8 ms·

Anecdotally, I watch a lot of youtube content of areas like hiking, camping, vanlife, survival, bushcraft, DIY, homesteading, exercise, etc. And I see more and

by throwaway920102 3y ago

Anecdotally, I watch a lot of youtube content of areas like hiking, camping, vanlife, survival, bushcraft, DIY, homesteading, exercise, etc. And I see more and more suggested videos that take these topics but add in a woman wearing a bikini or yoga wear while doing them, often not speaking any English or at all, with strangely named channels. Imagine if every time you went to a library to go read and learn history or science or poetry you had to pass through and see Playboy/Maxim/Pornhub version of science and history pulling you away. And if you succumbed and opened a volume like that once, then the next time you visited that aisle you found they had removed 10% of the educational books and added in 10% more softcore porn. China banned a lot of types of content from their local Tiktok for children, but honestly we need bifurcated apps or ways to filter search results for thirst traps for adults too. It's not any different than putting chocolate bars in a health foods aisle at the grocery store or alcohol vending machines in a rehab facility. How many of our next would-be Einsteins, Edisons, Teslas, etc are being distracted by Tiktok, mobile games, etc.

acheron 3y ago
Except YouTube isn’t the equivalent of a library in the first place, it’s the equivalent of a slightly seedy corner store. Sure there might be some mildly informative magazines on a shelf next to the Maxims, but that’s not the point and never was.
- throwaway920102 3y ago
  My argument is, it's a vastly underpowered system in terms of the filtering options available to users. Those things ought to remain available, but I wish it were easier to tell Youtube my goals for a browsing session and turn off porn mode.
  - comfypotato 3y ago
    You could easily reword your comment as wishing there were convenience stores without the magazines. I agree with the other person here. It’s just the context of YouTube. Take HN for example: there’s little to no adult content on this site. I’m in a similar camp in that I’m frustrated daily that Facebook can’t figure out that I (admittedly a single 30 male) don’t want the lewd content. I say “show less of this” on every lewd post, but it can’t figure it out. That being said, I think the answer is fostering/finding other communities with different natures rather than changing Facebook or YouTube to be something they aren’t.
    - throwaway920102 3y ago
      How many content discovery systems can you point to that have the breadth and depth of video content that Youtube does? I don't think it's too much to just give feedback into the void with the hope that if enough people chime in with the same thoughts, that some day some Google PM might actually do something about it. That being said, I'm sure its a question of $ budget for ML recommender processing and/or the cost of labeling videos. But the labeling could be done by users.
    - youainti 3y ago
      Something I discovered accidentally was that searching for maternity bras got rid of most of the lewd content for a few weeks.
  - Waterluvian 3y ago
    YouTube doesn’t want that. Their metrics show that less user control and more “algorithm” results in more users behaving properly: looking at more ads.
  - johnnyanmac 3y ago
    >I wish it were easier to tell Youtube my goals for a browsing session and turn off porn mode. I mean, this is a game of cat and mouse. YT is already very aggressive on sexual content. Content creators just find the next line and push it there.You could require everyone making videos to be wearing suits and people would still find ways to be evocative. At some point your best move is to self moderate. Ignore those thumbnails or aggressively click "not interested" on any content like that. >But the labeling could be done by users. In these times? It'd be a bloodbath of political labels being thrown at various ideaologies. It'd be a wreck. No, this can't be automated. YT would need to pay staff and set a rubric. But I'm guessing that it's not financially impacting YT as is.
    - rngname22 3y ago
      I meant labels such as "educational", "funny", "thirst-inducing" or "sexy", as opposed to just thumbs-up / thumbs-down.
      - johnnyanmac 3y ago
        Sure, but it has the same problems. Who makes the labels, and do you trust that consensus? It would simply take seeing some cryptocurrency cult webinar being labeled "educational" or something to that effect before suddenly the labels become as much noise as the "related videos" section (made up over half of your recommendations instead of related videos). It could also go the other way. Add a "misinformation" label and suddenly everything is misinformation, from Jordan Peterson speeches to live recorded NASA space launches to Spongebob clips.
        rngname22 3y ago
        I agree it's an imperfect solution, but I do think in very broad strokes it would move the needle in the right direction. Surely a video about engine repair that one only finds when searching the specific make and model would garner fewer 'sexual' votes than a music video or thirst trap.
predictabl3 3y ago
> How many of our next would-be Einsteins, Edisons, Teslas, etc are being distracted by Tiktok, mobile games, etc. Yeah... Based on the type of content, and the type of people consuming that content, I'm not holding my breath.
mock-possum 3y ago
I mean the argument goes that ‘true’ Einsteins, Edisons, and Teslas wouldn’t be so easily distracted.
- mhuffman 3y ago
  > ‘true’ Einsteins, Edisons, and Teslas wouldn’t be so easily distracted. ... or maybe they didn't have the distractions and that was key?
- lvncelot 3y ago
  I wouldn't agree with that argument, though. What does 'true' in that sense even mean? Do we as a society want to weed out the easily distractible or do we want to ensure that more people are able to flourish? Is a potential 21st century Einstein somehow "less valuable" because his surroundings ensured he could live up to his potential?
- Shawnj2 3y ago
  You can easily rebut that…no, they would, if you make a library with 90% porn in it they would have a harder time doing research in that library than a normal one.
- TimesOldRoman 3y ago
  Feynman loved to go to strip clubs, so it is totally possible to be a genius and a perv. Time management is key.
- dragonwriter 3y ago
  True Franklins wouldn’t be so much distracted as fueled by it.
Anthony-G 3y ago
Having read both the featured article and this comment, I had to look up the meaning of “thirst trap”, a phrase I had never previously encountered. For the benefit of others not au fait with social media culture, Wikipedia describes thirst traps as ‘a type of social media post intended to entice viewers sexually. It refers to a viewer’s “thirst”, a colloquialism likening sexual frustration to dehydration, implying desperation, with the afflicted individual being described as “thirsty.”’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirst_trap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirst_trap
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- junon 3y ago
  As someone who grew up with the term, the overly-analytical tone describing "thirst trap" is uncomfortable! You're thirsty if you're horny, typically for a particular person but not always. You're thirsting over someone if you're horny for someone in particular. A thirst trap is an act (or video, or Instagram post, etc.) that intends to make others thirst over you. It's like a mating display, but with ulterior motives, if you want to look at it that way.
  - TimesOldRoman 3y ago
    Good. Thirst is uncomfortable.

acheron 3y ago

Except YouTube isn’t the equivalent of a library in the first place, it’s the equivalent of a slightly seedy corner store. Sure there might be some mildly informative magazines on a shelf next to the Maxims, but that’s not the point and never was.

throwaway920102 3y ago
My argument is, it's a vastly underpowered system in terms of the filtering options available to users. Those things ought to remain available, but I wish it were easier to tell Youtube my goals for a browsing session and turn off porn mode.
- comfypotato 3y ago
  You could easily reword your comment as wishing there were convenience stores without the magazines. I agree with the other person here. It’s just the context of YouTube. Take HN for example: there’s little to no adult content on this site. I’m in a similar camp in that I’m frustrated daily that Facebook can’t figure out that I (admittedly a single 30 male) don’t want the lewd content. I say “show less of this” on every lewd post, but it can’t figure it out. That being said, I think the answer is fostering/finding other communities with different natures rather than changing Facebook or YouTube to be something they aren’t.
  - throwaway920102 3y ago
    How many content discovery systems can you point to that have the breadth and depth of video content that Youtube does? I don't think it's too much to just give feedback into the void with the hope that if enough people chime in with the same thoughts, that some day some Google PM might actually do something about it. That being said, I'm sure its a question of $ budget for ML recommender processing and/or the cost of labeling videos. But the labeling could be done by users.
  - youainti 3y ago
    Something I discovered accidentally was that searching for maternity bras got rid of most of the lewd content for a few weeks.
- Waterluvian 3y ago
  YouTube doesn’t want that. Their metrics show that less user control and more “algorithm” results in more users behaving properly: looking at more ads.
- johnnyanmac 3y ago
  >I wish it were easier to tell Youtube my goals for a browsing session and turn off porn mode. I mean, this is a game of cat and mouse. YT is already very aggressive on sexual content. Content creators just find the next line and push it there.You could require everyone making videos to be wearing suits and people would still find ways to be evocative. At some point your best move is to self moderate. Ignore those thumbnails or aggressively click "not interested" on any content like that. >But the labeling could be done by users. In these times? It'd be a bloodbath of political labels being thrown at various ideaologies. It'd be a wreck. No, this can't be automated. YT would need to pay staff and set a rubric. But I'm guessing that it's not financially impacting YT as is.
  - rngname22 3y ago
    I meant labels such as "educational", "funny", "thirst-inducing" or "sexy", as opposed to just thumbs-up / thumbs-down.
    - johnnyanmac 3y ago
      Sure, but it has the same problems. Who makes the labels, and do you trust that consensus? It would simply take seeing some cryptocurrency cult webinar being labeled "educational" or something to that effect before suddenly the labels become as much noise as the "related videos" section (made up over half of your recommendations instead of related videos). It could also go the other way. Add a "misinformation" label and suddenly everything is misinformation, from Jordan Peterson speeches to live recorded NASA space launches to Spongebob clips.
      - rngname22 3y ago
        I agree it's an imperfect solution, but I do think in very broad strokes it would move the needle in the right direction. Surely a video about engine repair that one only finds when searching the specific make and model would garner fewer 'sexual' votes than a music video or thirst trap.

predictabl3 3y ago

> How many of our next would-be Einsteins, Edisons, Teslas, etc are being distracted by Tiktok, mobile games, etc. Yeah... Based on the type of content, and the type of people consuming that content, I'm not holding my breath.

mock-possum 3y ago

I mean the argument goes that ‘true’ Einsteins, Edisons, and Teslas wouldn’t be so easily distracted.

mhuffman 3y ago
> ‘true’ Einsteins, Edisons, and Teslas wouldn’t be so easily distracted. ... or maybe they didn't have the distractions and that was key?
lvncelot 3y ago
I wouldn't agree with that argument, though. What does 'true' in that sense even mean? Do we as a society want to weed out the easily distractible or do we want to ensure that more people are able to flourish? Is a potential 21st century Einstein somehow "less valuable" because his surroundings ensured he could live up to his potential?
Shawnj2 3y ago
You can easily rebut that…no, they would, if you make a library with 90% porn in it they would have a harder time doing research in that library than a normal one.
TimesOldRoman 3y ago
Feynman loved to go to strip clubs, so it is totally possible to be a genius and a perv. Time management is key.
dragonwriter 3y ago
True Franklins wouldn’t be so much distracted as fueled by it.

Anthony-G 3y ago

Having read both the featured article and this comment, I had to look up the meaning of “thirst trap”, a phrase I had never previously encountered. For the benefit of others not au fait with social media culture, Wikipedia describes thirst traps as ‘a type of social media post intended to entice viewers sexually. It refers to a viewer’s “thirst”, a colloquialism likening sexual frustration to dehydration, implying desperation, with the afflicted individual being described as “thirsty.”’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirst_trap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirst_trap

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
junon 3y ago
As someone who grew up with the term, the overly-analytical tone describing "thirst trap" is uncomfortable! You're thirsty if you're horny, typically for a particular person but not always. You're thirsting over someone if you're horny for someone in particular. A thirst trap is an act (or video, or Instagram post, etc.) that intends to make others thirst over you. It's like a mating display, but with ulterior motives, if you want to look at it that way.
- TimesOldRoman 3y ago
  Good. Thirst is uncomfortable.