Context: A few months ago I posted How I watch videos I find online: not online, which describes how I save time, distraction, and battery power by downloading videos, usually at 144 resolution or audio only, and watching them later offline. I recommend the practice, not just to hurt people less by polluting and depleting less, but to avoid the distraction of being tempted to watch other videos and get stuck. It creates mental freedom, a common result from hurting people less.
Today I want to point out another way to restore mental freedom, focusing on YouTube. I was reminded by seeing someone showing a screen capture of their browser on the page. It was full of ads and recommended videos. I haven’t seen either on YouTube in years and recommend the freedom.
Here’s my screen on YouTube (featuring one of the channels I find most valuable, What Is Politics? Click the image to see the video).
If you’re like I was, you might be thinking, “But I like those recommendations. Sometimes they lead me to something I wouldn’t have found otherwise.” Then I tried cleaning them out and I’m never going back. There’s no shortage of videos to find without those recommendations.
The greatest value is in the resulting mental freedom. It’s hard to imagine when you’re in the middle of following a bunch of video trails, but once I felt mental freedom, I knew I valued it more than what the videos brought. Those videos help YouTube, not me.
You might also be thinking, “But they provide a service. I should follow their business model. It’s not fair to watch videos without paying in some way.” Go ahead and think that way if you want. They send me data. They don’t control how I use my property.
Features:
No recommended videos to the right.
No recommended videos below.
No ads.
If I started the video, no ads would show in the video.
The “1.00” in the upper left of the video is from an add-on that lets me play the video faster or slower.
The “Download As” green button is from one of the the two add-ons that let me download the videos.
The add-ons I use and recommend:
- AdBlocker for YouTube
- AdBlocker Ultimate
- Easy Youtube Video Downloader Express
- Video Download Helper
- Unhook – Remove YouTube Recommended & Shorts
- Video Speed Controller