The Sensationalism of YouTube
Posted by aRealPanaphonics@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 178 comments
I used to really enjoy YouTube. From video essays and explainers to instruction videos and occasional discussions, it was a great place for curiosity.
Lately, it just seems like every video on YouTube has went full-influencer and I can’t take the formulaic approaches anymore: From the cool kid over-confidence, to the stupid disgruntled face thumbnails, to the rage-bait headlines, the “pivot to politics”, and obnoxious use of AI.
Even food prep videos have turned into like 22 year olds trying to make a name for themselves instead of just, “Hey everyone. Here’s how to grill medium rare when you have a thin steak.”
I’m sorry for complaining but I just miss lowkey videos. I know how algorithms work. I get it’s an attention economy and late stage capitalism. And yes I’m old now. Not looking for a lecture as to WHY.
It is what it is. I just wanted to complain to some people around my age in hopes I wasn’t alone.
Just a shame that we’ve lost subtlety and calm for branding and attention-getting at every turn. Old man yells at cloud signing off.
catsdelicacy@reddit
Yeah, it's not a good age of humans right now
Remember how excited we were about the Internet when it started? How cool it was to catch up with high school friends on Facebook?
Now look at it. Half dead, the other half is on fire. The algorithms are written to reward attention and nothing gets attention like pissing somebody the fuck off. They could have been written to reward conversations that make us better, but no.
These corporations sure did move fast and break things. Never think the Internet has to be this way. It's this way because techbros are the worst.
Slownavyguy@reddit
It's called enshitification and it eventually pops up to ruin everything in time...
P1_Synvictus@reddit
Those odd speaking styles they use. They all sound like each other, in this weird news anchor way.
bailout911@reddit
"It's giving" is the phrase that needs to die. I swear, every Gen Z youtuber knows no other way of describing anything other than to say "it's giving" and then a random noun.
Fuck off with all your vibes and get off my lawn!
aRealPanaphonics@reddit (OP)
Try not to crash out, bro. Let Gen Z cook!!
hbi2k@reddit
In my day, "crash out" meant to immediately fall asleep from exhaustion, as in after a rocking party or long day of work.
Seeing as I am, as of the time of this writing, still alive, it is still my day. I was here first, and Gen Z doesn't get to randomly redefine perfectly good slang for no reason. They can have it after I have died on this hill and am no longer using it.
redfieldranch96@reddit
Oh shut up
Relative_Lock_7127@reddit
No U. That’s all I have the energy for, I’m going to go crash. Y’all take it from here.
redfieldranch96@reddit
Oh shut up
No-Environment-3997@reddit
Isn't just "crash" used for pass out? I think the distinction is on whether the out is there or not.
megat0nbombs@reddit
I will continue to use it to mean “fall asleep”. On this I will not yield.
adimadoz@reddit
I’ve complained about the voice style so much that my kids will look for videos with no voice overs.
koei19@reddit
My assumption has been that those are AI voice overs.
P1_Synvictus@reddit
No, it’s young people trying to sound smarter than they (probably) are.
percypersimmon@reddit
Everyone talks like the “Number Fiftee-n Burger King foot lettuce”
travelinmatt76@reddit
That's why I watch channels like Brainiac75, saveitforparts, technology connections, Tim Hunkin
CorporateCoolZone@reddit
I won't click on a video if there's a disgruntled or mouth agape/surprised face. It's the worst.
travelinmatt76@reddit
Unfortunately the algorithm likes those types of thumbnails and promotes them
WombatScopique@reddit
Same. Throwing in the "Stop doing [insert something] wrong" titles on videos.
aRealPanaphonics@reddit (OP)
lol… The Mr. Beast-ification of thumbnails
blamberr@reddit
The Mr. Beasti-fictation of society, really
Gonna_do_this_again@reddit
Enbeastification
Odd_School_8833@reddit
Enshittification - Enshittification, also known as platform decay, is a process in which two-sided online products annd online servicesdecline in quality over time. Initially, vendors create high-quality offerings to attract users, then they degrade those offerings to better serve business customers, and finally degrade their services to both users and business customers to maximize short-term profits for shareholders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification
LeftHandStir@reddit
Wodentoad@reddit
Whooooooosh! Missed the joke there, bud.
Kiethblacklion@reddit
He has a very punchable face
username__0000@reddit
His shark eyes freak me out.
aRealPanaphonics@reddit (OP)
Throwing this out there, before we head off into the sunset of complete irrelevance, can Xennials maybe come together to kill these thumbnails?
Like just mock and make everyone feel bad for doing it? It’s absolutely more atrocious than ankle socks. ;-)
Hntrbdnshog@reddit
Ankle socks are a hill I’ll gladly die on. Legs look stupid with tan lines halfway up the calf.
Platt_Mallar@reddit
For me, I can't stand the feel of socks on my leg hair.
Lensgoggler@reddit
Fun fact: a nasty character from Outlander is lovingly renamed Leg Hair here in the fandom. Her real name is spelled Laoghaire (I think), and nobody knows how to pronounce it; she's also called "Leery" in the show - is that the pronunciation of her name in Scottish Gaelic?... A nickname?...
Who knows. So, Leg Hair it is.
Platt_Mallar@reddit
Seems to be Irish (which is a Celtics language people still use). Their letters can have very different sounds, but Laoghaire would be pronounced Leery.
At least according to Wikipedia.
Dún Laoghaire is a costal town on the south side of Dublin. It used to be called Dunleary because the Brits needed to Anglicise everything they touched.
Lensgoggler@reddit
Ah I see! The spelling of any of those languages is insane. Of course it's funny to whine about a language's difficulty considering my own native language is Estonian :D
Lensgoggler@reddit
I agree. Unless it's winter and nobody can see exactly how obscenely high my wool socks are. Tall socks look really weird if they're on the show.
Accurate-Long-259@reddit
Does it help that anytime? My 16 year-old is watching one of these stupid videos on YouTube? I would just obnoxiously scream along with the screamer on the TV.
Kiethblacklion@reddit
I don't get the enjoyment people get from watching gaming vids narrated by some of the most shrill, nails-on-a-chalk-board voices in existence.
Kiethblacklion@reddit
I feel ankle socks have their place such as when wearing shorts.
InfidelZombie@reddit
Lots of my favorite people who put stuff on YouTube have gone through the transition to dumb surprised face thumbnails and their content hasn't changed. They do this because it gives them visibility via the algorithm. Why not support the content you enjoy, and continue to get entertainment out of it, just because they're doing what they have to to maintain their livelihood?
SlackerDS5@reddit
The dreaded “soy face”. I have an add on that automatically changes the click baity thumbnails to something else.
I also use add on that skips mid video advertisements. They are so annoying.
castortroys01@reddit
What's the extension?
neonblackiscool@reddit
Pie works. Not for the idiotic thumbnails tho
castortroys01@reddit
YES! THIS! OMG so done with any video where the person is making a shocked stink face or something.
MostSharpest@reddit
That, and arrows pointing at obvious things.
Careful_Farmer_2879@reddit
I am so sick of o-faces.
Careless-Eagle-5111@reddit
Yep. If it looks like a scorpion just stung your genitals, that’s a no from me dawg.
Ewe_Search@reddit
I don't like when the videos have a tittle telling me what I need or should to be doing.
spinereader81@reddit
Or telling me what will shock me, or what I won't believe. I would never click on those.
PurlyQ@reddit
You tube has been my TV for years, especially for documentaries to go to sleep to. I guess I suck at searching, because everything I come up with lately are narrated by AI and sounds fake AF.
And I'm soooo tired of anyone and everyone listen to having to give the spiel 'subscribe and click the notification bell, and leave a comment if you want to help this channel out". Yes, yes I knowwwwwww! Im guessing YouTube makes them say that??
Karen rant over haha
NoLimitHonky@reddit
Be sure to turn off Auto-play for thumbnails, as well as aggressively telling YT to not recc. videos or channels you don't like. It make a huge difference for me.
Still lots of good stuff out there, but yes, definitely more cluttered.
edasto42@reddit
I don’t have a problem with what I need YouTube for. I generally look up how to repair stuff videos, or instructional videos in regards to jazz songwriting, or my addiction to Collative Learning’s over examination of the symbolism in movies (the videos are the best sleep aid). Plus 99% of videos I’ve uploaded were music content. So my algorithm doesn’t feed me dumb shit. YouTube is just like any other social media site-you get out of it what you put into it. I truly think that uploading 100+ videos shaped my algorithm better than watching 100+ videos.
Bacch@reddit
"You won't believe this new way to grill a steak!"
"I couldn't believe this new way to grill steaks!"
Thumbnail is shot of a perfectly cooked steak played professionally with the influencer's face pasted over it in utter shock as though they just saw the second coming of Christ right before their eyes.
LtPowers@reddit
No it's not. Your feed is how you curate it. I haven't seen anything of what you're talking about. I still watch video essays and explainers and instruction videos. Why aren't you seeing them?
wisdomseeker42@reddit
💯 I am trying to explain this concept to my kids and they just don’t get it 😞
washingtonsquirrel@reddit
Yep. It sucks :( I was looking for a step-by-step how-to video the other day, that I could follow along with in real time, and everything was just so freakin’ FAST. Everything’s cut like a trailer for an action movie. Some of the shots in popular TikToks and Instagram Reels are too fast to even process. It’s like you’re being hypnotized or brainwashed or something.
laminator79@reddit
And they never stop talking either. Not even a second of silence.
violetmarie11@reddit
All the pauses edited out, it's insane.
Wodentoad@reddit
And tapping! Goddamned ASMR nonsense in crafting spaces with long fingernails. "I'm going to show you click click tap click how to make click tap click this with a method that is tap click click click tap more complicated than it needs to be click tap so I can get money for a tap click tap longer video. Tap click click." And there is no warning. And AO subtitles flashing over everything.
Hold on, gotta yell at the clouds.
80s_angel@reddit
THIS! On so many videos the cuts are way too quick and I find myself rewinding so I can’t pause multiple times. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
tboy160@reddit
I don't even like the interface anymore, it's all about pushing those "shorts"
Okra-Tomatoes@reddit
The way to use YouTube now is to change your settings so that it doesn't track your history. Then have your subscriptions to various channels set up. That way it's not just serving up what the algorithm dictates.
MattLocke@reddit
Piggybacking to say, with a bit of effort you can still get the algorithm to work for you. For about five years my job required watching multiple YouTube vids daily. So I built up a system to regulate my feed.
Yes, it is heavily weighted by your own watch history. As long as you keep it to stuff that actually interests you, it can discover stuff for you outside your own subs.
The key is if you do end up watching something you don’t like, you gotta go purge it off your history. If you see something you know you’ll never watch, go ahead and use the I don’t like this and don’t recommend channel thing. If you do that and it isn’t in your history … you’ll never see it again.
dontbajerk@reddit
The basic thing is YouTube is actual work now to make it not be awful. It's unfortunate.
MattLocke@reddit
Yeah. All because they didn’t like people “thumbs downing” videos and how that reflected on the platform as a whole.
So there are just extra steps to telling the system “I don’t like this”.
It is annoying, but it is like most anything else in life. Investing extra effort into getting something to a maintenance mode is generally worth it.
Honestly, I’d rather always have to put a little effort into sorting through this kind of stuff. The alternative of everything is just good enough and you willingly sacrificed all control freaks me out way more.
dontbajerk@reddit
A funny related thing, I have two YouTube accounts, one is set in Spanish for improving my comprehension of Spanish, and as a consequence I have to be much more selective in what I watch and subscribe to on that one. The recommendations are MUCH better on it now, to the point I default to that channel sometimes just because I don't feel like shifting through the crap on my English language one.
Basic-Pair8908@reddit
I just download the vids i like then just play them. Eapecially the 1 hour plus long vids
OccamsYoyo@reddit
Has anyone else noticed that the YT algorithms have become extremely aggressive? Look up something once and the subject immediately takes over your feed.
ILikeBumblebees@reddit
A better approach is to just subscribe to your favorite YouTube channels via RSS.
sastrugiwiz@reddit
you're not alone. it's all obnoxious.
cleric3648@reddit
I hate how it feels like every video nowadays has some clickbait title with over the top superlatives about how this is the best or worst or most amazing. Maybe I’m old and see things differently, but a security patch isn’t the “most impactful update ever.” And I hate the surprised face thumbnail with obvious AI slop behind them trying to act like they were shocked by what they scripted, shot, edited, and scored.
The only thing I hate more than that is the stupid, bot-ran censoring where god forbid a history channel can’t talk about the National Socialist Party of Germany in the 1930’s and 40’s without jumping through so many stupid hurdles or a therapist can’t talk about suicide prevention or even using the words kill or death because “that can hurt someone.” They’ve ripped out all contextual understanding to blanket censor content. There is a world of difference between trying to talk about the rise of fascism in the early 20th century and espousing those same beliefs to try to kick off a race war, but that would require nuance.
Lensgoggler@reddit
I have a very very curated feed. Like on reddit. I mostly watch history docs or podcasts by hosts I already know and love. A few other things thrown in. And I listen to a lot of audiobooks.
hbi2k@reddit
Chef John is still holding it down when it comes to instructional cooking videos. Tasting History with Mark Miller is great if you're looking for more "entertainment" cooking content.
InfidelZombie@reddit
Around 50% of my meals these days come from Chinese Cooking Demystified.
Platt_Mallar@reddit
Chef John with FoodWishes Dot Com? He of the contractually obligated pictures and sing-song voice?
hbi2k@reddit
The GOAT himself!
ailish@reddit
I was going to recommend Chef John!
wooq@reddit
Block or "do not recommend" channels which show content you aren't interested in. If you have watched content that you don't want to see more of (like you clicked something which looked interesting only to find out it was conspiracy minded or something) go into your "your data in YouTube" and delete it from your watch history. If you don't do these things, YouTube's algorithm will continuously steer you towards mindless shit, political shit, and conspiracy shit. Because their studies have shown that people who get into the shit keep watching the next video.
nvmls@reddit
You just need to get into more specific, nerdier shit. Historical cooking. Furniture restoration. Forestry and foraging. Youtube still has great content.
InfidelZombie@reddit
Yeah, I watch loads of YouTube and have no idea what OOP is talking about. I've got my \~30 channels I'm subscribed to and the only thing some of them have adopted is "stupid thumbnail face," which YouTube has basically told them they have to do to get noticed by the algorithm.
neonblackiscool@reddit
Dan Bell plug. Urbex and Dead malls. Also, love historical social documentary.
pamakane@reddit
Agreed. It’s out there, just need to look past the overabundance of low-quality fluff.
V8sOnly@reddit
Like most things in life, or so it seems lately
HorribleDear@reddit
We have the very same tastes in YouTube videos. May I also recommend John Kirkwood’s soothing British cooking videos or A Taste of History.
RandoScando@reddit
Hard agree with you. Max Miller is pretty awesome. Also Townsends. I’m sure you’ve seen them before, but both are good watches in the off chance you haven’t.
pushdose@reddit
Clack clack
Ohfuscia@reddit
Also Glen and Friends has great food context when making recipes
Okra-Tomatoes@reddit
Glen is one of my favorites, a true gem.
P1_Synvictus@reddit
You ever see how much Townsends meal stuff is on there website? Yeesh.
nvmls@reddit
Both favorites of mine! I like Cooking the Books and Internet Shaquille too.
el_pinko_grande@reddit
Jonathan Zaragoza, too.
gesis@reddit
Tell me more about these furniture restoration and forestry channels...
My YouTube subs are mostly niche hobby things. Once someone becomes annoying, I unsub and forget they existed.
I have also completely removed "shorts" from my life, because they are invariably stupid as fuck.
As a result of these rules, I spend little time on youtube, and almost no time looking at insipid and/or stupid shit.
nvmls@reddit
Learn Your Land is a nice one with a guy who teaches you about the forests of the Northeast US, he's based in PA. The Black Forager is really entertaining and informative and she has a foraging cookbook coming out later this year! If you search for foraging and your location there are plenty of locals. Thomas Johnson Antique Furniture Restoration has long episodes where you follow the piece step by step, it's oddly soothing. Oh, and in that vein, you can also watch old episodes of This Old House.
Gonna_do_this_again@reddit
Car repair is still top notch
Visible_Inevitable41@reddit
3rd or 4th video down is gonna be the one you need. Its never the first!
nvmls@reddit
Electronics, too, Find yourself a low budget video narrated by an Indian dude with 4 hits and you will learn something.
epidemicsaints@reddit
Once you get into the land of funny grad students that love research and teaching, and show their weird sources on screen, it's a whole new world.
I also had to create the habit of aggressively liking everything I watched through. I am not a fidgety button clicker person, I am the person they are talking to when they say Like and Subscribe. Once I started liking stuff my suggestions got awesome and Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson went away.
481126@reddit
Mrs. Crocombe teaching us how to cook a Swan or something.
DPTDubbs@reddit
I claim that My Mechanics is a top 5 YouTube channel. I can’t wait for him to finish his Datsun.
Lughaidh_@reddit
Except for the thumbnail stuff, which at this point is essentially mandatory, I don’t experience any of the stuff you mentioned. Just curate your videos better.
jiffjaff69@reddit
Video jug was good for that type thing
braywarshawsky@reddit
I wouldn't recommend getting on Instagram. My kid downloaded it on my phone, and everytime I open that app I feel myself getting dumber.
There are still a few quality places on YouTube. Don't give up all hope, OP.
Aware_Policy_9174@reddit
I used instagram back in the day to post photos and had a nice curated feed of mostly plant related stuff. I stopped for a while due to depression and life and I wanted to get back into posting all my native plant pics. I tried a few times but my feed was almost all ads, and it was too annoying to even bother.
GerlockADUS@reddit
My son 11 yr old has started watching meme videos where someone is literally screaming in to the microphone. It’s so annoying. I won’t let him watch that stuff around me.
NaturalSpecialist5@reddit
I never really watched much YouTube. As a Gen Xer, I watched only music videos in my 20s and 30s on there and some craft DIY. I got more into Tiktok 4 years ago, made some friends my age, but that went down hill fast thanks to our government. Last summer I watched a ton of YouTube videos in gardening know how. I had a free sub for a month. No ads, it was great. I also watched my favorite AMSR relaxing facial massage ladies, cake videos, recipes. But none of those have the annoying things you mentioned. I avoid them. Other than the real annoying ads, because I'm not paying 89 bucks a month, it's smooth sailing for me.
Try finding people that aren't massively into ad revenue. Almost all creators need to have some support to provide us the entertainment we seek, which is only fair. But it doesn't have to be from a long drawn out thumb 👍👍👍👍
Also, I knew my future as an old person was doomed when I had second and third graders telling me that wanted to be YouTube creators when they grew up.
alvinofdiaspar@reddit
Monetization and algorithms created a special breed of hellspawn influencers.
BigPoppaStrahd@reddit
Here’s a few things on youtube i’m getting sick of seeing:
Bands trying to guilt you into watching their videos “a half naked girl will get 1 million views but will you stay for 15 seconds to hear our song?” No, fuck off, I don’t get bullied into watching videos, you’re getting blocked and I don’t care if you’re the next greatest band.
People arguing with themselves. I’m so tired of people trying to sell a point by staging a fake argument or discussion with themselves wearing different hats and playing “characters”.
Copycats. If your video shows up and it’s copying the formula of someone I follow, you’re getting blocked.
Content thieves. The guy in the bottom of the screen nodding their head to a video that’s playing in their background, leave that shit on tik tok
P1_Synvictus@reddit
Pointing at words above them.
Can’t stand that dude who does the rock history videos with his big stupid pretentious coffee mug and he wanna-be Eddie Vedder look.
AND I LOVE ROCK AND EDDIE VEDDER.
pawsomedogs@reddit
I'll defend youtube and say that if you get recommended videos you don't like it's because you watched similar videos in the past.
So if you want to get recommended things you like: 1- clean your history from things you don't want to be recommended anymore. 2-be ruthless about the videos you want to watch.
Putrid_Gas1540@reddit
The are YouTube videos that are filled with a lot filler just to meet video length goals of +15 mins. I end up switching videos. And the YouTube commercials breaks the focus of the video which also has a creator sponsor commercial to also sit through.
RepresentativeNo2187@reddit
Piano tutorials used to be real people who just wanted to share how to play a song. Sigh.
Ralinor@reddit
Stop with the damn hands. The girls are talking like that irl now too
affectionateanarchy8@reddit
I never got into youtube as entertainment so Ive only experienced it a little. I mostly use it for how to videos when written instruction isnt enough and usually it's straightforward but one of my hobbies has quite afew influencers to sift through which can be annoying
Skipper0463@reddit
I used to watch videos on YouTube. Now I end up doomscrolling through it without watching much. It sucks now.
Atillion@reddit
It sucks to be one of the people that put out normal, non sensationalized videos competing with all that shit too
aRealPanaphonics@reddit (OP)
They can’t compete. It’s honestly not worth it.
And before you know it, the influencers won’t be able to compete with the AI bots that can out-produce them and game every algorithm and own every niche.
I’m ready to launch a Geocities site again.
ILikeBumblebees@reddit
Why bother even thinking of it as a competition? Just produce the content you want to produce and ignore the noise.
aRealPanaphonics@reddit (OP)
Because the algorithm punishes those who don’t play the game. It’s not neutral anymore. That’s the point.
ILikeBumblebees@reddit
The algorithm is part of the noise. Ignore it too. Just seek out the content you like directly.
Pseudorealizm@reddit
They're saying why does that even matter? If you're doing something you enjoy then it shouldn't need to be a race to the top of the algorithm. If it's good content you're going to develop a maybe small but loyal following. I'm subscribed to a bunch of hobby channels and I doubt any of them are expecting to reach the size of the large corporatized channels.
WoodchipNZ@reddit
The indie web is a wonderful place, and neocities is full of the quirky websites I grew up with.
PhatBoyFlim@reddit
It’s the algorithm. Just use it like a library and turn off the recommendations.
FreemanAMG@reddit
It's what the algorithm promoted, so it is what we get. I've been tempted to make a list of all the videos with a variation of "this changes everything"
pushdose@reddit
I watch hobby content almost exclusively on YT. I really don’t run into influencer types in my feed, minus a few sponsored videos for tools, gear etc. I get it, content is hard to produce. I don’t care if they shill for Henson razors or PCBway for 20 seconds.
_ficklelilpickle@reddit
There’s still a corner of YouTube that does cater to the old style. Especially if you niche down on your interests. I recently discovered a guy that does like hour, two hour long voiceless videos of fixing old cars. None of that asmr tappy tappy fingernails shit, just a single guy doing what he needs to with the tools available in his garage. It’s so cathartic to watch. SimonFordman if anyone is interested in that.
But yeah overall I’ve noticed a few channels doing A-B testing with different thumbnails for the same video recently and the thumbnail that wins out is sadly the over dramatic ragebait style ones. It’s sadly just the way to go overall by the looks, especially for those creators who have made it their primary income and need to drive eyeballs for their groceries.
fromthedarqwaves@reddit
I hate the monster truck commercial style SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY in your face non stop talking-action-talking-action crazy videos and I refuse to let my kids watch them. I explain to them why it’s bad for their brains. They can watch educational videos but not this short attention span nonsense. And I also don’t like kids in videos.
Haystcker@reddit
This plug-in can help a bit, it swaps out the thumbnail and title for crowdsourced substitutions that are less sensational.
https://dearrow.ajay.app/
RYB4CKST4CT1CS@reddit
I'd like to recommend Wristwatch Revival on YouTube. A knowledgeable guy fixes watches and narrates the whole process. It's fascinating.
MisRandomness@reddit
What I hate more is that I can’t filter out the shorts. I hate the videos with no talking, and I hate the ones with AI voice overs.
Life_Grade1900@reddit
Because YouTube used to be people posting things they were passionate about, now it's people getting paid.
Once people get paid, there becomes a formula to get paid the most and bam, here we are
PeterPunksNip@reddit
Just turn off the home page and only watch your subscriptions. It's such a relief!
Kiethblacklion@reddit
I'm right alongside you with is one. There are only a few channels that I follow that make actually good content...Viva La Dirt League being the top of my list, with Wartime Stories (paranormal military experiences) a close second.
rainbowroger68@reddit
I've been watching MollyBoyTV and find him pretty entertaining. He's a young (20's?) British guy who reacts to our (60's 70's 80's) music. Previously, he supposedly only listened to hip hop. It's been fun watching him really listen to the music we grew up with.
HelloImFrank01@reddit
I want the internet back before smartphones became a thing.
That was peak internet.
mrdon83@reddit
Everything cool eventually gets consumed by the plague that is marketing. YouTube wasn't the first, it won't be the last.
epidemicsaints@reddit
Browsability and "Explore" is always trash for the lowest common denominator. When I turn it on someone's TV and no one is logged in I about fall over.
But 90% of my watch time is youtube. I have some fave young commentators that are laid back comedians like Chad Chad and Jarvis Johnson, and watch tons of history academics. There are so many cool grad students doing very focused infotainment.
I also love niche TikTok drama, so I see it all at one place and don't have to use the app. When you find people that do this well, you're golden.
Rich-Truth5329@reddit
When I was on twitter years ago, some dude who I followed said all the videos were titles like:
I Blew my Uber Driver?!?!!!
nvmls@reddit
It's the question marks that get me lol
Funandgeeky@reddit
Right? Which part of that sentence is the video questioning?
walter_grimsley@reddit
Same. YouTube is horrible lately. I still have a few channels I enjoy but I can’t stand what it is now. YouTube changed their algorithm several years ago and its been downhill ever since.
AbbreviationsNo3918@reddit
Social media has destroyed culture. Everything is over saturated now. I was just thinking the other day how much more enjoyable it was we all watched the same shows on prime time tv every night (Friends Thursdays) and when we all saw the same big blockbuster movies. And the number of famous people felt much smaller.
greatswordstudios@reddit
It didn’t destroy culture: it fragmented it. There are good and bad things about that.
schoolisuncool@reddit
I’m a tattoo artist and it’s impossible to make small talk anymore about media. I could rattle off 10 shows and they could do the same, and we both never heard of any of them. Same with music. There are no pop culture moments anymore. The last one was Barbie when everybody wore pink and went to the movies.
481126@reddit
The few YouTubers I watch I have watched for several years. For the most part the rest I let do its thing without me. Even videos about things you'd think would be chill like READING BOOKS has become all about drama.
MartyK3000@reddit
I still watch YouTube but I also feel a little alienated by it as well. The clickbait-y video titles that are prophetic and stuffy “this is why no one goes to Domino’s Pizza anymore”….STFU. Your meager observations do not make you an expert.
malibuklw@reddit
I love it for the fact that I was able to get an 8 year old video showing exactly how to fix my dishwasher. I hate it for the shorts, the click bait, the like and subscribe crap.
Thanks dishwasher repair dude! Boo to all the rest of y’all
aDuckk@reddit
Every video needs to have that animation of click like and subscribe with the fucking noises. clack clack ding. It's like thanks for reminding me what this is really all about.
vikmaychib@reddit
I agree — YouTube’s content has shifted away from what I prefer. The long-form essay format got co‑opted by “commentary” creators with no structure, hot takes, and recycled opinions. The worst examples are 3–4 hour multi-part reviews that take longer than the films they cover.
Ten–twenty years ago there was still a lot to explore about film, TV, and pre‑internet history. Now most of that ground has been covered, and new events are immediately absorbed into the internet, so there’s less genuinely new to say. That pushes some creators toward rage bait and sensationalism.
Also, everyone’s feed is different. What used to feel like simple recommendations now seems invasive and hyper‑personalized; watch one bad video and the feed can get “poisoned.” If someone suggests a video (Reddit, a friend, or YouTube recommendations), I prefer to open it in an incognito tab and watch without logging into my account. If I like what I see, I may start watching that creator while logged in. I ignore most YouTube suggestions now and have become protective of my feed.
OP’s complaint isn’t new — it’s similar to people tired of Facebook’s low‑quality content, which can be amplified by our own engagement.
schoolisuncool@reddit
It feels the same way as when the history channel stopped being about history and started being about reality shows
rjcpl@reddit
It’s pretty much just MTV for me. Occasional how to repair something video.
HorridChoob@reddit
Check out the channel Tor's Cabinet of Curiosities its the kind of videos YouTube should be
fairlyaveragetrader@reddit
Everything turned into profit and views rather than quality content
Somewhat ironically video games have went down the same path
handsoapdispenser@reddit
There's a million "how to grill a steak" videos and they never expire. You can watch Jacques Pepin videos from the 80s for that. New content requires new content. That being said, Jacques Pepin is still making new videos.
bgva@reddit
I started a channel where I talk photography and about my journey. It’s tougher than it looks, and as a small business owner I hate that I have to do such much extra marketing. It feels like a FT on top of my FT photography job.
Between that and hitting the right keywords and supposedly the right time to post, and so many other damn things, I’ve learned to just enjoy what I do and push myself harder there. And it’s paying dividends. Making myself more accessible has brought more work my way, and I don’t have to feel like I’m selling my soul to make slightly disingenuous marketing content.
mugzy036@reddit
The use of the word “actually “ is fucking nails on a chalkboard
ckglle3lle@reddit
Check out Nebula if you haven't, pretty much all the best video essay and infotainment creators from Youtube also run Nebula channels now that focus more on the stuff you're missing
ESPRE5S0@reddit
Just retune your algorithm. There is so much great content on Youtube. Start by searching something that interests you. Comment on the videos you like to let youtube learn what to show you. You can also choose "show less of this" on videos you don't want to see.
elementalguitars@reddit
You just need to be more deliberate about the videos you click on. The algorithm will always show you more of whatever gets you to click on it. If you click on stupid influencer crap it’s gonna show more of that stuff in your feed. If you’re more careful about what you click and watch after a while the algorithm will adjust accordingly. You say you know how algorithms work so I don’t understand why you’re complaining here instead of just training the algorithm for your feed.
aRealPanaphonics@reddit (OP)
I’ve turned off my history and do that. But I used to enjoy searching for videos. Now, no matter what I search, it recommends the most formulaic / slop vids first because that maximizes engagement.
It just sucks.
YakiVegas@reddit
It really depends on what you’re subbed to. I watch YT way more than any streaming services. I get documentaries and comedy shit mostly. If your algorithm is showing you AI slop, it’s because you’re clicking on it too much. I don’t get that shit at all.
cyclingfaction@reddit
It’s all AI slop clickbait exaggeration. It’s really sad, I dislike every decently sized youtuber shilling whatever someone will pay them for. It’s all a vehicle for ad promotion rather than good content.
OIIOIIOIIOIIOIOIOIII@reddit
There is a browser extension called DeArrow that crowdsources the thumbnail and title of the video. If no crowdsource info is available, it chooses a random spot as the thumbnail and/or formats the title to sentence case. It's made browsing so much better.
Scar_O9@reddit
Agreed to infinity it’s negatively changed so much alongside the fall of the internet. There was the time YouTube didn’t have a log in and was just that search bar. Man
Not saying it was better in all regards. But better in a way that’s long gone now and sad to reminisce on. We didn’t realize it at the time and makes me wonder if we’ll feel the same in 15 years.
Gonna_do_this_again@reddit
My algorithm is such trash now
heresmytwopence@reddit
As soon as a political influencer comes up in my feed, they are blocked. Independent journalism is more important now than ever, but the influencers being pushed by the algorithm are only there for clicks and merch sales. There are more than enough things for viewers to be legitimately pissed off about without resorting to sensationalism. Even music and movie reactions, which I've been watching for a long time, are becoming increasingly formulaic and clickbaity.
el_pinko_grande@reddit
I think I've got my YouTube algorithm pretty well trained at this point that what it's supposed to show me are dry, hour long videos about economics or history, or else 30 minute long videos of Tumblr ladies explaining whatever weird shit is happening on the Internet.
But I had to do things like really aggressively block channels that are excessively Mr. Beastified. And also block every single channel where that one bald bearded British guy that's on eight million channels shows up.
Asleep_Onion@reddit
What I've done is just chosen a handful of creators who aren't those things, and ignore the rest.
The Infographics show is good, anything with Simon Whistler is usually good, and when all else fails I can't ever really get tired of watching Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Brian Cox videos.
DiogenesXenos@reddit
Monetizing clicks was the worst thing ever for social media. It just turned it all into a bunch of disingenuous drek.
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
AI slop and influencer culture nuked the quirky and informational aspects. It is easier to dumb out with a podcast and accumulate hours, but when I want to look for a quality video it's becoming a task.
I think if there was a streaming/video sight that banned AI and other low quality content that can be confused as AI it would clean up out there.
Express-Cow190@reddit
Food Wishes is the best cooking channel on YouTube. Chef John has never let me down once.
DegTrader@reddit
I feel this. I miss the era where a video was just a guy in his kitchen, not a production studio requiring a sponsorship from Geveline aftershave to explain how to cut an onion.
Relative_Progress946@reddit
Still better than cable. Cheaper and with fewer commercials.
crazycatlady331@reddit
The clicking and tapping drives me up a wall.
ASMR makes me want to throw something across the room.
MarvelousVanGlorious@reddit
I never really got into YouTube. I’ll watch sports highlights or some stuff about movies that I like, bits that’s it. I have friends who watch YouTube exclusively. They try showing my videos and it just feels like my senior year in high school when they started having students do video announcements every morning. I can’t take it seriously.
Reasonable-Wave8093@reddit
I loved youtub back in the day, esp for music. Now it sucks😟
blackcurrents78@reddit
I hear you loud and clear man, but things will never go back. I think we should just appreciate that we had it real good before all this performative nonsense. It’s already reached cartoonish levels. The real may have washed away from YouTube, but’s it’s still within us. 🫠
lostatsea_again@reddit
completely enshittified. so many AI video recommendations. AI spitting out millions of new videos a week.
a_solid_6@reddit
There's still some good stuff out there. You might have to do some specific searches and train your algorithm to send you the good stuff.
skinnyminnesota@reddit
You can still find good stuff but it's the attention economy, my friend. Bright lights and loud noises are easier to monetize.