Why Are So Many People Quitting YouTube?

Why Are So Many People Quitting YouTube? – Second Thought

New video every other Friday!

Channels Discussed:

DSLR Video Shooter

Tom Scott

Fulltime Filmmaker

Game Theorists

Meat Canyon

Stampylonghead

Seth Everman

Captainsparklez

Joel Haver

Cinecom

Polyphonic

Follow and Support Second Thought!
CashApp: $JTChapman

Watch More Second Thought:

About Second Thought:
Second Thought is a channel devoted to education and analysis of current events from a Leftist perspective. Welcome!

[youtubeuniversity]

Imagine if Youtube actually suffered when a ton of creators left.

[Dimee]

A big problem that I’ve noticed with youtube is the pressure to succumb to standardization. I have a video called “The Culture Industry” on the law of Standardization in the music & entertainment industry at large and how the capitalist market forces art become a mass produced cultural commodity. I think those same dynamics apply to YouTube. Experimenting with something artistically new for each video is not well received by the algorithm, which demands predictable output and a predictable audience. Doesn’t help that for political channels, it is impossible for your video to rank high in search if other media channels have covered the topic, as youtube prioritizes “authoritative” content (media from established news outlets).

[im_avg_joe]

The REAL problem is Google wants complete control. Creators want the freedom to post what they want WITHOUT copyright strikes and requirements to monetize

[LeejaMiller]

Thanks for making this and starting this conversation!

[Matok]

I don't think humans were ever meant to constantly do the same thing for decades on end, especially something they are not particularly passionate about. Yeah some can do it, but they seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

The biggest problem is a lot of people are so close to the edge of starvation/homelessness that they like feel they have no choice but to continue doing what they're doing for their meager income for fear of going over that edge if they dare to take a break.

People should be able to take a break without facing financial ruin.

[bettemiddler]

Hustle culture? Constant work? The moment you turn Something fun into a job you quickly burn out. There's no reason people should be working multiple jobs 7 days a week. Things were not supposed to be like this.

[JayPrice]

Man I’m not gonna lie here.

Watching the supercut of all these people is way too relatable.

I just found myself crying over my ironing board and realizing that I am 46 years old, and I spend 17 hours a day grinding away a job I don’t even remotely believe in.

I have run car dealerships for nearly 30 years, and I would gladly take the bus if public transportation was worth a shit in Louisiana.


Man I was not ready for this.

[PrOpoRarBr]

9:56 this kind of search also happened to YouTube and I dislike it so much. YouTube used to work as some kind of archive of so many stuff, but they messed up their searching tools and now if you wanna find a video from 15 years ago you'll never find it and you'll get thousands of 'sugested' videos that don't even relate to the topic you were searching in the first place

[digitalreject]

Book I read in 2013 called "In Praise Of Slowness." when I was 55 years old working 2 jobs 7 days a week. In it the autor quoted a labor statistic: if the average European worker were to match hour for hour the average USA worker, starting on January 1st, the average European worker would be done with their work year by October 23rd. Now, I realize that has probably changed for the worse for Europeans and Americans, but it just illustrates how unjust the system is.

[ツッ]

I can definitely relate to the burnout that comes from turning something fun into a job, It's important to find a balance and prioritize self-care 🙏

[Reformatt]

I felt so much better once I stopped doing weekly uploads, it is absolutely draining. I just release an episode when I feel the quality is good enough for a release. I wish the algorithm could appreciate that.

[Matthew.E.Kelly.]

11:39

This is being a musician. It's why I turned down several chances to "go pro", sign to big labels, & have industry backers. I wanted my music/art to mean something & not be a product.

Every chance I turned down was the best decision I ever made for myself, as a musician.

[adamkey]

The biggest thing about YouTube is the damn algorithm. If you don't have a set upload schedule the algorithm punishes you for this, and it's hard for any channel to even get off the ground. But if you have a set schedule and then build up a fanbase, they will get annoyed if their next vid doesn’t come out when expected. Creativity doesn't follow a set schedule. It's no surprise people get burnt out.

[rising_crust]

In April 2020 I started working two full-time jobs. One was 5 days a week and the other 7 days a week.

After about 3 years, the second job became unprofitable and I reached the point where my financial hemorrhaging had stopped, so I quit my second job.

After about 2 weeks, I fell into the deepest depression I could have never imagined. And it’s been about a year and I am just now crawling out of the depression.

Be diligent about your personal financial responsibilities, but don’t drive yourself nuts with work like I did.

I hear these creators who are quitting loud and clear and I hope that they recover.

[jeffreythomson]

I love how you mention Mr Beast - I've heard so much about how people want to be like him, have a channel like that, do all those cool things and be rich and blah blah blah. I watched a couple of his videos and all I could think was "this is a bunch of trashy nothing." It's like the literal embodiment of "content". They're certainly videos, on a regular schedule and formula, with no substance, heart, or value. Just complete wasted filler. And people. Fucking. Love. It. It's disgusting.

[Javdoc]

Wow, that "enshittification" thing is so elegantly simple and spot on.

[strikeformatik]

It remains baffeling to me that the hunger for more more more always leads to decay and death. How have we still not learned how to say enough is enough and save something that works, accepting a steady revenue without constanly focussing on ever groing profit.

[GroovyVideo]

Yt deleted my anti corporation channel in 2006 and shadow banned me ever since then -

[artakaworks]

I'm not a YouTuber, but being a content creator in general (doing this like creating art, webcomics, short stories, commissions etc.) I can definitely relate to the feeling of burnout. Sadly [and I'm sure other creators can relate], a huge portion of my time is spent trying to game the algorithm to get as much exposure as possible. It wastes so much time and you feel more like a marketer and less like a creator. While I'm always sad to see people go, I don't blame them one bit. People should be able to pursue their passions without having to deal with the grindset BS.

[FateWorseThanDeath]

It always continues to blow my mind that someone can show a compilation of YouTubers with millions of subscribers and I've never heard of any of them