[wffurr]

> it respects my time

> remove video thumbnail” and “remove YouTube shorts” chrome extension is a must install

Which is it? Does YouTube respect your time and attention as a user or does it prey on them? I'm pretty sure it's the latter.

The fact that you can pay to opt out of ads has always seemed like a weird business decision to me. Sabotage your ad viewership by siphoning off users with spending money for things like an ad-free subscription. I suppose it prevents losing users to paid platforms or those who just wouldn't tolerate ads at all, and gives an out for users who would otherwise contribute to the ads vs ad blockers arms race.

[hitekker]

Well, it respects my time and I respect my time. Youtube wants me (its idea of me) to have a bright, colorful, exciting experience; I want a dreary and focused one. That's not disrespect, it's just different expectations.

I'd like Youtube to one day enable me to disable the fun colors in-app, but that's not a requirement. At the end of the day, the onus is on me, first, to number my days. (Psalm 90:12)

I'm sympathetic to the idea that most internet websites are addicting and bad for society, but I think the blame-game obscures our own agency, which we pretend not to have, and overemphasizes the platform's power, which isn't as strong as we pretend. We're not victims, they're not Gods.

[wffurr]

>> I think the blame-game obscures our own agency, which we pretend not to have, and overemphasizes the platform's power, which isn't as strong as we pretend

Yes we do have agency. Also the platforms employ psychologists and designers and run experiments specifically to engagement hack human brains to increase ad watch time. That's a really tough opponent for individual humans.