8 Ways to Make Your YouTube Experience Worse

YouTube is the most popular 'TV channel' in the world; most of us can't stop pressing that big red play button. But among documentaries, music videos, and viral content creators, YouTube views have plummeted in recent years, and it's getting harder to ignore them.

 

8. Over-commercialization

Any free service has to find a way to generate revenue to sustain itself and support constant improvements. YouTube generates most of its revenue through advertising, but the number of ads has reached an overwhelming level. Ads are no longer a simple interruption; they've become so prominent that they almost make the site unusable unless you pay for YouTube Premium .

 

Just when you think things can't get any worse, YouTube proves you wrong. For example, the first card on YouTube is almost always an ad, and ads also appear between video cards as you scroll down the page. On mobile, ads are even worse because while some are vertical videos, for some reason they take up the entire screen when played.

7. The algorithm seems to have problems

One of the reasons people were drawn to YouTube in the first place was its ability to surface content that interests you. Whether it's an in-depth documentary, a creator with only a few thousand subscribers, or a hidden gem on a topic you've just discovered, YouTube's recommendation system is almost magical. It strikes a near-perfect balance between familiarity and discovery. Now, however, it feels skewed and repetitive.

These days, algorithms constantly push similar content, even if you mistakenly watch a single video about a certain topic that you're not interested in. For example, if you watch a video about horoscopes, a topic you don't normally follow, YouTube's algorithm will somehow recognize it as your new favorite and bombard you with similar content over the next few days.

 

 

6. Clickbait and sensational content is everywhere

A simple scroll through YouTube today cannot end without being bombarded by exaggerated thumbnails or dramatic titles that don't accurately reflect the content of the video. Clickbait and sensational content have taken over the platform, significantly affecting the quality of content.

Most videos on the platform today include exaggerated titles or thumbnails, regardless of the topic. It seems like every video is trying to trick users into clicking. YouTube's algorithm promotes the content that gets the most clicks, even if it's misleading or AI-generated, so creators are under a lot of pressure in a crowded feed.

 

5. Number of hidden dislikes

Arguably the most controversial change YouTube has made in recent years is hiding dislike counts on videos. This feels like a step back in transparency, as dislikes are a strong indicator of whether a video delivers on its promises.

For example, let's say you're a big football fan and like to watch highlights of a game if you miss it live. Since YouTube is where people usually go to watch such games, you open the app to search for highlights about an hour or two after the game. You expect the first search result to be relevant content, but to your disappointment, it's not always actual highlights of the game - sometimes it's footage of someone playing a video game. In the past, people could rely on the number of Dislikes as a quick indicator of a video's credibility, but that's no longer the case.

 

4. Push Shorts even further

Since TikTok emerged, many sites have tried to compete with it by offering short-form content, including YouTube. Short-form content isn't bad. It can be great for entertainment and education purposes by breaking down long-form content into bite-sized pieces of knowledge.

However, YouTube's constant push for Shorts videos is annoying. Shorts has a dedicated tab and is also featured in the Home tab and search results page. For searches, sometimes the top search results will be filled with Shorts videos, or after one or two long-form videos, there will be at least 3 or 4 rows of Shorts videos.

3. Corporate dominance

Many small creators are struggling as YouTube increasingly favors corporate channels over them in most segments. This not only smothers independent voices, but also reinforces the more traditional, filtered media climate that YouTube once disrupted, shifting the site away from authenticity and toward advertiser-friendly videos from big corporations.

2. The decline of the comments section

YouTube comments used to be an extension of the video. Comments allowed you to find more detailed information about the topic from other viewers, and it was where communities could form.

But in recent years, the comments section has gotten progressively worse, despite YouTube's relentless efforts to filter out spam. The comments section is no longer a space for meaningful discussion. Instead, it's filled with spam bots, deceptive links, and effortless engagement bait.

1. More errors

YouTube is constantly improving the platform with new features and fixing existing bugs, but the number of bugs and glitches seems to be steadily increasing. For example, 60FPS videos weirdly default to 480p when played at 1.5x speed.

Some people have also encountered a bug that prevents them from changing the video quality, as the option is sometimes greyed out. Others have recently experienced issues with being automatically logged out of the YouTube TV app and being unsuccessful when trying to log back in for days. Another annoying issue is that when you turn off autoplay on one platform, the change doesn't apply elsewhere.