Dealing with YouTube Addiction
Who knows what people will discover about us when we die?
For me, my fear would be my YouTube history. Not so much the content but the sheer amount of videos I've consumed. You would be forgiven for asking, "Did this guy not go out?" "Did he ever chat with his wife?" "What about friends?"
Well, I blog, so that must give a clue about the last one.
It's embarrassing, the hours lived watching YouTube videos.
I discovered modern YouTube late in life. At the platform's start, content was low-quality VHS uploads of classic TV shows. That, along with slow dial-up internet speeds, was enough to keep me away. About ten years ago, I discovered modern YouTube. Gear reviews, blogging advice, and classic television again. Absolutely anything you can think of, but this time in high definition. The quality of creators had come on leaps and bounds.
The Appeal of YouTube
I have a good attention span, but sometimes, especially after work, I want little snippets.
Ten minutes on camera gear, 14 minutes on how to do long exposures, or an hour of TV adverts from the 1970s. 😊
The trouble is, all these snippets add up. I checked a previous day's watch history for information. I was aghast at how many thumbnails I had to scroll through. I've had this problem for some time.
A Bedtime Routine
Yes, I know and I'm not proud.
Before dozing off for a good night's sleep, a quick half hour on the smartphone. A little Movies, Music, and Monsters, or a James Bond pre-credits sequence. But please be rest assured. I have never watched any toilet plumbing 'how-to' videos in bed.
The Breakaway
I've learned almost all my photography theory from YouTube, and how to fix toilet cisterns. But politics has been creeping in lately. If you watch one anti-immigration video, another creeps into your feed. Then another, and another. Before long you begin to believe the world is being overtaken by one pressure group or another. Right-leaning, left-leaning. Everyone thinks they are right and others are wrong.
We need to share opinions with respect, not build fear of doomsday. To think I used to be entertained by 1970s TV intros or test cards.
A few nights ago I had enough. I deleted my viewing history. Not to start again with a clean sheet, but to discourage me from starting again. It is like social media. If you've built a following on one platform, starting anew seems too much of an uphill struggle. I've opened YouTube a few times and there was nothing recommended.
Great. But not so great.
While writing this post I had another look and behold. The usual content sitting there. YouTube must have looked at my 'Likes' or 'Watch Later' list. I didn't think to delete these too.
Damn.
What will I do next after publishing my first post on Bear? Some 'Space 1999'? Maybe a review of an 18-year-old Fujifilm point and shoot?
Sod it, I'll watch just one more review on the Oura smart ring.
Thanks for reading this far. If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a coffee. It would mean so much. 😊
