thomas Sanders.

A few years ago, I posted in my blog about my fascination with puppetry. My mother sent me a link one day to a YouTube video from Sanders called Sanders Sides. In the series, Sanders works through difficult issues with the help of various aspects of his personality—logic, passion, creativity and anxiety. The video my mother sent included the use of puppets to resolve Sanders’ concern about critical thinking to solve problems.

The logical side is Logan. He’s the one that you can count on to have index cards, statistics, anecdotes and more, coming across as that one teacher who would be the biggest influence in your life—if you could only avoid stabbing him with a pair of scissors.

The passionate dad side known as Patton is the one most likely to hug you to death. He’s the one who serves as the moral side and would most likely be the first one to start crying.

Then there’s Roman. The best way to describe him would be if Disney ever had a gay prince in one of its movies (Side note: Sanders has a song out called “Gay Disney Prince”). Roman represents creativity, along with some of the arrogance that comes with it.

My favorite side is Virgil, who represents anxiety. Dark hoodie, dark eye shadow, and a dark personality showcase a side that represents the fear and hesitation we all feel as we make the decisions in our lives.

That’s the core four, but wait. There’s more.

In recent years, Sanders came up with Janus, who represents the deceit that dwells in our hearts, as well as Remus, the darker side of creativity and most likely to have his words bleeped in videos. The Sanders Sides series has created a lot of laughter—and maybe some tears.

Sanders does a lot of other content, but I find myself fixated on the Sanders Sides, maybe because it takes a lot of courage to put some of your most private thoughts out there. Is this decision what’s best for me? What if I get hurt? What if I’m just a fraud? Taking something and sorting through the details can be a fascinating thing, and there are some days when I believe folks should think before they act.

Sanders hasn’t always had it easy in the world of YouTube, though. A couple of years ago, he developed a skin condition that resulted in his hair starting to fall out. That would be something that would terrify any of us, because even though we try to ignore it, our outward appearance means everything to us, and whether it’s a black eye, busted teeth or patches of our scalp showing, we want to find a way to hide.

Sanders didn’t do that, though. He talked about it with his audience, and he shook things up with his sides wearing hats. It was a good reminder that I wasn’t just watching entertainment. I was seeing a person.

Of course, most content creators who are successful need sponsors to keep on producing and creating, and when Sanders uses the sides to do his “commercials,” it’s always a hoot.

My favorite was when he did a plug for Surfshark, the virtual private network company. At the end, Patton said: “With Surfshark, we can go to war against the evil cookies.” I almost had to pick myself off the floor with that one.

It’s easy to become addictive to online content, but at least with Thomas Sanders, I can feel safe in the certainty that I’m watching something funny and wholesome that I could share with anyone. No clickbait. Just a lot of fun.

To see Thomas Sanders’ content, go to http://www.youtube.com/@ThomasSanders.