Okay... I know that the title I just gave is absolutely mad.
But it's the truth. I've been noticing how monopolistic the Google corporate has been and in some ways, certain issues are already being addressed in certain countries. Something similar to how Google's browser has played monopoly for the past few years.
What is the basis for my claims?
Well, for starters, we have shorts. Shorts have been forcibly put on the front page. There is no "Opt-out" option to put shorts away.
-shorts have been consistently proven over time to cause genuine mental health issues and; in some cases; extreme problems with mental well being and healthcare. (Read; Documentation from UNESCO, WHO and APA about healthcare and screentime)
-Youtube has offered ABSOLUTELY NO WAY to avoid this. Not only that, but I've looked into it, and Third party alternatives and sites are actively being blocked and blacklisted (Read; LibreTube, NewPipe, both of which are FOSS and are forced to stay under the radar when their, in good faith and in full intention to improve use experience, have resorted to third party sites to share their apk's.
-And now, here is the kicker, ladies and gentlemen. Where I Live, India, YouTube is actually operating on a legal gray zone. (I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not going to confirm that myself)
from what I have gathered, The monopolistic and socially damaging nature of YouTube and Google's current method of operation includes potential disputes under the following :
1) Competition Act, 2002. Abuse of dominance
2)Consumer protection act, 2019. Unfair trade practices
3)Right to digital Autonomy.
Now I also understand that there's people who do still enjoy shorts. I know. I'm not asking for shorts to be banned, or YouTube to be banned. I'm simply asking that the people get an option to opt-out and/or choose alternatives. Shorts are being pushed on the main page of both PC and mobile with no way to turn them off since even third party methods are being blocked.
Nevermind. I just realised that apparently there is a way to "show fewer shorts on home".
Apologies for the oversight.
It should be stated that this is still not an opt-out... But it definitely seems like YouTube knew someone like me would try.
Surprisingly, the legal citations here that I mention still hold up... So I don't think I have to change much. Again though, I am not a lawyer. I'm merely suggesting that there is Potentially an accessibility problem here which is because there is a lack of opt-in/opt-out.
@32 i completely agree.
this user am does the good engleshing.
ey, btw, i watched some of your youtube videos and ngl they are really good.
i watch them for fun sometimes lol
@RestlessGalaxies Your English is significantly better than a lot of people I’ve grown up with in the US.
@RestlessGalaxies i only have "show fewer shorts"
I also noticed that shorts have been added to the subscriptions page, but those are kinda ok since you will be watching those channels already
@hpgbproductions agreed. It's also just suspect to me that the home page hiding thing isn't for everyone.
I agree, there should be an easy and built-in way to hide shorts
I watch them like how I watch regular videos though, I don't take the automatic suggested shorts
@32 I do speak English as my primary language at home... But I won't call myself anywhere close to a native English speaker. I still have a lot to learn.
@jamesPLANESii Both, your frustration with ads and response to "Don't watch them if you don't want to"
Is the fact that there is no proper opt-out. It's controlling. You can't close it off or block it.
For the argument of the don't watch shorts specifically, it's like saying if you don't want a youtuber showing up on your feed, just don't watch them. That idea doesn't help much unless you're in the top 1% of discipline. I'm opening an app to be entertained, not worried about how often I'm clicking on the YT shorts tab or controlling myself from tapping on a short.
Idk if you’re a native English speaker or not but dang it’s good if you aren’t
@rexzion I have it, but it's only for the home page 😭
Shorts still show once you click on a video. It is sooooooo weird.... Still I'm going to have to admit a mistake here. The more I'm letting it simmer, the more I'm realising that "campaigning" is honestly coming across as delusional now... There's not much you can actually hold them accountable for because they'll have a lot of statements ready to retaliate.
I'll change the title of this post to be a little less ragey... My apologies to everyone.
@Graingy I'm putting it everywhere. It's still just a forum post though.
@jamesPLANESii that is why i have Revanced,coincidentally i was watching the video about YT not allowing ad-blockers while their ads are literally ranging from being annoying(like 2 to 5 ads in a row,before video,etc.)through scamming people to even being sexually suggestive and causing harm to the device :((
@jamesPLANESii Yeah, I've always found scrolling on shorts uncomfortable. I don't like it choosing what plays. I'll watch shorts from recommendations, but never scroll.
Not quite sure why you put this here of all places. Eh, whatevs.
Do as you do.
Yeah, Alphabet Inc. sucks, they own wayyyyy too many companies
The only thing that's pissing me off about YouTube at the moment is they're extending the length of unskippable adverts. I had to watch an entire 20 second long advert to watch a 3 second video last night. 😡
The great thing about YouTube is if you don't want to watch a video, you can just not watch it. If you scroll past it, it won't notice that you saw it and it won't cater the algorithm towards similar videos.
.
If you don't want to watch shorts, just don't watch them.
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Personally I watch a few shorts, but I never scroll through them
I have noticed how (yes, I do watch a lot of shorts) that YouTube has literally replaced 90% of all videos on my homescreen at times with shorts.
also you should see the HORRIBLE adds on shorts too (Poli AI or whatever it is called comes to mind, don't fall for that shit. it is a site promoting NSFW stuff).
youtube does not give the slightest shit about shorts, they are basically a wild west of YouTube.
the funny thing is, they used to have an opt out (you could hide the shorts completely for like a month and they would come back and you either clicked the option again or started watching shorts again) but now its "show fewer" it's freaking slimy
@HuskyDynamics01 Yeah, it was good, until youtube detected and blocked it
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See what I mean?
Content blockers like uBlock Origin are pretty effective at hiding Shorts since you can just hide the entire "block" that they appear in.
@RestlessGalaxies Unfortunately, I don't have brain anymore. Had it stolen a while back.
Social media, and short form content especially, are quite akin to casinos.
It really can take quite the hold on someone’s life and combined with the nature of american city’s and culture it’s no wonder so many feel lonely.
I went for a walk through my neighborhood and very few people were outside and those that were I wouldn’t trust, maybe that’s a personal problem but having a community is important yet difficult when you have to find it online and then you have to hope your car will get you somewhere and back unless you live somewhere with actual public transport.
Simply put, this sucks.
@THEOKPILOT Yeahhh. See, I'm of the opinion too that shorts definitely have their use case and are in some cases, entertaining.... Yet, I spent 4 hours today, and I have no memory of what even happened while I was in YouTube. You could make me watch my history, and I wouldn't know what happened in each short. It's genuinely eating my brain, and not in the ironic, gen Z joke way.
@RestlessGalaxies I like shorts. But yeah, you should have an option to hide them so you can see the actual videos. Sometimes I am researching a topic and I get off track watching shorts.