YouTube is one of the social media platforms that changed the internet as everyone knows it.
It started with one simple video but has since grown to boast more than 37 million YouTube channels.
On average, more than 120 million users log in to watch YouTube every day.
With channels ranging from beauty to DIY to even videos for pets, there’s usually something for everyone to watch.
That said, some people out there don’t like YouTube or don’t like certain aspects of YouTube.
Considering how prevalent YouTube is in popular culture, you may wonder why that’s the case.
Here are 10 reasons people dislike YouTube videos.
Why Do People Dislike YouTube Videos? (10 Reasons)
1. Pressure To Subscribe
One of the ways that YouTube creators earn money on the site is by increasing their subscriber count.
The more subscribers they have, the more people are going to watch their videos.
This helps them grow their channel since it means YouTube is more likely to recommend them to other viewers.
Since YouTube splits its revenue with its creators based on ad views, it’s also important to have a large number of subscribers.
The more subscribers that someone has, the more ads they’re viewing, which generates more revenue.
The problem with this is that almost every YouTube video has the creator telling their viewers to subscribe.
For some people, the constant pressure to subscribe gets annoying after a while.
This is especially true for creators who spend a good portion of their video talking about subscribing or mentioning it often throughout the video.
It takes the viewer out of the content, which is a jarring experience when someone is trying to learn or find entertainment.
Expert YouTube creators have found an efficient way to ask viewers to subscribe to them.
They have a quick mention of it either at the beginning or end of the video.
Others will have a brief graphic that appears on the screen without even mentioning it.
Some experts don’t even pressure their viewers to subscribe at all.
They focus on quality content knowing that the viewers will subscribe on their own if they show them content worthy of subscribing to.
While getting subscribers is important to a creator, the pressure to subscribe placed on the viewers can turn a lot of people off from the YouTube experience.
2. Ads
YouTube didn’t always have ads.
They only started putting ads in their videos after Google bought the site.
The first in-video ads appeared in 2007.
As with anything that includes advertisements, it can make a lot of people dislike the product.
YouTube makes watching ads a bit easier since they allow their viewers to skip long ads after five seconds.
However, this isn’t always the case.
Sometimes viewers have to sit and watch a 5-minute ad before they can finally watch the video they sat down to watch in the first place.
Ads can also turn viewers away from certain creators that don’t know how to use ads.
While content creators can’t control what ads appear, they can control where they’re placed in their videos.
Creators have the option to place ads at the beginning or end of the video.
Some can even choose a specific place for the ad.
Some creators know how to use this function efficiently.
They place the ad at the end of the video to ensure that their viewers enjoy content that isn’t broken up by disrupting ads.
Others are less aware of how annoying the placement of their ads can be.
One example is a fitness video.
People follow along with the fitness video, but a sudden ad that takes place midway through an exercise can completely ruin the workout.
The viewer has to suddenly stop their workout to skip the ad or wait through it.
In the meantime, their focus, reps, and tension are completely ruined.
This can cause a lot of aggravation among users.
Even the content of certain ads can cause people to turn away from a video.
If the ad depicts something they don’t like or care about, then they may decide to stop watching the video altogether.
There’s no question that ads cause a lot of people to dislike YouTube.
3. Creepy Comments
YouTube has a problem with comments on videos with young children.
Many even consider YouTube a gateway for the wrong people to find each other and exchange contact information.
While the site has tried to protect young children depicted in videos, they haven’t found an effective way to fix their algorithm which can lead the wrong people to certain videos in the first place.
An example is an innocent search of bikini unboxing in which adult women reveal new bikinis that they bought and review them.
After watching a few of those videos, YouTube’s algorithm may decide that you enjoy watching videos with bikinis in them.
As such, it might recommend a video of a family playing on the beach.
In that video, it may depict young children.
The comments of those videos often show people stating how beautiful the young children are or even put timestamps for viewers to enjoy certain angles of the child.
It’s a serious problem and one YouTube has yet to fix.
Because of this, many families refuse to let their children watch YouTube or take part in it.
They’re afraid of the kind of target this can place on their child around the world.
There’s no shortage of videos for children on YouTube either.
Whether it’s about a certain child’s daily life, puzzle shows, or adventure shows made by children for children, there’s an entire section of YouTube geared towards children.
Considering that the comments are often open on such videos, it isn’t difficult for the wrong person to establish contact with a potential victim.
People dislike YouTube because of its creepy users and its inability to tackle problems like these.
4. Racist And Sexist Comments
There can be plenty of racist and sexist comments to be found on YouTube as well.
Almost any popular female YouTube creator has to deal with sexist comments on their videos.
Whether it’s cruel jokes, snide remarks, or even creepy flirtations, the comment section can be a swamp of disgusting remarks.
Racism is another serious problem.
Comment sections can explode when someone makes a racist remark that ends up taking over the video itself.
Instead of being a place of support or discussing the content of the video, the comment section can often become a display of the worst attitudes and perspectives of humanity.
This kind of interaction also drives people away from YouTube.
With other social media sites also full of racists and sexists, it can make the experience on YouTube just another taxing place to be.
Viewers dislike YouTube because of the racist and sexist comments they find on videos.
5. Drama
YouTube creators who make it big are their own brand of celebrity.
They’re not Hollywood big, but some of the most successful YouTube creators have a similar bankroll.
However, YouTube creators are normal people who don’t usually have a PR team to handle emergencies.
Nor do they have the training to handle explosive situations.
Because of that, drama often ensues between creators on YouTube.
The beauty section and gaming section of YouTube are two of the most common places for drama.
Whether it’s talking crap about someone else or calling someone out on an offensive remark they made, you can find tons of videos simply about the transpiring drama.
A lot of people hate it.
Some people do love it if the viewer count on those videos is anything to go by.
However, the focus on drama and the perpetual extension of it to more content and views can drive a lot of people away.
Most viewers are there for the original content that the channel produced and not drama.
When a channel starts to focus their next series of videos on some drama happening in the community and forget to release videos about the actual content that they produce, it can drive their viewers away.
This is because there’s already a lot of drama in the world.
Everyone has their own conflicts and problems that they’re dealing with.
For many people, YouTube is a welcome escape from it all.
When that space starts to fill itself with drama, too, people look for an escape from it since it only stresses them out further.
People dislike YouTube because of the perpetual drama that occurs among its creators.
6. YouTube’s Continue To Watch Prompts
Back in the day, you could watch YouTube videos without stopping.
When one video ended, it’d roll into the next video.
This was great for playlists, series, or for bingeing someone’s entire channel.
Then something changed.
YouTube started to stop its ability to binge through videos.
Instead, after watching a certain number of hours of videos, YouTube stops the video and asks if you’re still there to watch the video.
This requires the individual to confirm that they’re still watching.
Many people dislike YouTube because of this feature.
It can completely take them out of what they were doing.
Some people listen to extended hours of musical soundtracks for studying, working out, or even just working.
By needing to tell YouTube that they are, indeed, still watching the video, their focus can be broken and can be difficult to reclaim afterward.
Others who rely on the videos to play while they’re not at home to entertain their children or pets come back to find the videos stopped hours before they wanted them to.
A lot of people dislike YouTube because they removed the ability to endlessly binge through its videos.
7. Algorithm
YouTube relies on an algorithm to recommend videos to people.
On the right side of the YouTube site, you’ll have a long list of recommended videos.
Some are from the content creator that you’re currently watching, some are similar videos, and others are choices that don’t quite make sense.
The problem with the algorithm is that it tends to favor big YouTube creators instead of new creators.
This makes it difficult for new creators to gain traction among those in their niche.
They have to work extra hard to find followers and subscribers to start competing.
It isn’t entirely the users’ fault either.
They’re not aware of the new creator’s existence since there isn’t a place designated for new creators and their videos.
Instead, they rely on the algorithm to show them new videos.
Now and then, this might mean they finally get introduced to a new creator.
In most cases, however, they get introduced to big-name creators they already know.
The problem with that is the lack of diversity.
If the same few creators are constantly recommended by YouTube, then viewers are only ever going to hear their perspectives on things.
This drowns out the voices of smaller creators who are just getting started on the platform.
Those voices are just as important in their particular niches.
The algorithm is difficult to make work in your favor when you’re just starting.
That’s one of the main reasons people dislike YouTube.
8. Reaction Videos
One of the biggest sections of YouTube is reaction videos.
These are videos where well-known YouTube creators or those looking to make it big film themselves reacting to something.
It may be a reaction to a movie they’re watching for the first time, it may be a reaction to a certain type of food, or it may even be a reaction to a particular song.
These types of videos tend to gain a lot of popularity among viewers, but they can be quite divisive.
A lot of people also hate reaction videos since it’s simply watching people make faces or view opinions about something that you likely already know about.
Sometimes the reactions are so overboard that it’s obvious the creator is increasing the drama to get views.
This kind of insincerity is what turns people away from them.
Reaction videos are one of the reasons people dislike YouTube videos.
9. Same Personalities
One of the problems with YouTube is that its creators often have the same type of personality.
One of the most common personality types on YouTube is Loud.
Whether it’s screaming while gaming, yelling during reaction videos, or just talking very loud and very fast, this personality type fills YouTube.
Tons of creators seem to think that talking loudly or energetically attracts viewers.
The problem is that, because some creators have found success with this method, it’s made others believe that they also need to adopt this method for success.
This results in a ton of different creators who all talk the same way, act similarly, and essentially have the same personality.
When everything starts sounding the same, it becomes less interesting to watch.
As YouTube personalities have become more similar to one another, even copying one another, it’s driven some people away from YouTube.
The content is no longer fresh because its creators all sound or act the same.
People dislike YouTube videos because the main content creators all tend to be similar in personality and presentation.
10. DIY Culture
YouTube isn’t only a place for entertainment.
Some channels also provide education services.
Thanks to YouTube, those interested in DIY projects have found a lot of success.
Others have found ruin.
The problem with YouTube channels focusing on DIY projects is that they don’t always show you everything.
This leads some viewers into thinking that they’re capable of performing the project when, in fact, it’d be a lot safer and more efficient if they had hired someone in the first place.
Professionals in the space do not like YouTube videos that depict DIY projects because they often push people to take on dangerous projects by themselves.
Professionals know that certain projects need proper training and education.
Otherwise, serious accidents and deadly mistakes can occur.
YouTube has made almost anyone believe that they can be a DIYer.
Yet those on YouTube may not be professionals themselves.
As such, they may be showing methods that worked for them rather than the actual, correct, method of doing something.
That method may end up being a serious problem down the line.
Anyone who used the method will also suffer from it down the line.
Unless the content creator is a professional in the field, it’s a better idea to take their advice with a grain of salt.
Professionals don’t like YouTube videos depicting DIY projects because it gives viewers the idea that they can handle dangerous projects on their own.
Conclusion
YouTube has a ton of content that spans several different genres.
From cooking recipes to full-scale TV shows, there’s something for everyone.
However, certain features, creators, content, and attributes of the site have turned some people away from the powerhouse of content creation.
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