That’s the catch, everyone knows we won’t. But we can fully enjoy the idea of doing so, while making us feel that this is so easy to do, that you can do it…you know…LATER
The message at the end, "but of course we start tomorrow" really did it for me. I loved everything you covered but we all know we don't want to do it right now, i mean we're on youtube. But that did it. thanks.
Other content creators HATE, LOATHE us for telling people consistently consuming social media is unhealthy and you'll end up with false hope like us till you're brainwashed you can make it on this platform. Being a failure REALLY made me realize I have a duty to show who I really am and to discourage people from making the same mistake we did. Watching youtuber till you become one HARD NO, do NOT do this
Already cutting down just because I’m finding fewer videos that interest me, I’m tired of the culture wars, I’m tired of celebrities, and I’m not falling for the hyperbole as easily. But thanks for the suggestions.
I think TH-cam changed something that makes the suggestion algorithm just generally not as good as it was before. I don't really get pulled into rabit holes anymore, so maybe its a win? I guess
The algorithm is pretty dumb and will just suggest more of what you click. If you don't already: - Don't click on dumb shit/click bait/ads. - Delete garbage out of your watch history. - Follow a handful of legit creators you like. - Use the "not interested" button when shit shows up in your feed. Maybe too much work for most, but I'm pretty well insulated from bullshit "influencers" and the constant stream of sewage.
Read. I used to love to read, then experienced internet and TH-cam addiction big time starting about 10 years ago. Lately I have been disciplining myself to put it down and walk away and force myself to read a book, and it's hard. Even though I've been a reader all my life, my attention span has been truncated and my brain is ruined from TH-cam. Thanks for this video and good luck to everyone who is at least making an effort to cut it out
I'm all about audio books now and there are lots of free books on TH-cam. Also long form history documentaries like Fall of Civilizations is helpful to have on while driving, cleaning etc.
Very similar to how I quit smoking cigarettes. A friend helped me recognize that sometimes I smoke when I don't want to, or continue smoking after I was satisfied. So I told myself "Smoke exactly as much as you want, but not more." I began putting out cigarettes halfway, or after a single puff. I would take one out of the pack, then realize I didn't want it, and put it back. In fact I never really quit, I merely realized I didn't really want to do it.
Congrats!! This is a really eye opening mindset tbh. I struggle with these tendencies for social media, junk food, and other bad habits. I think this framing will stick with me
This is so true. The best way to stop a addiction/bad habit is to just get bored of it. It sounds odd, but it really helped me with social anxiety. I just got tired of overthinking in social situations, or being too self aware, and this helped a lot
I've been addicted to binge able content ever since I got my first phone. Watching videos while doing everything, cooking, cleaning, videogames, hobbies, working out it's been my way to dissociate with the world. But it is also a addiction that I didn't release was one, or maybe I was just denying it. It made me not want to go to events and things I knew I would enjoy because my brain was used to the comfort of TH-cam. Letting people down to sit in my room and rot my brain, it made me feel so guilty. And I got this video on my recommended after a day off, where I got brain rotted with TH-cam. Playing video games I should have enjoyed more but I was more on dopexamine auto pilot, not playing attention to what is was actually watching or playing, I looked forward to this game for months and then didn't enjoy the time I was playing it. I was on TH-cam to the moment I got up to night time now watching this video, and it's all correct everything he says. I acted all high and mighty for not having tiktok when I was just as addicted. I don't want to watch TH-cam on repeat forever anymore, it's made me compliant with how I am. I'm not going to do everything with TH-cam anymore, I want to actually enjoy what I'm doing, instead of the video. I can't cut off TH-cam completely, definitely not, but I can make everything feel more impactful and less stale. Enjoy my hobbies, because when I'm forced to not be on TH-cam (aka around other people) life feels better.
Yes I am the same way it was so proud of not having tictoc but I've mainly been using youstube as a distracted as well and the exact same way as you. It's now a complete detriment to me getting back to my goals after I've wasted 10 years or more of my life and time on youtube and dramas. Therr is always hope but we have to take the action to change and those good changes we make everyday by committing to them will change our minds and habits the same way there was a time I didn't distract my mind constantly with yourube instead of coping and solving my problems the detriment is that we will have to live with some of the negative consequences until the addiction is broken. The steps he have here are perfect and especially the last one, replacing the habit.
I too am a TH-cam-addict. At first it was really useful. I got a lot of advice on how to learn to code and then about AI models and news. But now I'm very addicted and less of it is helpful. It's on 13-14 hours a day several times a week, except when I have a big task for work. For me, I'm trying to sub listening to music and especially nature sounds with soft instruments. Quitting smoking I read works best w a substitute action performed immediately as a replacement. I've never smoked but have an obsessive personality. Doing 20 squats may be a good immediate sub. Listening to a good curated music playlist may be another. I also like to listen to audiobooks I've enjoyed over and over. It's less distracting than TH-cam since I already know what's going on, but still find something new to appreciate in the author's craft. It's a better security blanket than TH-cam mindless scrolling. I'm not going to quit, because it does have educational content. I do want to control what, and when I watch and when I stop watching.
The hardest part is filling the time man. I'm at a point where TH-cam really bores me which is good, but nothing feels as stimulating as it once did which makes it SO hard to build better habits that come with delayed rewards. Everyone says to start small and it sounds great but if you start small there's so much time left to fill. And when I don't distract myself and have too much time to think, I get depressed again.
I'll add that this is just an approach that worked for me but I'm currently in a "stumble" phase, spending less time outside and in community and more time with screens. But I know why I'm doing it and I'm steadily working through that each week by going to therapy, journaling once a day, meditating most days, and keeping in touch to some degree with my community. I don't feel completely lost in the way that I did before all of the things I recommended to you. Just wanted to be genuine that I certainly have not solved my problems, but I have healed a bit. edit: How annoying, youtube removed my first comment that I spent a long time on. I don't have the energy to do it over right now, but flark you, youtube. I can't imagine why it would get removed except that it was potentially a realistic guide to getting off the platform...
well thats a good first step, isn’t it? if you find that when you have time and breathing room to think you’re depressed, that means that you were always depressed but pushing away any chance of a thought happening with cheap easy dopamine. which im sure you knew, but this isnt the end result; it’s the START. that might seem daunting and exhausting, but it’s hopeful too, isn’t it? you could start with exploring. driving to the library or thrift store or a national park walking to the library or down the street. collecting rocks, or taking pictures, or starting a creative project even if it’s something small. when your mind is running in circles, your body needs something to do to match it. and sometimes it feels like u dont have the energy to even start, but sometimes just taking a walk to the corner store to buy gatorade makes you feel more settled in your body than you’d realize.
If all else fails, it may also be worth trying just brute forcing your way out of this habit. Like, if you don't have another thing to fill your time with, then just don't do anything for now. Eventually, something will come around, but for the start, it's enough to beat the habit. I feel like I have the best ideas on how to spend my time when I'm bored.
Some suggestions for you to fill time in a positive way. .... Arts and crafts; being Active and getting outside for sports, walking, watching nature; Audio Books and podcasts; making a list of classic films or books you want to see or have been recommended and working through them maybe review them; Creative writing or journals; Puzzles, word games, billiards, darts, boardgames etc; plan and research a dream holiday or career, or find info and books on another interest, art, science, nature, history, psychology.... Good luck.
dude, this seriously helped me so much. i got over my phone addiction but now i´m just watching yt for 6 to 10h on my PC instead. this really helped though. will turn my time into my own again!!
Thanks for the shorts blocking suggestion. That's something I've wanted without realizing it. I don't really have a problem with regular videos, but with shorts I'll just keep scrolling if I'm not careful.
I put it this way jokingly for dramatic flavor, but I've always said that if I'm not careful shorts will suck the soul right out of me. Infinite, short, mildly entertaining at times, useless and still kinda boring most of the time, and just rage bait the rest of the time. You get nothing out of it but a cheap way to turn your brain off, and in return you get a shorter attention span, emotional congestion, and a subtle dose of dissociation from ramping overexposure to increasingly vapid and unrealistic subject matter. I really think in a more just world, where product/content supply and distribution was humane and worked with human psychology rather than exploiting it for profit, shorts would not exist. The layers of psychological manipulation at play make you nauseous to become aware of, with how prevalent and admissible it all is seemingly because it causes no physical harm the way say lead paint does. I'm not sure if it gets more condensed, more captivating and mind numbing, more subversively hypnotic than shorts, and no wonder almost every platform has them now. I'll be using the blocking suggestion as well, a resource I believe elevates this video to at least some degree of usefulness.
I wouldn't mind shorts so much if the interface wasn't so horrid. Always looping, no time-stamp seeking, and if my scroll wheel clicks I lose my position or even the video (my scroll wheel is pretty loose). That said, the attention sucking still, well, sucks, and this video was worth it for bringing the plugin to my attention.
@@nicolawitzig1647 Can confirm! The ScreenZen dev says that they can do this on Android, but Apple’s API prevents them from doing the same on iOS 😔 Can’t link this but it’ll be the first result it if you search “can screenzen block youtube shorts”
My guy. Ive been addicted to TH-cam since i was 12 years old. It's been a burden to me ever since, and ive been averaging about 4-8 hours a day. I lost hobbies, people, and events because TH-cam is damn good at stimulating my brain and it's incredibly easy. I will try your method for the next month. I'll give an update at the end if it worked or not.
What sucks is that buried in the recommendation rabbit holes there are (a few) videos with genuinely helpful info. Like this one. I am in fact installing these addons and taking your advice. Thanks.
The thing is I personally keep YT watch history off, and thus have my home feed empty, I also rarely watch shorts. I just search up what I want to watch on TH-cam (it's always the same 3 topics) and then close it most of the time, no one is perfect but I check if I have free time beforehand. When I google stuff on my laptop I watch the video in the search itself instead of opening it up on a new tab on TH-cam.
Indeed. Signal to noise ratio is super bad. Scrolling a sea of content propelled by the false hope that eventually you'll find genuine value(which, of course, you sometimes do, but often not enough to justify the behavior).
Thissss! This was something I too realised during the first few times I tried to quit TH-cam but recently something else I realised was that, yes, whilst I was finding a few good videos that genuinely positively impacted me it did not out weigh the negative effects scrolling through TH-cam for hours gave me and that I simply had to make that sacrifice and be okay with it.
I have been focusing more on my subscription list so i can engage with videos and creators i like and want to support. I also listen a lot in the background as i do other tasks. The extensions you recommended sound super helpful too!
Nice video. What helped me was when i see a video i want to watch, I dont watch it immediately but put it in a "plan to watch" list and wait till the end of the day or at least an hour or several. What happens is when after some time I take a look at that list of videos i realize that i lost the desire to watch most of them quite often. The Initial impulse is gone by them, no FOMO, i just choose the best videos to watch out of that list and ignore the rest.
this will probably be what will happen when i go to actually watch videos in my watch later list and my “important” playlist which is becoming watch later 2 basically but with videos i felt were important to watch when i can. i watched none of the videos in it and im also putting videos i want to keep in it so
Just don’t fall into the trap of trying to “work through” your watchlist. Instead let it sit there, knowing that you’ll have more than enough interesting stuff to watch when you finally decide to.
Sometimes, I think TH-cam is trying to help me quit TH-cam by recommending the most useless and boring videos ever. And now it recommends me this... Well, thanks.
Dude, I hate to admit this but I needed someone else to tell me to stop this TH-cam addiction. I began looking at videos with a more realistic eye by myself and that helped, but I still found myself spending probably longer than I should have on this website, and also creating way too many tabs to not forget to "watch later". For me (and this is the case with a lot of things) I am way more likely to do something when someone else reinforces that I should do it. Something I probably had to do already but didn't do properly or didn't do at all for some reason. This video really helped to put into my head what is really going on. You didn't overdramatize this in the slightest. A lot of other videos about self help try to show something in your face or are a little too extreme. Basically, someone else would probably do a video on this same subject with a title like "TH-cam is ruining your free time" and have this thumbnail with those chromatic aberrations and other effects that 3 years ago were synonym of high quality and now (to me) are clickbaity. A video titled "quitting your youtube addiction is easy, actually" and a simpler thumbnail with Comic Sans text is so, so much better. Also, in the video itself you spoke with a normal tone of voice, only brought simple, comprehensive and true stuff with no bullshit. You didn't talk about a book that said this and that about psychology or whatever. Heck, "I remember seeing this TED talk one time, and the guy pulled up a graphic" - to me that's so refreshing, idk why lol Thanks a lot for this.
"Add to queue" is my poison. I regularly amass twenty-plus collections of videos... and then three or so days later memory of original appeal of most videos is lost, and I end up wasting time watching the first few minutes of each to remind myself.
I disabled it on my phone. I can now watch a little and go away. I disable it again if I feel it's getting out of hand or becoming unproductive. You can re-enable it in the play store, but it's way more of a pain than just clicking on the app. At first I also had to disable google and chrome as well. I've even disabled the play store (after looking up how to re-enable it, of course). Anyway, hope this helps.
Thank you, you definitely showed it from a different side than other similar videos. I will try to use these tips. My last straw is my vision worsened, and I don't want it to keep falling because of my inability to stop at one video.
let’s be honest, we all know “how” to quit watching youtube and there’s more than enough tips and hacks out there on how but i think a lot of us deep down don’t want to…even though we need to. kinda like “i can quit vaping whenever i want” but never does 😅 also i hate reading so youtube is my way of digestible education. so i have a seperate account where i only watch educational content and youtube’s algorithm only suggests that type of content to me. you guys should try it out!
yooo! soul simple! Dude! I just had this idea today. But you telling me will actually make me do that. (I don't know why I'm such a sucker for confirmation bias.) BTW, I love your videos! I was curious, why you quit being a financial analyst. It's my dream. So I was wondering if I have some misconceptions about it.
Unhook has been really, really helpful for me. What I've done is completely remove my recommended feed (and most importantly, youtube shorts) and only leave my subscriptions page. Then, I've gone through the long list of subscriptions I've accumulated over the years, and unsubscribed from many channels, particularly some that upload way too often, like many times a day, and some that just aren't very worthwhile content to watch.
Ye, I am also using it. Only when I want to search for something I use TH-cam Unfortunately, since the past month or something I am wasting more time on TH-cam again. Maybe bcz I am delaying an important decision
i do this as well! i found that i was notified for some channels and made me realise that a lot of them say stuff like "hit the notification bell to never miss a video" well, who even uses the notification feature?, i do now haha. i only go on youtube now to watch a video from my subscriptions (i look at how many notifications so i know how much new stuff there is to watch (helps to manage free time).
Thank you so much! I've been hopelessly addicted to TH-cam for the past year and tried a lot of ways to get rid of it but I always find myself coming back because of one silly video, it's incredible just how much time I spend on this. When I quit TH-cam I'll make sure to still watch your videos.
Respect! 😎 Breaking free from a TH-cam addiction might sound tough for most, but if you’ve cracked it, you’re a total boss. It’s all about finding balance, and it sounds like you’ve got your priorities straight! Sometimes, stepping away gives you so much more time for the things that truly matter. Keep it up, you’ve got this! 🚀👊
Awesome! I am now the same person as I was before this video and will disregard the advice while believing that since I know how to quit TH-cam in theory, I can do so whenever I want, meaning I don't actually have to.
2:00 I once got a "self improvement" video recommended with the title "Buying an alarm clock changed my life", it was so stupid and offended my intelligence so much that I turned off my TH-cam recommendations and never enabled it again
@@ajlei Sure, while you are at it, buy a newspaper. Using a browser could have you end up on youtube. The device's capabilities are not the issue, the user's self-control is, and removing the device instead of teaching restraint is the wrong move.
I'm so glad i clicked on this (ironically reccomended to me) because the extensions were just what i needed. It's definitely a good way to make you more aware about what you're doing, especially since i tend to find myself clicking on the youtube app and going through shorts for no good reason on autopilot. As for the self development videos/informational videos that seem educational but also waste your time because you end up stepping away and forgetting everything you just watched, that most likely has something to do with lack of authentic intention. We might click on that video supposedly wanting to improve or do what that video is offering, but we end up forgetting because we had no real intention to learn from it. So being able to just look at a video and decide if you really want to watch it for a good minute is a good idea to decide whether or not you really have the intention to learn something or not, or if you'll just end up doom scrolling
broo that screen at 1:05 is veryy accurate. like wtf does a 18 yr old teach me about life and how to be charismatic . liki lolo like lol. seriously tho
I didn't watch the video yet, but what got me to quit my TH-cam addiction was that most of the heavy hitters I liked watching either quit completely or vastly reduced how frequently they upload for one reason or another, so basically the place became worse and less addicting to me. Same thing happened with social networks; the people I really liked quit, and the quality of my feeds got so bad that I'm finding myself spending my free time working on hobby projects again for the first time in a long time instead of just doomscrolling all the time.
I have always wanted an option to reduce distractions from using instagram and youtube, using them is inevitable. But adding more focus and control like untrapped, is such a gamechanger! THANK YOU SO MUCH.
thank you, I needed the shorts blocker desperately! I hate short videos with a passion because how easily they grab my attention when I'm tired and then I waste an hour and feel horrible
Something that also helps is to have a separate account for the "learning" you do, like programming/CS or/and language learning etc. So you keep your main account for entertainment
i did exactly that and like a month later i was just watching my usual stuff on that account and it got spoiled :/ also i filled with tons of "useful" content that, if im being honest, i dont really wanna watch. so i started to just avoid that account completely so yea, if it works for you - im jealous lol
@@nerdError0XFI did that too and got the same problem, in the long run both accounts were kind of the same. These days my account has both contents I like, educational and entertainment. It’s more about restraining myself when I want to learn something to not click on the entertainment videos. It’s not always easy but it works. Whenever I want to relax it’s just boring to keep switching accounts
@@nerdError0XF I think it's better to make a list of what you want to watch that seems useful and then watch it in order and learn. For example, I watch a playlist about graph neural networks right now, so I just go and continue watching it. So you should make a plan of what you what to learn in which order and then search up videos about it without relying on recommendation system
i do this with this account (self improvement, college/subject videos and motivation to go study) and my main account (regular entertainment), it also helps me relax from college e.g if i'm watching a video on my main, i don't see videos about trigonometry on the side video recommendations lol. i don't see how you would "spoil" the account with entertainment stuff, as you can easily just not click on it or write it down/bookmark it for later? you just need more restraint not to click on things or to have patience to watch them later?
Thanks for this bro, tough pill to swallow that most vids are useless but important one. I have been trying to cut down usage this year, I found 3 things mainly 1) Use app limits for yt screen time in phone settings, I started 3 hours a day (ik it’s bad), but overtime reduced it (1.5 hrs now) 2) Fill your day with non-negotiable events/activities first, bc it’s hard to quit when you have nothing else to do. I try to keep myself busy with work, gym, hobbies, etc which will naturally reduce your time overall 3) Use it at specific times only, I do so when I’m eating which isn’t ideal but helps me get the satisfaction still without going too overboard with it I still struggle especially when I’m tired or bored but I found this has helped a lot overall
Loved the suggestions of app and extensions btw. Ngl adblock helps so much with the addiction because if there were unskippable ads every single video i tried to watch i wouldn't be here
I‘ve been using you tube a lot since 2011/2012. I created my current account in 2016. I think the watch later playlist was full (5000 videos) in 2017/2018. I didn’t even bother creating a second playlist, but still clicked the „watch later“ button over and over again. It‘s absolute madness.
@@Kuk0san i think 5000 is maximum amount you can have in a playlist, because youtube's default playlist for "liked videos" can't go any higher than 5000.
Yeah, it's 5000. My watch later is full to this limit too lol, I'm watching this on a second playlist I made for queueing watch sessions XD and worse, I have several lists I automated a while back to fill up with new uploads from selected channels (you use Google Sheets to run a script thing for it, there's a blog post somewhere out there explaining it) so those are all filling up too and I can't keep up with even just the best educational relaxing enlightening stuff I curate AAAAAAAAAAAAA
You could not have posted this at a better time in my life, everything you discussed I’ve experienced first hand, thank you for this. By the way I really respect the self reflection in stating how your own videos are a waste of time. This isn’t me saying I don’t like them, it’s the exact opposite, but I definitely did find myself watching them just for the sake of feelings like I’m improving when I really know I’m not. Again, thank you for this, keep up the amazing work!
Man you're really awesome. I've never heard about that extension and it is exactly what I was looking for. I gave up on social media 2 months ago (except YT, of course) and yeah, my free time is now spent on YT. Btw regarding the educational videos, whenever I watch a video I try to sum it up in my mind or to take notes of what I've learned from it. It really helps and it makes you more aware of what you are actually learning from those videos.
as some others have mentioned in the CS here: engaging with the 'content' you consume through comments, cleansing your timeline/suggestions by just clicking not interested, creating a separate account for educational stuff does help. In my experience though, i ended up barely using it. In the end, we can waste time by doing what we truly enjoy- something that leaves us thinking and prompting us with action even after its experience. It's all about being mindful fr
Ahhhh! A lot of what this guy was saying about videos not being good doesn’t seem to apply to my feed, so this makes a lot of sense! I customize my feed carefully
I use TH-cam to learn and practice languages by listening and watching along with subtitles if I need to do so, so I wouldn't say it's unproductive to me. Especially due to the fact that I don't consume content in my native language anymore. So it's a way for me to both entertain myself and learn languages at the same time. Same with reading, I don't like reading in my native language, but, if I'm reading in English or French, for instance, I'll feel way more productive. Even so, not everything has to be productive. We, as human beings, need rest to keep up our pace and avoid burnout.
Thats good! The guy in the video is not telling everyone to do it Its for the people who just mindlessly wasts their time on youtube watching shorts or videos all day I appreciate you that your doing something productive
dude, ngl, this actually makes me motivated to stop watching so much youtube right this second, thank you, genuinely ofc it's up to me to execute on it but you've been a great help, thanks for recommending that app
2:12. Defining "a waste of time" as "something which won't chang something for me/change me" is pretty insightful for me. This is my main takeaway. Thanks ❤
I feel like I have realistically used many of the videos I watched in my own life to help my goals but I also totally feel where your coming from. I mean I make youtube videos and I still delete the app
Still amazes me that TH-cam recommends this to me (or anyone actually), who never saw any video from this content creator. Why do the managers over there not block it? I can only imagine one answer: it doesn’t make a difference, we will keep watching anyway.
0:52 this is a big one, because one of the main problems of “be productive” type videos like this is the person in question treating everything that isn’t “productive” as poison Like it’s literally: “EVERY WAKING MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE SHOULD BE YOU WORKING OTHERWISE WE HAVE A PROBLEM “
I was trying to cut off yt entirely but I have to learn so I cant. Now I have 3 accounts, one for my field education, one for science and stuff, one for entertainment which I must not use much. Each one I open in different browsers so that I wont open freely. Guess that is how I discipline my yt.
I’ve never had an issue with substances or other addictions, but I’m tired of wondering if I’m an “addict” for watching too much TH-cam, or playing too many games. Just do what makes you happy so long as you’ve done enough in your day to consider it productive. If you constantly label yourself an addict for engaging in repetitive tasks you will start falling apart from the inside out trying to find a way to fix this nonexistent problem.
I just downloaded Screen Zen. Just a step to building healthier habits. I've been thinking about screen time for a while and want to live like a real human. Thanks for this reframing of endless conumption. 🙏
I've almost completely quit watching TH-cam on the app. I've gone from 6 hours and 3 hours as my highest and lowest in a week, to 2 hours and 20 minutes being my highest and lowest in a week. I still use it a lot on my laptop, but when I'm away from home, I don't watch TH-cam at all. This change took me around a month for it to really stick, but it's definitely working. I'm reading a lot more irl, but I haven't gotten around to actually reading on my phone instead. I still use the internet on my phone a lot instead of the TH-cam app. So getting offline and into a digital book will be my next step now that staying off the TH-cam app is a success.
As "an old" who still (just) had a dumb phone longer than a smartphone, I sometimes consider going back to one (which, to me, is the only way to _fully_ reclaim your own time, attention and concentration). The newfangled ones are just so handy though.
@@anonymes2884as a newgen it's not really the phones. People have a way weaker mentality nowadays with people doomscrolling for pretty much days, around ten or twelve hours. I personally don't rlly use TH-cam, mostly for tutorials, and I really like this channel but to be fair I think it's a more psycological fact.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with watching content for entertainment, or things that aren’t necessarily “productive”. The human mind needs breaks every now and then, and watching a few videos is harmless. Just don’t go over the limit 👍
That’s such an easy line to cross though…it’s like telling an alcoholic that he can have a few drinks every now and then, just don’t go over the limit. If you want entertaining content, watch a show, movie, or read a damn book. (I know I’m a hypocrite, but I genuinely am addicted to TH-cam and I _know_ this won’t help)
I feel that most of the content I consume on youtube is legitimately educational in a way that is technically benefitial, most of it I watch is history related and history is something I love and id love to dedicate my life to. But I feel like I spend so much time just passively consuming education and never actually putting it to any use...I learn history, but I don't actually do anything with the knowledge.
The only objection I have to TH-cam being not educational, is on the tech side. You just naturally gain super useful knowledge and It's usually pretty entertaining if you like tech stuff. That is the only scenario I can think of where it's the best of both worlds with you actually retaining the valuable knowledge if you find it interesting. Edit: I forgot to mention this, but with consistent watching, you can get to the knowledge level of the CompTIA ITF+ certification in a couple months without all of the boring official lectures and exam. Just casually watching nerds mess with PC's, phones, and servers.
The more informational and useful a youtube vid is the more it's boring and the less likely you are to watch it. So it depends on your youtube habit. But 90 percent of the time people will lose control and click on the more engaging more fun videos that are less helpful
get something better to do. learn a new skill/language/instrument. get a hobby. go for a walk. cook a meal. go out with friends. play video games. read a book.
@@redgreen2453 That's more terrible. I recommend replacing that with a hobby, that has something to do with outside. Taking walks, listening to nature, grab a frisbee, or a football to play with it. Also get some books along with it too.
thats ironically true for most of us, I already got +50 tabs of yt content to watch and its very likely that Im going to watch it all f*k I just want this addiction to end, Im going outside and touching grass to counter my addiction fr fr
The thing that makes "quitting" TH-cam so hard for me is that I also use it as a utility- I watch ASMR videos at night to fall asleep, and its where I listen to all my music. And no, I can't just "buy albums or download it into a player instead" because the majority of the music I listen to is extremely indie and is only really available as TH-cam videos, and I don't subscribe to music streaming services (which don't have everything I listen to either). I will, however, take the shorts blocking app. I have shorts blocked on PC but I didn't think there was a way to do it on mobile.
@@dry4smash946mm… I suppose. Though my poison is mainly recommended videos, so I guess I could turn those off except for one day a week or something EDIT: Apparently on iOS it can’t block shorts, RIP
That's so useful, how did you set that up? I have an extension to hide videos similar to the one recommended in the video but I find I always just turn it off so I can see the recommendations again, but it would be way better to just be forced to get rid of it.
It's an addon called Leech block NG. It's pretty versatile because it lets you set up filters and can do things like timeouts, closing tabs, or lockouts during certain time periods.
Dearrow is a great extension too. It removes clickbait from titles and thumbnails, with most videos having titles created by others that tells you exactly what the video is about
ithought yt was social media- then my grandchildren told me it wasn't. so,!i kept it. watched it like tv. Then Yt changed and had shorts and adds ect. I found i was watching over 5 hours a day- learned nothing- and was more depressed.plus, addicted to yt. So i appreciate this video. thank you
Despite finding this video on one of the rare times I opened the home screen, 99% of my TH-cam watching is from my subscriptions page. I can choose what videos and creators I want to follow and ignore everyone else. It helps to not fall down the rabbit hole, I've found.
I’m a 16 y/o and didn’t have permission to get any social media until now, so the time I spent on the internet was mostly on TH-cam, and now that I finally downloaded my socials I still find myself spending more time here because the format of social media is a lot more tiring.
I recommend deleting your entire history it forces youtube to reset to as if you have never watched, and it really opens your eyes to how much nonsense there is
My guy you must be a wizard, I had this exact conversation with a friend two days ago, he brought up all the points you did including the very same TED talk. Impeccable timing
actually, its not easy
yes nothing in life is but its not impossible and you should challenge yourself
Anyone from... his "argument" video!
you're right hahaha!
Ur right bro
It's easy, try to watch TH-cam Only after a specific time i.e. after 7pm or 8pm. Engage in tasks on phone that distracts you from TH-cam.
Nothing like watching a TH-cam video to convince me to stop watching TH-cam videos.
That’s the catch, everyone knows we won’t. But we can fully enjoy the idea of doing so, while making us feel that this is so easy to do, that you can do it…you know…LATER
Living to convince yourself to stop living
@@gahshunkerIM DOING IT NOW
That sweet moment of illusion
@@gahshunker😂😊
bro is so dedicated he called his own video a waste of time
He is very nice parson he really want good for us so he did that for us ❤❤❤
Truly a Chad move
I respect that
It is
2:01
The message at the end, "but of course we start tomorrow" really did it for me. I loved everything you covered but we all know we don't want to do it right now, i mean we're on youtube. But that did it. thanks.
Good luck my friend! I‘m going to change my very negative habits (that I‘ve had pretty much all my life; and on you tube since like 2012) now too.
Giving things up is usually a drip, drip, drip affair, including lots of relapses, before eventually ending on a compromise, if you're lucky.
Wait, 30 mins of cardio!? 😮
So.... are you still not using youtube?
30 minutes of cardio, 7 hours 30 minutes of youtube. if that isn't balanced, I don't know what is
what if you watched youtube and did cardio at the same time
@@Pumpkinbyte Ehh I prefer music.
Perfectly balanced, as all things should be
7 hours YT: easy
7 hours cardio: guess I don't need to explain
don't forget to lift
I heavily respect the TH-camrs telling us to quit TH-cam
🗿
Same here.
TH-camrs that encourage adblockers are also very respectable
I love watching youtubers that tell me to quit.
Other content creators HATE, LOATHE us for telling people consistently consuming social media is unhealthy and you'll end up with false hope like us till you're brainwashed you can make it on this platform. Being a failure REALLY made me realize I have a duty to show who I really am and to discourage people from making the same mistake we did. Watching youtuber till you become one HARD NO, do NOT do this
Already cutting down just because I’m finding fewer videos that interest me, I’m tired of the culture wars, I’m tired of celebrities, and I’m not falling for the hyperbole as easily. But thanks for the suggestions.
I think TH-cam changed something that makes the suggestion algorithm just generally not as good as it was before. I don't really get pulled into rabit holes anymore, so maybe its a win? I guess
The algorithm is pretty dumb and will just suggest more of what you click. If you don't already:
- Don't click on dumb shit/click bait/ads.
- Delete garbage out of your watch history.
- Follow a handful of legit creators you like.
- Use the "not interested" button when shit shows up in your feed.
Maybe too much work for most, but I'm pretty well insulated from bullshit "influencers" and the constant stream of sewage.
Feel you
You know there’s videos about anything not just politics
@@deflategate1297you're literally stupid. That's not the point of the comment
“Looks useful but realistically won’t change anything” real
It won't change if you're attention span got destroyed by TikTok or TH-cam short
I think the only TH-cam video that actually changed me forever is the TED talk about how we should be looking at people in their left eye.
from this point of view the recipe videos are the most useful, they won't change my personality but I will end up with good food
just like this video
@@ridethelapras why...
easy, actually situation is crazy
penguin0 moment
crazy is situation, actually
🤖
@@11b11b1 done almost situation crazy
Slop
Read. I used to love to read, then experienced internet and TH-cam addiction big time starting about 10 years ago. Lately I have been disciplining myself to put it down and walk away and force myself to read a book, and it's hard. Even though I've been a reader all my life, my attention span has been truncated and my brain is ruined from TH-cam. Thanks for this video and good luck to everyone who is at least making an effort to cut it out
Never was a reader but I'm starting now just to get focus and mental clarity.
I'm all about audio books now and there are lots of free books on TH-cam. Also long form history documentaries like Fall of Civilizations is helpful to have on while driving, cleaning etc.
Reading fiction is just as big of a waste of time as youtube imo. Idk why people put it on a pedestal.
You can get it back dude! You got this. It’s totally possible to build up your reading stamina and attention span again. I’m working on it too!
How do you go about fixing your attention span and building your reading stamina?
Genuinely my biggest addiction. I literally spend more time watching / listening to TH-cam than not. Wish I was kidding.
You’re not alone. TH-cam has taken over my life. Soon we will find the strength and wisdom to fix this…
True, and when i'm not in youtube i'd seek other ways to brainrot like playing candy crush
Then realize life isn't in youtube but like, outside
There's nothing else to do. It's free, everything else costs money.
@@PistonAvatarGuy I get you, and i think that there is a lot to do, it's just outside the screen.
Very similar to how I quit smoking cigarettes. A friend helped me recognize that sometimes I smoke when I don't want to, or continue smoking after I was satisfied. So I told myself "Smoke exactly as much as you want, but not more." I began putting out cigarettes halfway, or after a single puff. I would take one out of the pack, then realize I didn't want it, and put it back. In fact I never really quit, I merely realized I didn't really want to do it.
That's great! Also, sounds like a good friend there.
Congrats!! This is a really eye opening mindset tbh. I struggle with these tendencies for social media, junk food, and other bad habits. I think this framing will stick with me
But what if you want it all of the time?
I liked this one. Also gave 👍. Now off to read a book.
I am in the process of doing this is bud.. its jjst being present nd telling myself your doing the think u dont want to do m
This is so true. The best way to stop a addiction/bad habit is to just get bored of it. It sounds odd, but it really helped me with social anxiety. I just got tired of overthinking in social situations, or being too self aware, and this helped a lot
"wow, this is gonna help me so much!" i say as i queue up more youtube videos to watch after this one
Stop it get some help
easiest way to get off youtube: find a different coping mechanism
@@Crazyapple16 B-but "Nickelodeons First Pg-13 Movie was Pretty CONTROVERSIAL" is recommended 🥺
@@len4129 damn that situation is CRAZY
LMAO same
I've been addicted to binge able content ever since I got my first phone. Watching videos while doing everything, cooking, cleaning, videogames, hobbies, working out it's been my way to dissociate with the world. But it is also a addiction that I didn't release was one, or maybe I was just denying it. It made me not want to go to events and things I knew I would enjoy because my brain was used to the comfort of TH-cam. Letting people down to sit in my room and rot my brain, it made me feel so guilty. And I got this video on my recommended after a day off, where I got brain rotted with TH-cam. Playing video games I should have enjoyed more but I was more on dopexamine auto pilot, not playing attention to what is was actually watching or playing, I looked forward to this game for months and then didn't enjoy the time I was playing it. I was on TH-cam to the moment I got up to night time now watching this video, and it's all correct everything he says. I acted all high and mighty for not having tiktok when I was just as addicted. I don't want to watch TH-cam on repeat forever anymore, it's made me compliant with how I am. I'm not going to do everything with TH-cam anymore, I want to actually enjoy what I'm doing, instead of the video. I can't cut off TH-cam completely, definitely not, but I can make everything feel more impactful and less stale. Enjoy my hobbies, because when I'm forced to not be on TH-cam (aka around other people) life feels better.
Yes I am the same way it was so proud of not having tictoc but I've mainly been using youstube as a distracted as well and the exact same way as you. It's now a complete detriment to me getting back to my goals after I've wasted 10 years or more of my life and time on youtube and dramas. Therr is always hope but we have to take the action to change and those good changes we make everyday by committing to them will change our minds and habits the same way there was a time I didn't distract my mind constantly with yourube instead of coping and solving my problems the detriment is that we will have to live with some of the negative consequences until the addiction is broken. The steps he have here are perfect and especially the last one, replacing the habit.
I too am a TH-cam-addict. At first it was really useful. I got a lot of advice on how to learn to code and then about AI models and news. But now I'm very addicted and less of it is helpful. It's on 13-14 hours a day several times a week, except when I have a big task for work. For me, I'm trying to sub listening to music and especially nature sounds with soft instruments. Quitting smoking I read works best w a substitute action performed immediately as a replacement. I've never smoked but have an obsessive personality. Doing 20 squats may be a good immediate sub. Listening to a good curated music playlist may be another. I also like to listen to audiobooks I've enjoyed over and over. It's less distracting than TH-cam since I already know what's going on, but still find something new to appreciate in the author's craft. It's a better security blanket than TH-cam mindless scrolling. I'm not going to quit, because it does have educational content. I do want to control what, and when I watch and when I stop watching.
My challenge to anyone reading this is to try to go one week without youtube and you will see how addicted you are. Especially when you gotta eat
Hope you're keeping up with this, bud. Don't let it take control of you. Good luck :)
The hardest part is filling the time man. I'm at a point where TH-cam really bores me which is good, but nothing feels as stimulating as it once did which makes it SO hard to build better habits that come with delayed rewards. Everyone says to start small and it sounds great but if you start small there's so much time left to fill. And when I don't distract myself and have too much time to think, I get depressed again.
I'll add that this is just an approach that worked for me but I'm currently in a "stumble" phase, spending less time outside and in community and more time with screens. But I know why I'm doing it and I'm steadily working through that each week by going to therapy, journaling once a day, meditating most days, and keeping in touch to some degree with my community. I don't feel completely lost in the way that I did before all of the things I recommended to you. Just wanted to be genuine that I certainly have not solved my problems, but I have healed a bit.
edit: How annoying, youtube removed my first comment that I spent a long time on. I don't have the energy to do it over right now, but flark you, youtube. I can't imagine why it would get removed except that it was potentially a realistic guide to getting off the platform...
Books. Go to a library, find some books that interest you, there is so much to be learned. You can even bring them home for free to fill the time.
well thats a good first step, isn’t it? if you find that when you have time and breathing room to think you’re depressed, that means that you were always depressed but pushing away any chance of a thought happening with cheap easy dopamine. which im sure you knew, but this isnt the end result; it’s the START. that might seem daunting and exhausting, but it’s hopeful too, isn’t it? you could start with exploring. driving to the library or thrift store or a national park walking to the library or down the street. collecting rocks, or taking pictures, or starting a creative project even if it’s something small. when your mind is running in circles, your body needs something to do to match it. and sometimes it feels like u dont have the energy to even start, but sometimes just taking a walk to the corner store to buy gatorade makes you feel more settled in your body than you’d realize.
If all else fails, it may also be worth trying just brute forcing your way out of this habit. Like, if you don't have another thing to fill your time with, then just don't do anything for now. Eventually, something will come around, but for the start, it's enough to beat the habit.
I feel like I have the best ideas on how to spend my time when I'm bored.
Some suggestions for you to fill time in a positive way. .... Arts and crafts; being Active and getting outside for sports, walking, watching nature; Audio Books and podcasts; making a list of classic films or books you want to see or have been recommended and working through them maybe review them; Creative writing or journals; Puzzles, word games, billiards, darts, boardgames etc; plan and research a dream holiday or career, or find info and books on another interest, art, science, nature, history, psychology.... Good luck.
your video about losing weight/getting ripped was recommended to me months ago and I've lost over 25 pounds of fat since. Thanks for that one.
Well congratulations!
I've lost 10 kg since that video. No idea how many punds, tho.
agree :D even though I stopped specifically counting calories about 4 months in, I've been much more aware of what I eat!
@@TehPlaylistSpartan bless you thank you
Well done, my brother!
dude, this seriously helped me so much. i got over my phone addiction but now i´m just watching yt for 6 to 10h on my PC instead. this really helped though. will turn my time into my own again!!
Thanks for the shorts blocking suggestion. That's something I've wanted without realizing it. I don't really have a problem with regular videos, but with shorts I'll just keep scrolling if I'm not careful.
I put it this way jokingly for dramatic flavor, but I've always said that if I'm not careful shorts will suck the soul right out of me. Infinite, short, mildly entertaining at times, useless and still kinda boring most of the time, and just rage bait the rest of the time. You get nothing out of it but a cheap way to turn your brain off, and in return you get a shorter attention span, emotional congestion, and a subtle dose of dissociation from ramping overexposure to increasingly vapid and unrealistic subject matter.
I really think in a more just world, where product/content supply and distribution was humane and worked with human psychology rather than exploiting it for profit, shorts would not exist. The layers of psychological manipulation at play make you nauseous to become aware of, with how prevalent and admissible it all is seemingly because it causes no physical harm the way say lead paint does. I'm not sure if it gets more condensed, more captivating and mind numbing, more subversively hypnotic than shorts, and no wonder almost every platform has them now. I'll be using the blocking suggestion as well, a resource I believe elevates this video to at least some degree of usefulness.
i downloaded screen zen but its not letting me turn off shorts..?
@@oliiscatsame. I’m on IOS maybe its only possible on android.
I wouldn't mind shorts so much if the interface wasn't so horrid. Always looping, no time-stamp seeking, and if my scroll wheel clicks I lose my position or even the video (my scroll wheel is pretty loose).
That said, the attention sucking still, well, sucks, and this video was worth it for bringing the plugin to my attention.
@@nicolawitzig1647 Can confirm! The ScreenZen dev says that they can do this on Android, but Apple’s API prevents them from doing the same on iOS 😔 Can’t link this but it’ll be the first result it if you search “can screenzen block youtube shorts”
My guy. Ive been addicted to TH-cam since i was 12 years old. It's been a burden to me ever since, and ive been averaging about 4-8 hours a day. I lost hobbies, people, and events because TH-cam is damn good at stimulating my brain and it's incredibly easy.
I will try your method for the next month. I'll give an update at the end if it worked or not.
Ill comment here in case you have forgotten, because i myself needed a reminder when trying to follow cpg greys basing seasons as themes video
I'm waiting!
why not start today
I’m commenting too. How’s it going?
you are gonna go back to youtube to update lmfao, just log out
the extension is not bad - earned this guy a sub fs
Subscribed, you're making an impact on people like me making videos like these. Thank you❤
What sucks is that buried in the recommendation rabbit holes there are (a few) videos with genuinely helpful info. Like this one. I am in fact installing these addons and taking your advice. Thanks.
The thing is I personally keep YT watch history off, and thus have my home feed empty, I also rarely watch shorts. I just search up what I want to watch on TH-cam (it's always the same 3 topics) and then close it most of the time, no one is perfect but I check if I have free time beforehand. When I google stuff on my laptop I watch the video in the search itself instead of opening it up on a new tab on TH-cam.
Indeed. Signal to noise ratio is super bad. Scrolling a sea of content propelled by the false hope that eventually you'll find genuine value(which, of course, you sometimes do, but often not enough to justify the behavior).
Thissss! This was something I too realised during the first few times I tried to quit TH-cam but recently something else I realised was that, yes, whilst I was finding a few good videos that genuinely positively impacted me it did not out weigh the negative effects scrolling through TH-cam for hours gave me and that I simply had to make that sacrifice and be okay with it.
I have been focusing more on my subscription list so i can engage with videos and creators i like and want to support. I also listen a lot in the background as i do other tasks. The extensions you recommended sound super helpful too!
Dude has got guts to post this on TH-cam
I predict this hitting 500k in a week
I don't think this is ironic at all??
@@user-oi5hc6pv9k Well it's ironic that the video is about getting off TH-cam but you have to be on TH-cam to watch the video
@@user-oi5hc6pv9k True. I'm sure that they just didn't use a comma. It's situation that is ironic, not that they posted it ironically...
and that too with the Upper Case "T" & Upper Case 'Y'
Nice video. What helped me was when i see a video i want to watch, I dont watch it immediately but put it in a "plan to watch" list and wait till the end of the day or at least an hour or several. What happens is when after some time I take a look at that list of videos i realize that i lost the desire to watch most of them quite often. The Initial impulse is gone by them, no FOMO, i just choose the best videos to watch out of that list and ignore the rest.
this will probably be what will happen when i go to actually watch videos in my watch later list
and my “important” playlist which is becoming watch later 2 basically but with videos i felt were important to watch when i can. i watched none of the videos in it and im also putting videos i want to keep in it so
Just don’t fall into the trap of trying to “work through” your watchlist. Instead let it sit there, knowing that you’ll have more than enough interesting stuff to watch when you finally decide to.
problem is, i have over 3000+ videos in my watch later playlist
OMG ive been doing this unconsciously!!
Ahh, that's why they tried to remove the convenient "watch later" button, so you have to watch it immediately.
Sometimes, I think TH-cam is trying to help me quit TH-cam by recommending the most useless and boring videos ever. And now it recommends me this... Well, thanks.
0:18 BRO you already got me on the first 20 seconds🤣🤣🤣🤣
Ikr 😂😂
Same!
lol, I thought of heading to the comments to say this exact thing. We are comrades in arms. 😂
Dude, I hate to admit this but I needed someone else to tell me to stop this TH-cam addiction. I began looking at videos with a more realistic eye by myself and that helped, but I still found myself spending probably longer than I should have on this website, and also creating way too many tabs to not forget to "watch later". For me (and this is the case with a lot of things) I am way more likely to do something when someone else reinforces that I should do it. Something I probably had to do already but didn't do properly or didn't do at all for some reason. This video really helped to put into my head what is really going on. You didn't overdramatize this in the slightest. A lot of other videos about self help try to show something in your face or are a little too extreme. Basically, someone else would probably do a video on this same subject with a title like "TH-cam is ruining your free time" and have this thumbnail with those chromatic aberrations and other effects that 3 years ago were synonym of high quality and now (to me) are clickbaity. A video titled "quitting your youtube addiction is easy, actually" and a simpler thumbnail with Comic Sans text is so, so much better. Also, in the video itself you spoke with a normal tone of voice, only brought simple, comprehensive and true stuff with no bullshit. You didn't talk about a book that said this and that about psychology or whatever. Heck, "I remember seeing this TED talk one time, and the guy pulled up a graphic" - to me that's so refreshing, idk why lol
Thanks a lot for this.
Good luck mate 👍
@theparanoidandroid3583 Thank you 👍
We're in this together man. 👍👍
"Add to queue" is my poison. I regularly amass twenty-plus collections of videos... and then three or so days later memory of original appeal of most videos is lost, and I end up wasting time watching the first few minutes of each to remind myself.
I disabled it on my phone. I can now watch a little and go away. I disable it again if I feel it's getting out of hand or becoming unproductive. You can re-enable it in the play store, but it's way more of a pain than just clicking on the app. At first I also had to disable google and chrome as well. I've even disabled the play store (after looking up how to re-enable it, of course). Anyway, hope this helps.
Thank you, you definitely showed it from a different side than other similar videos. I will try to use these tips. My last straw is my vision worsened, and I don't want it to keep falling because of my inability to stop at one video.
Don’t mind me, instead of quitting TH-cam I’m scrolling the comments
let’s be honest, we all know “how” to quit watching youtube and there’s more than enough tips and hacks out there on how but i think a lot of us deep down don’t want to…even though we need to. kinda like “i can quit vaping whenever i want” but never does 😅 also i hate reading so youtube is my way of digestible education. so i have a seperate account where i only watch educational content and youtube’s algorithm only suggests that type of content to me. you guys should try it out!
smart
Wait I’m subbed to you
@@Blimpee sameee, i love his sense of humour 🤣
yooo! soul simple!
Dude! I just had this idea today. But you telling me will actually make me do that. (I don't know why I'm such a sucker for confirmation bias.) BTW, I love your videos!
I was curious, why you quit being a financial analyst. It's my dream. So I was wondering if I have some misconceptions about it.
@MinhalYounus-zz1hr > Plays a TH-cam exercise video.
The way you tell stories makes everything feel larger than life. Incredible!
Unhook has been really, really helpful for me. What I've done is completely remove my recommended feed (and most importantly, youtube shorts) and only leave my subscriptions page. Then, I've gone through the long list of subscriptions I've accumulated over the years, and unsubscribed from many channels, particularly some that upload way too often, like many times a day, and some that just aren't very worthwhile content to watch.
Ye, I am also using it.
Only when I want to search for something I use TH-cam
Unfortunately, since the past month or something I am wasting more time on TH-cam again. Maybe bcz I am delaying an important decision
I installed unhook a long time before, but I just keep turning back on home page :( Because subsriptions do not seem fun
i do this as well! i found that i was notified for some channels and made me realise that a lot of them say stuff like "hit the notification bell to never miss a video" well, who even uses the notification feature?, i do now haha. i only go on youtube now to watch a video from my subscriptions (i look at how many notifications so i know how much new stuff there is to watch (helps to manage free time).
What about phone? Isn't umhook only on pc?
@@Justaguychilling27 yeah... sorry i don't know about any phone alternate, i mainly use my pc for youtube
Thank you so much! I've been hopelessly addicted to TH-cam for the past year and tried a lot of ways to get rid of it but I always find myself coming back because of one silly video, it's incredible just how much time I spend on this. When I quit TH-cam I'll make sure to still watch your videos.
May God help u so u overcome ur addiction
@@ahmadalam776 I hope we all will do it one day...
Respect! 😎 Breaking free from a TH-cam addiction might sound tough for most, but if you’ve cracked it, you’re a total boss. It’s all about finding balance, and it sounds like you’ve got your priorities straight! Sometimes, stepping away gives you so much more time for the things that truly matter. Keep it up, you’ve got this! 🚀👊
Awesome! I am now the same person as I was before this video and will disregard the advice while believing that since I know how to quit TH-cam in theory, I can do so whenever I want, meaning I don't actually have to.
fuck, me too lol
Actually, that's everyone. Yep, me too.
Nah man, quitting youtube is easy. I've quit dozens of times before
2:00 I once got a "self improvement" video recommended with the title "Buying an alarm clock changed my life", it was so stupid and offended my intelligence so much that I turned off my TH-cam recommendations and never enabled it again
Hey, say what you will, drinking water did actually save my life. Buy my book for equally stunning revelations. (just a joke, I don't have a book)
Maybe so you can turn off your phone and slip it into a backpack
😭😭
I watched that one vid. it's about not using your phone as an alarm clock since you might use your phone right after you wake up .
@@ajlei Sure, while you are at it, buy a newspaper. Using a browser could have you end up on youtube.
The device's capabilities are not the issue, the user's self-control is, and removing the device instead of teaching restraint is the wrong move.
I'm so glad i clicked on this (ironically reccomended to me) because the extensions were just what i needed. It's definitely a good way to make you more aware about what you're doing, especially since i tend to find myself clicking on the youtube app and going through shorts for no good reason on autopilot.
As for the self development videos/informational videos that seem educational but also waste your time because you end up stepping away and forgetting everything you just watched, that most likely has something to do with lack of authentic intention. We might click on that video supposedly wanting to improve or do what that video is offering, but we end up forgetting because we had no real intention to learn from it. So being able to just look at a video and decide if you really want to watch it for a good minute is a good idea to decide whether or not you really have the intention to learn something or not, or if you'll just end up doom scrolling
1:33 that was so hilarious without even a word spoken!!
I had to go back a few seconds because I laughed loud and missed what he said next.
Even 2:59 “report abuse” 😂
broo that screen at 1:05 is veryy accurate. like wtf does a 18 yr old teach me about life and how to be charismatic . liki lolo like lol. seriously tho
Just get rich parents. EZ GG
I didn't watch the video yet, but what got me to quit my TH-cam addiction was that most of the heavy hitters I liked watching either quit completely or vastly reduced how frequently they upload for one reason or another, so basically the place became worse and less addicting to me. Same thing happened with social networks; the people I really liked quit, and the quality of my feeds got so bad that I'm finding myself spending my free time working on hobby projects again for the first time in a long time instead of just doomscrolling all the time.
I have always wanted an option to reduce distractions from using instagram and youtube, using them is inevitable. But adding more focus and control like untrapped, is such a gamechanger! THANK YOU SO MUCH.
4:52 bold of you to assume I'm not gonna just stand there contemplating my existence and anxiety with all that new free time instead : )
I’m just going to T pose
Not a bad use of your time
Not a bad use of your time of you come out of it with a goal, a plan and better knowledge about yourself.
@@VociferousCringelord yeeeeah no, I used contemplate not "reflect upon" on purpose ^^'
😂😂😂😂
i am so down bad i watched more than 1 hours worth of other videos before finishing this 5 minute video
thank you, I needed the shorts blocker desperately! I hate short videos with a passion because how easily they grab my attention when I'm tired and then I waste an hour and feel horrible
Something that also helps is to have a separate account for the "learning" you do, like programming/CS or/and language learning etc. So you keep your main account for entertainment
i did exactly that and like a month later i was just watching my usual stuff on that account and it got spoiled :/
also i filled with tons of "useful" content that, if im being honest, i dont really wanna watch. so i started to just avoid that account completely
so yea, if it works for you - im jealous lol
I think it will be good to make a blend of both content in the original account.
@@nerdError0XFI did that too and got the same problem, in the long run both accounts were kind of the same. These days my account has both contents I like, educational and entertainment. It’s more about restraining myself when I want to learn something to not click on the entertainment videos. It’s not always easy but it works. Whenever I want to relax it’s just boring to keep switching accounts
@@nerdError0XF I think it's better to make a list of what you want to watch that seems useful and then watch it in order and learn. For example, I watch a playlist about graph neural networks right now, so I just go and continue watching it. So you should make a plan of what you what to learn in which order and then search up videos about it without relying on recommendation system
i do this with this account (self improvement, college/subject videos and motivation to go study) and my main account (regular entertainment), it also helps me relax from college e.g if i'm watching a video on my main, i don't see videos about trigonometry on the side video recommendations lol.
i don't see how you would "spoil" the account with entertainment stuff, as you can easily just not click on it or write it down/bookmark it for later? you just need more restraint not to click on things or to have patience to watch them later?
Thanks for this bro, tough pill to swallow that most vids are useless but important one. I have been trying to cut down usage this year, I found 3 things mainly
1) Use app limits for yt screen time in phone settings, I started 3 hours a day (ik it’s bad), but overtime reduced it (1.5 hrs now)
2) Fill your day with non-negotiable events/activities first, bc it’s hard to quit when you have nothing else to do. I try to keep myself busy with work, gym, hobbies, etc which will naturally reduce your time overall
3) Use it at specific times only, I do so when I’m eating which isn’t ideal but helps me get the satisfaction still without going too overboard with it
I still struggle especially when I’m tired or bored but I found this has helped a lot overall
Loved the suggestions of app and extensions btw.
Ngl adblock helps so much with the addiction because if there were unskippable ads every single video i tried to watch i wouldn't be here
Um, I don't think you're using the term "helps" correctly. I think you were looking for something more along the lines of "makes exponentially worse".
This was the best and last suggested video I'm going to watch for a while. Thanks for the add on. You saved my life.
The most real self improvement vid I’ve watched. Straight to the point
> Watch later playlist
> Look inside
> It's full
same. I'm more than halfway through filling up a second playlist after like a year.
I‘ve been using you tube a lot since 2011/2012. I created my current account in 2016. I think the watch later playlist was full (5000 videos) in 2017/2018. I didn’t even bother creating a second playlist, but still clicked the „watch later“ button over and over again. It‘s absolute madness.
There's a max amount of videos you can have in a playlist?? 😭 How many is it and how did you even reach that number?
@@Kuk0san i think 5000 is maximum amount you can have in a playlist, because youtube's default playlist for "liked videos" can't go any higher than 5000.
Yeah, it's 5000. My watch later is full to this limit too lol, I'm watching this on a second playlist I made for queueing watch sessions XD and worse, I have several lists I automated a while back to fill up with new uploads from selected channels (you use Google Sheets to run a script thing for it, there's a blog post somewhere out there explaining it) so those are all filling up too and I can't keep up with even just the best educational relaxing enlightening stuff I curate AAAAAAAAAAAAA
How did the algorithm know I needed this
TH-cam is the strongest addiction I have, I can easily waste more than 10 hours
You could not have posted this at a better time in my life, everything you discussed I’ve experienced first hand, thank you for this. By the way I really respect the self reflection in stating how your own videos are a waste of time. This isn’t me saying I don’t like them, it’s the exact opposite, but I definitely did find myself watching them just for the sake of feelings like I’m improving when I really know I’m not. Again, thank you for this, keep up the amazing work!
Man you're really awesome. I've never heard about that extension and it is exactly what I was looking for. I gave up on social media 2 months ago (except YT, of course) and yeah, my free time is now spent on YT. Btw regarding the educational videos, whenever I watch a video I try to sum it up in my mind or to take notes of what I've learned from it. It really helps and it makes you more aware of what you are actually learning from those videos.
I love how this popped up in my feed. TH-cam knows that I'm so addicted that I can watch videos about my addiction and still continue to watch
as some others have mentioned in the CS here: engaging with the 'content' you consume through comments, cleansing your timeline/suggestions by just clicking not interested, creating a separate account for educational stuff does help. In my experience though, i ended up barely using it. In the end, we can waste time by doing what we truly enjoy- something that leaves us thinking and prompting us with action even after its experience. It's all about being mindful fr
Ahhhh! A lot of what this guy was saying about videos not being good doesn’t seem to apply to my feed, so this makes a lot of sense! I customize my feed carefully
I use TH-cam to learn and practice languages by listening and watching along with subtitles if I need to do so, so I wouldn't say it's unproductive to me. Especially due to the fact that I don't consume content in my native language anymore. So it's a way for me to both entertain myself and learn languages at the same time. Same with reading, I don't like reading in my native language, but, if I'm reading in English or French, for instance, I'll feel way more productive.
Even so, not everything has to be productive. We, as human beings, need rest to keep up our pace and avoid burnout.
Thats good! The guy in the video is not telling everyone to do it
Its for the people who just mindlessly wasts their time on youtube watching shorts or videos all day
I appreciate you that your doing something productive
If you're not addicted then this video is not directed at you
dude, ngl, this actually makes me motivated to stop watching so much youtube right this second, thank you, genuinely
ofc it's up to me to execute on it but you've been a great help, thanks for recommending that app
another easy actually video in 10 days?!?! life’s good 🙃
2:12. Defining "a waste of time" as "something which won't chang something for me/change me" is pretty insightful for me. This is my main takeaway. Thanks ❤
I feel like I have realistically used many of the videos I watched in my own life to help my goals but I also totally feel where your coming from. I mean I make youtube videos and I still delete the app
Still amazes me that TH-cam recommends this to me (or anyone actually), who never saw any video from this content creator. Why do the managers over there not block it?
I can only imagine one answer: it doesn’t make a difference, we will keep watching anyway.
Ironically, this is the most useful video I watched in a while.
I gota admit this was genuinely worth my screen time of the video .😊
0:52 this is a big one, because one of the main problems of “be productive” type videos like this is the person in question treating everything that isn’t “productive” as poison
Like it’s literally: “EVERY WAKING MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE SHOULD BE YOU WORKING OTHERWISE WE HAVE A PROBLEM “
I was trying to cut off yt entirely but I have to learn so I cant. Now I have 3 accounts, one for my field education, one for science and stuff, one for entertainment which I must not use much. Each one I open in different browsers so that I wont open freely. Guess that is how I discipline my yt.
I am convincing myself watching this is productive
I’ve never had an issue with substances or other addictions, but I’m tired of wondering if I’m an “addict” for watching too much TH-cam, or playing too many games. Just do what makes you happy so long as you’ve done enough in your day to consider it productive. If you constantly label yourself an addict for engaging in repetitive tasks you will start falling apart from the inside out trying to find a way to fix this nonexistent problem.
I just downloaded Screen Zen. Just a step to building healthier habits. I've been thinking about screen time for a while and want to live like a real human. Thanks for this reframing of endless conumption. 🙏
I've almost completely quit watching TH-cam on the app. I've gone from 6 hours and 3 hours as my highest and lowest in a week, to 2 hours and 20 minutes being my highest and lowest in a week. I still use it a lot on my laptop, but when I'm away from home, I don't watch TH-cam at all. This change took me around a month for it to really stick, but it's definitely working. I'm reading a lot more irl, but I haven't gotten around to actually reading on my phone instead. I still use the internet on my phone a lot instead of the TH-cam app. So getting offline and into a digital book will be my next step now that staying off the TH-cam app is a success.
May I know what do u use for tracking ur time on TH-cam on the browser
As "an old" who still (just) had a dumb phone longer than a smartphone, I sometimes consider going back to one (which, to me, is the only way to _fully_ reclaim your own time, attention and concentration). The newfangled ones are just so handy though.
@@anonymes2884as a newgen it's not really the phones.
People have a way weaker mentality nowadays with people doomscrolling for pretty much days, around ten or twelve hours.
I personally don't rlly use TH-cam, mostly for tutorials, and I really like this channel but to be fair I think it's a more psycological fact.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with watching content for entertainment, or things that aren’t necessarily “productive”. The human mind needs breaks every now and then, and watching a few videos is harmless. Just don’t go over the limit 👍
That’s such an easy line to cross though…it’s like telling an alcoholic that he can have a few drinks every now and then, just don’t go over the limit. If you want entertaining content, watch a show, movie, or read a damn book.
(I know I’m a hypocrite, but I genuinely am addicted to TH-cam and I _know_ this won’t help)
God bless the people who made it possible to block TH-cam shorts
1:00 this video was recommended to me on my home page
It shows that is not the first time you're trying to quit TH-cam. Best luck this time
@giulianogarridorocchetti4902 No, previously I quit Instagram.
Well good luck for you too.
Same hear, never tried to quit it
Why do we always strive to be productive? There should be downtime. Nice video.
learned so much from youtube. psychology, motorcycling, leadership, business, DIY, lots of things. the secret is - watch > stand up and do something
I feel that most of the content I consume on youtube is legitimately educational in a way that is technically benefitial, most of it I watch is history related and history is something I love and id love to dedicate my life to. But I feel like I spend so much time just passively consuming education and never actually putting it to any use...I learn history, but I don't actually do anything with the knowledge.
The first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem. I definitely don't have a problem though. I can quit any time I want 😵💫
😆
gonna start binge watching this channel since it'll help me break all those bad habits.
The only objection I have to TH-cam being not educational, is on the tech side. You just naturally gain super useful knowledge and It's usually pretty entertaining if you like tech stuff.
That is the only scenario I can think of where it's the best of both worlds with you actually retaining the valuable knowledge if you find it interesting.
Edit: I forgot to mention this, but with consistent watching, you can get to the knowledge level of the CompTIA ITF+ certification in a couple months without all of the boring official lectures and exam. Just casually watching nerds mess with PC's, phones, and servers.
The more informational and useful a youtube vid is the more it's boring and the less likely you are to watch it. So it depends on your youtube habit. But 90 percent of the time people will lose control and click on the more engaging more fun videos that are less helpful
It’s not an addiction, I just _actually_ have nothing better to do
get something better to do. learn a new skill/language/instrument. get a hobby. go for a walk. cook a meal. go out with friends. play video games. read a book.
@ does porn count?
@@redgreen2453 That is literally the worst thing you can do for your brain. Aside from like actual drugs.
@@redgreen2453Lol no that’s terrible. It’ll make your life a lot worse really
@@redgreen2453 That's more terrible. I recommend replacing that with a hobby, that has something to do with outside. Taking walks, listening to nature, grab a frisbee, or a football to play with it. Also get some books along with it too.
I'm addicted specifically to the H3 show, I could quit TH-cam otherwise
This video looks useful but realistically won’t change anything
That's all on you, not the creator
That’s a u problems
thats ironically true for most of us, I already got +50 tabs of yt content to watch and its very likely that Im going to watch it all
f*k I just want this addiction to end, Im going outside and touching grass to counter my addiction fr fr
The thing that makes "quitting" TH-cam so hard for me is that I also use it as a utility- I watch ASMR videos at night to fall asleep, and its where I listen to all my music. And no, I can't just "buy albums or download it into a player instead" because the majority of the music I listen to is extremely indie and is only really available as TH-cam videos, and I don't subscribe to music streaming services (which don't have everything I listen to either). I will, however, take the shorts blocking app. I have shorts blocked on PC but I didn't think there was a way to do it on mobile.
you could ytu turn off the home page so you can only acsess your videos from a playlist of the utility videos you like
@@dry4smash946mm… I suppose. Though my poison is mainly recommended videos, so I guess I could turn those off except for one day a week or something
EDIT: Apparently on iOS it can’t block shorts, RIP
bro, within 5 seconds of watching your vid, i'm already giggling bc i can relate so much, you excel at what you do. i should quit making videos
Untrap is amazing, thanks for the recommendation!
Blocking Shorts has been one of the better things I've done for stopping mindless consuming. My browser just closes the tab anytime I open a short.
That's so useful, how did you set that up? I have an extension to hide videos similar to the one recommended in the video but I find I always just turn it off so I can see the recommendations again, but it would be way better to just be forced to get rid of it.
It's an addon called Leech block NG. It's pretty versatile because it lets you set up filters and can do things like timeouts, closing tabs, or lockouts during certain time periods.
@ thank you so much!!!
DAWG DAWG I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL SO MUCH THAT IT IS UNEXPLAINABLE YOU HAVE CHANGED ME FOR LIFE. LIFE I SAY. DONT E V E R STOP.
bout pooed myself when I saw my thumbnail at 3:17 lol. Big fan brother (although I'll wont see another one of your videos again thanks to this one 😣)
Thanks a lot 🙏 and I appreciate your emails by the way signed up a while ago and I get one every day 😄
Dearrow is a great extension too. It removes clickbait from titles and thumbnails, with most videos having titles created by others that tells you exactly what the video is about
ithought yt was social media- then my grandchildren told me it wasn't. so,!i kept it. watched it like tv. Then Yt changed and had shorts and adds ect. I found i was watching over 5 hours a day- learned nothing- and was more depressed.plus, addicted to yt. So i appreciate this video. thank you
3:36 gothamchess
Fax
With Magnus clickbait lol
@@mrmatiti3405😂
@@mrmatiti3405Magnum Carlos
A man of the culture.
I downloaded the app, donated, and then couldn’t find how to restrict shorts. 👊🏼👊🏼
Apparently not actually on iPhone? :(
@@easyactuallyI’m on iPhone and I can’t restrict shorts as well
@iamcarlosamaya Perhaps "Revanced" can help?
Haven't downloaded the apps yet - but if they work , this may be the best un-addictify yourself video I've ever seen
Mad respect for using your own content as exemples of time wasters
Despite finding this video on one of the rare times I opened the home screen, 99% of my TH-cam watching is from my subscriptions page. I can choose what videos and creators I want to follow and ignore everyone else. It helps to not fall down the rabbit hole, I've found.
I’m a 16 y/o and didn’t have permission to get any social media until now, so the time I spent on the internet was mostly on TH-cam, and now that I finally downloaded my socials I still find myself spending more time here because the format of social media is a lot more tiring.
I recommend deleting your entire history it forces youtube to reset to as if you have never watched, and it really opens your eyes to how much nonsense there is
My guy you must be a wizard, I had this exact conversation with a friend two days ago, he brought up all the points you did including the very same TED talk. Impeccable timing
are you sure that you're friend is not Easy, Actually himself??
@dreninfashion I asked him the exact same thing... He dodged the question, curious innit...
@@GabrielDoesAThing funny that isn't it?
everything is always interconnected somehow i don't really know why it also happens to me