YouTube is addicting.
The key to making YouTube less addicting is to make YouTube boring.
Here’s how you can do that.
Making YouTube Boring: Delete and Disable Your YouTube Watch History
It’s safe to say YouTube’s algorithm knows you too well.
That’s because YouTube’s algorithm straight up uses your watch history to learn about your “watch preferences,” aka. the shit you find entertaining. THEN, it feeds you more of that type of content through your home page.
And that’s a problem — dangerous even.
Why’s that?
Because content tailored to you is DESIGNED to make you click. So you click. And the oh-so-innocent three-minute video inevitably turns into a two-hour rabbit hole. Which we all claim to be “totally, totally unintentional.”
However, the problem isn’t that you can’t help yourself, but rather, it’s that you’re allowing yourself the option — you’re giving your brain the opportunity to decide whether or not it wants a shiny treat (a cat video, for example). And of course it does.
So don’t give yourself the option.
Take back control by deleting and disabling your YouTube watch history. Doing this will prevent YouTube’s algorithm from learning about what you like to watch, therefore stopping it from serving you tailored content designed to hook you in.
A bit of a warning: this makes YouTube hella boring (which is exactly the point and necessary if you’re serious about kicking your YouTube addiction).
Your recommended videos will go to absolute garbage, and in my experience, it’s like browsing Netflix with an infestation of one-star movies.
Deleting and disabling my YouTube history was initially shocking, but ultimately freeing.
It stopped YouTube’s algorithm from showing me “potentially” interesting videos, which helped me break the YouTube addiction habit loop.
It’s simple, if you can stop yourself from seeing “potentially” interesting videos in the first place — if nothing catches your attention — you won’t be tempted. You won’t waste time.
It’ll make you go, “Oh, I guess there’s nothing good to watch.”
And that’s good because…?
It essentially makes YouTube “boring.”
We don’t invest our time in things that are boring.
So do it. Take the plunge and delete and disable your YouTube history.
P.S. If you’re using YouTube logged out, just be aware that the algorithm will continue to build a local profile of your viewing tastes, so be sure to clear your browser cookies every so often. (Or use a browser that can be configured to do this automatically when you close down. Vivaldi, Brave, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge all have this capability. Chrome, unfortunately, does not)
“You only struggle because you’re ready to grow but aren’t willing to let go.”
— Drew Gerald
Making YouTube Boring: Use Browser Extensions to Remove “Junk” Content from Plain View
The DF Tube extension makes YouTube ultra boring by letting you remove all its distracting elements (the home feed, related videos, comments, and more).
Check it out:
No video in sight. Perfect.
Nothing to click on. No time to waste.
Making YouTube Boring: Ban YouTube from Your Phone Using an App Blocker (Bonus Tip)
The easiest way to stop doing something is to not even give yourself the option.
So this is what I did: I downloaded an app blocker, paid for the premium version, and set a hard ban on the YouTube app and mobile site.
Yup. I had zero access. Nada.
But I got used to it. It’s kind of like how when your phone dies. You can’t do anything about it. And then you start to accept reality.
P.S. In my experience, deleting YouTube from your phone doesn’t work because you’ll reinstall it, and hiding the app in a folder doesn’t work because you’ll cave in a moment of weakness — at least when you have an addiction to YouTube.
Do this:
- Get an app blocker. I use Stay Focused.
- Set the daily limit of the YouTube app and mobile site to one minute — this renders YouTube unusable.
- Activate strict mode to prevent you from changing the settings, then set the block to expire at the end of the year. Give yourself enough time to disassociate YouTube as a source of entertainment.
