On YouTube.
While I am not on either Facebook or Instagram, I do use YouTube on a daily basis to watch a multitude of videos on different topics. However, I do sometimes feel that I get sidetracked by stupid recommendations and end up watching cat videos and other meaningless things instead of informative videos that I care about.
I almost wish that I could use YouTube with purely the search function only without any recommendations whatsoever, then it would be a much more focused experience.
YouTube is a little different to the other social media platforms because there is a significant amount of genuinely interesting and useful content, and it is a great platform to learn a lot on almost any topic you can imagine.
However, one has to be careful to stay in control and just spend time watching videos related to your own goals, instead of letting the recommendation engine take over and then before you know it you have spent an hour or more watching videos that had nothing to do with the topic you originally set out to learn about.
This approach to technology is generally applicable. You want to have meaningful interactions where you stay in control, not become a zombie that has their time controlled by platforms so they can serve you more and more advertising.
One simple question that I like to ask myself: if my YouTube history was public, would I be proud of it? Would I be happy to share with others how I have spent my spare time on this platform? If the answer is no, then it is time to review and change how you use this tool.
