I often marvel at how much some people use YouTube. For me it's a service I occasionally dip into when there's something visual I want to check out. You can tell I'm a very text-based kind of person.
@timrichards Give me an article to read any time over watching a video. I can read much faster than watching a video and can copy and paste quotes from articles rather than laboriously transcribing quotes
@timrichards It's good for DIY instructionals, and I enjoy mini-lectures on topics such as language and music. Often in those cases the visuals and audio are important. But generally, yes, YouTube is a cumbersome way to learn.
I've also noticed that former friends and associates who have immersed themselves in conspiracy theories often refer to YouTube videos.
There's something about getting information from videos, as opposed to reading, that seems to dull people's critical faculties.
@timrichards The people I'm thinking of were intelligent folk, although maybe with a need to see themselves as rebels. YouTube's might algorithm seems to have fed them the myth that they're participating in critical analysis when actually they're uncritically slurping up misinformation. (The videos they want you to watch are always long, as well!) I've never done more than glance at the descriptions. I've no interest in rotting my brain.
@RcjWaz maybe, but I bet there are plenty of younger people who also get sick of watching instructional videos instead of being able to just read the text.
@timrichards most of the YouTube use seems to be for entertainment not instructions eg. let my grandkids use one of my tablets for a while & the numbers of subscriptions to various wacky items was incredible. Like you I tend to mainly use it for instructions often as a supplement to written instructions.
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