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For what this comment is worth: I'm watching too much YouTube and it's screwing with my life. Underneath it is a desire to have more social relationships I thin

For what this comment is worth: I'm watching too much YouTube and it's screwing with my life. Underneath it is a desire to have more social relationships I think. My previous "addiction" was Facebook, years ago. Since then it has been YouTube.

hkt 5y ago
I've been the same with Twitter and Facebook. I've quit both and sometimes feel at a loss as to what to do, but I'm finding that if I put in the (frankly, herculean) effort I can find groups I like that are less geared towards dominating my attention and more rewarding. One such group has been my trade union, which I hadn't expected.
faeyanpiraat 5y ago
Yt is ridiculously addictive. They seem to recommend just the right thing to “okay lets watch this one last video” wasting hours of my day.
- sva_ 5y ago
  Weird, the algorithm usually gives me crap, and I rarely click the recommendations. Perhaps because I didn't 'train' it.
  - rgoulter 5y ago
    Overall I don't find YT too addicting. - I think several different websites can substitute for "I'm bored, what's in the fridge?". Though, I did have to manually ignore a bunch of clips-from-tv -shows type channels.
  - faeyanpiraat 5y ago
    I've trained it for 7 years, it knows me better than my parents.
    - hoseja 5y ago
      Worst part, it's actually objectively good content in large part, as far as I am able to tell.
      - jl6 5y ago
        Content addicts need to realize that there is more objectively good content out there than they are physically capable of consuming in one lifetime. Therefore the question to ask is how much of your life do you want to spend on content consumption.
  - beckman466 5y ago
    Same, I watch mostly leftist and socialist content and the algorithm suggests utter shit.
    - andrepd 5y ago
      Don't worry, as soon as you watch 1 video from an alt-right channel your feed will be inundated with far-right content.
  - andrepd 5y ago
    What's stunning to me is the ease with which it gives me fringe content. Example: I searched for a funny 20s clip of our President of the Republic, instantly the recommendations were filled with propaganda from the local right-populist party's yt channel.
    - NoGravitas 5y ago
      The YouTube algorithm is well-known for channeling people towards extremist political content. Mostly far-right-wing, though I imagine you could seed it to throw you down a left-wing rabbit hole.
grapist420 5y ago
what are you watching, what’s the point, how is it screwing with your life
drybjed 5y ago
Here's a few tips to combat this addiction: - turn off Youtube history, there will be no more suggestions based on your recent viewing activity to keep you engaged. Also, searching for a sink review will not result in Youtube suggesting sink-related videos for the rest of eternity. - install browser extensions: Clickbait Remover for Youtube (sanitizes video previews to remove clickbaity look from them) and DF Youtube (allows you to disable comments, related and other sections on the page, leaving only the video itself to focus on). Now you should be able to deal with this addiction in no time.
- Jolter 5y ago
  First one kind of works, kind of doesn't. They still make recommendations based on your "likes" which is enough to fill at least my feed with semi-relevant content.
OneEyedRobot 5y ago
That's a shame since I think that Youtube can be really amazing. My main (practically only) use for it is to watch amateur-produced special interest shows that are done on a regular basis. Usually it seems to involve automotive bodywork or subsurface mining with the occasional computer show. The channels that move to having sponsors or getting a lot of free stuff are for the high jump (although it's absolutely a riot to watch Heather Heying shill for some sofa company, hating life all the while). I think the best ones are done by pure hobbyists. Otherwise my current plan is to build a library of worthwhile videos via youtube-dl and DVD transfers. My guess is that the ad environment and much heavier copyright policing on youtube will make much of it unwatchable over time.
andrewzah 5y ago
Clear your watch history and only watch things that are positive or educational. My youtube recommendations are purely music albums and different educational channels.

hkt 5y ago

I've been the same with Twitter and Facebook. I've quit both and sometimes feel at a loss as to what to do, but I'm finding that if I put in the (frankly, herculean) effort I can find groups I like that are less geared towards dominating my attention and more rewarding. One such group has been my trade union, which I hadn't expected.

faeyanpiraat 5y ago

Yt is ridiculously addictive. They seem to recommend just the right thing to “okay lets watch this one last video” wasting hours of my day.

sva_ 5y ago
Weird, the algorithm usually gives me crap, and I rarely click the recommendations. Perhaps because I didn't 'train' it.
- rgoulter 5y ago
  Overall I don't find YT too addicting. - I think several different websites can substitute for "I'm bored, what's in the fridge?". Though, I did have to manually ignore a bunch of clips-from-tv -shows type channels.
- faeyanpiraat 5y ago
  I've trained it for 7 years, it knows me better than my parents.
  - hoseja 5y ago
    Worst part, it's actually objectively good content in large part, as far as I am able to tell.
    - jl6 5y ago
      Content addicts need to realize that there is more objectively good content out there than they are physically capable of consuming in one lifetime. Therefore the question to ask is how much of your life do you want to spend on content consumption.
- beckman466 5y ago
  Same, I watch mostly leftist and socialist content and the algorithm suggests utter shit.
  - andrepd 5y ago
    Don't worry, as soon as you watch 1 video from an alt-right channel your feed will be inundated with far-right content.
- andrepd 5y ago
  What's stunning to me is the ease with which it gives me fringe content. Example: I searched for a funny 20s clip of our President of the Republic, instantly the recommendations were filled with propaganda from the local right-populist party's yt channel.
  - NoGravitas 5y ago
    The YouTube algorithm is well-known for channeling people towards extremist political content. Mostly far-right-wing, though I imagine you could seed it to throw you down a left-wing rabbit hole.

grapist420 5y ago

what are you watching, what’s the point, how is it screwing with your life

drybjed 5y ago

Here's a few tips to combat this addiction: - turn off Youtube history, there will be no more suggestions based on your recent viewing activity to keep you engaged. Also, searching for a sink review will not result in Youtube suggesting sink-related videos for the rest of eternity. - install browser extensions: Clickbait Remover for Youtube (sanitizes video previews to remove clickbaity look from them) and DF Youtube (allows you to disable comments, related and other sections on the page, leaving only the video itself to focus on). Now you should be able to deal with this addiction in no time.

Jolter 5y ago
First one kind of works, kind of doesn't. They still make recommendations based on your "likes" which is enough to fill at least my feed with semi-relevant content.

OneEyedRobot 5y ago

That's a shame since I think that Youtube can be really amazing. My main (practically only) use for it is to watch amateur-produced special interest shows that are done on a regular basis. Usually it seems to involve automotive bodywork or subsurface mining with the occasional computer show. The channels that move to having sponsors or getting a lot of free stuff are for the high jump (although it's absolutely a riot to watch Heather Heying shill for some sofa company, hating life all the while). I think the best ones are done by pure hobbyists. Otherwise my current plan is to build a library of worthwhile videos via youtube-dl and DVD transfers. My guess is that the ad environment and much heavier copyright policing on youtube will make much of it unwatchable over time.

andrewzah 5y ago

Clear your watch history and only watch things that are positive or educational. My youtube recommendations are purely music albums and different educational channels.