There’s also one more point that I’d like to make here about YouTube. What I’ve realised over the years is that YouTube can make me “aware” about certain things for certain time but it can’t make me “know” or “learn” them (or at least it’s much less effective than traditional ways of learning which force me to stop and think about given thing). I realised that when I was watching valuable content on YouTube, I thought I was acquiring the knowledge that is presented in the videos - but in the end I tended to forget what I watched after a day or two. And the more stuff I watched, the more stuff I forgot. YouTube has a sneaky ways to make us feel good about ourselves, it makes us think that we’re doing something productive, that we’re learning new things. But if something doesn’t stick to your brain and you won’t consolidate the knowledge in your head, if you won’t turn it into practical know-how or practised skill, then it’s not learning - it’s entertainment. I’m not saying that YouTube videos can’t be used for learning - surely, they can and some people are actually using videos to process the presented information into practical knowledge or skill afterwards, but many of us - Internet addicts - are just making ourselves feel good (get a dopamine hit) and feel a little bit smarter due to “learning self-delusion”.
Of course, this effect is not limited to YouTube - I think my evening podcasts listening is also similar in that aspect. If I don’t sit down, re-work, process, write down, stop and think or talk to other people about the thing I’ve heard/watched, I’ll quickly forget it and in the meantime I’ll lie myself that I’m wiser person because I actually know the stuff I’ve just heard. To some extend this applies also to books reading.
And don’t take me wrong - I don’t think that there’s something inherently wrong about entertaining oneself by watching knowledgeable videos on YouTube. It’s ok, anyone needs a little bit of fun and relax in their lives. I think it’s just important to be aware that this is not the most optimal ways to acquire knowledge and for some people (like me) it can have a tendency to get addictive and unhealthy.