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What web browser extensions would you highly recommend to others? (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (3 children)

let’s be real, youtube is a big waste of time

I see people say this a lot, especially on the fediverse, and it makes me wonder why people think youtube is a "waste of time" when youtube's uses are what the user makes of it.

I primarily use youtube for learning things. There are so many thousands of hours of useful, educational content on youtube that I find the suggestion that the entire platform is useless clickbait to be reductive and disingenuous.

Sure, there are channels I watch for typical mind-numbing content like Let's Plays and such, but I wouldn't suggest that youtube is wholly a waste of time just because there's plenty of mindless content on it.

Just like Reddit or Lemmy, I can create an account and subscribe to a bunch of dumb shitposting communities, but I can also subscribe to a bunch of interesting hobbyist/intrigue communities.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

How to reduce time on Youtube or make it more enjoyable

avoid shorts completely (revanced)
avoid reaction videos
avoid any video which has someone with a mouth open or just making a ridiculous face
avoid videos with clickbaity thumbnails/titles (duh) no matter how much you like the creator
avoid videos which have "watch till the end" in the title
[Important] watch channels with moderate number of subs and views

[–] jim 2 points 3 months ago

If you are being intentional about its use, then you can get a lot out of it. But for some, maybe even most, YouTube is a distraction.

[–] faultypidgeon 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Well, of course you are right. The problem is that for many people (including me) it is hard to use it in a way that actually brings value, because it is just too easy to spend hours on there without getting anything in return.

I also think that it is highly subjective what can be considered "good" or "bad" content. When it comes to educational content, I also would consider it a waste of time. Sure, if I have a real life problem and the solution happens to be described in a youtube video, there is nothing wrong with watching it. But often times I was just like "Oh, this could be useful at some point in the future" and at the end of the video I could hardly remember what it was about. I also don't think that "mindless" content is inherently bad. If it helps someone to relax, go for it. I always felt worse afterwards.

Saying youtube would be a big waste of time in general is indeed reductive, but I think for many people it actually is, because it is just not designed to be used to bring you value. The only objective is that you spend as many hours on their platform as possible.