YouTube never gave us an option to disable Youtube Shorts

We need to address this issue that cripples so many of us

 

Youtube is useful and entertaining, but it can also trap people in just like all other online platforms - especially for people like me who are easily addicted to internet: short videos, social media, video games.

As for me personally, a lot of this addiction to the internet can be controlled by limiting the screen time or deleting the app, and with time and dedication I can ease them out of my life.

But Youtube Shorts are very different.

 

It is basically TikTok, and can capture you for hours on end. I've tried so many ways to pull myself away from it, but nothing works.

You can press the three little dots on the top right corner of each short and select "Not Interested". This will make the shorts disappear from your home feed for a while if you clicked on enough of them, but they come back after a while. And most importantly, the feature does not disappear. It is still there for you to click and scroll and to drag you in.

You can install chrome extensions which remove Youtube Shorts from desktop devices like laptops, but chrome extensions don't work on phones - where is the place I spend hours scrolling.

You can search it up and see it for yourself:

There's no way of getting rid of it.

No way

 

I, and I believe most others, uses Youtube often: for educational videos, video demonstrations, or simply a entertainment. Hence, so many of us cannot just simply delete Youtube itself. To most of us, the longer videos are less of a threat.

And I'm not saying we should completely ditch Youtube Shorts for everyone, some people like it and can enjoy it healthily. That's great.

What I'm asking for is merely a choice, a choice to pull ourselves away from yet another sweet but sinister trap on the internet.

But we were never given a choice, and we will have to fight for it.