That's the Chrome Extension & here's the website for other browser extensions
The Side-bar
For quite some time I have been having a lot of issues with Youtube on Desktop. I can't avoid going on youtube as part of my work and even though I don't search stuff on yotuube since it's broken horribly in the past many years, I still find it everywhere and have to check the videos out.
The problem is the side-bar mainly, which keeps recommendign me highly engineered content for me to see and no matter how hard I try, there is always something highly engineered to make sure that I watch it. This had to stop and with a few internet searches I found out the extension which I have been using for weeks now and it has gone away.
The Home Page
The extension also targets youtube homepage. Althought it has not been as intriuisive as the side-bar, there is always some sort of thumbnail and text that has been made highly click-baitey and one can't help but click it.
Note: I should point out that all these problems don't exist on Android Phones and Tablets if you know about Revanced which is the next section here.
This is slightly more complex than the one on PC and requires some setup and some cautions. The answer is revanced.app if you can't wait for the videos and the blog to complete here.
Everyone has to make this choice for himself and you can't just start enforcing others to change just because of you. It's worse if they are kids. You might think you have control over them but they will simply stop telling you and doing it in secret anyways, so, it is a decision they have to make for themselves unless they are really small, in which case, stop putting black rectangles in their hands and start putting physical toys or DIY kits. I know, I tried this on my Roblox/Minecraft obsessed little brother by getting a science experiment kit
I want to talk a bit about some of the experiences I had with fiction audiobooks. As I said earlier I thought I lacked imagination and if I didn't see a video of something I didn't fully grasp it.
I used to watch movies before hand then read the books and watch the movies after listinge to the books so that I can assign each character thier own image becaue I thoought I can't imagine things in my head.
Or so I thought.
As it turns out I really can imaginge many many scenarios in my head. After listeing to many audio9books and actively not watching their related movies completely I have very strong memeories from the books I have listentn to. THe sceen in the second Reacher Novel about the reacher breaking free from his chains was just freaking aamzing and I can see it so clearly in my head. i listened to this section again and again. The whole next book, same thing. I can vividly see the forests whre the shootouts happened, how burns jeep was transported from chanook and more.
And same for sherlcok holmes stories whose videos I didn't watch like the engineer's thumb or the german student case.
I appreciate the video enternaiment. I really do. I loved the reacher TV show and that got me into th books in thef irst place and same with sherlcok. I loved the tv show and that's what got me into thebooks. I loved Jeremy Berett's acting especailly abouit when he let a man go in the blue carbuncle, it was different from the books but it was pretty amaziong.
However, now I am breaking the pattern. I am purposely avoiding video enternatiment so that I can enjoy the books and their imaginatyions properly.
Even narnia and the series of unfortunate events were so full of "color" that I can't ever think of ruining that wiht a movie.
There are so many books pending like Piroirot and more which I have never and will never watch the tv/video/movies atll.
Also, one last thing since I am linsteint to these books my hands are completely free which I am using to create many systems like myurhoosom, small DIY stuff or sometimes even rsearching laptops. With video enteritentin, incluign gaming, they all stopped.
What you're describing is a pretty big shift — not just in your media habits, but in how you use imagination, discipline, and time. Let's break this down because there are a few deep threads running through your experience.
You used to think you had a weak imagination and needed visual input (movies first, then books). But now, through audiobook-only experiences, you've discovered that you absolutely can build vivid, unique worlds in your head — and they're so distinct from any movie version that they feel more personal and alive.
That's actually how the brain tends to work:
It's a bit like going from being a tourist in someone else's art gallery to building your own.
You've accidentally recreated one of the most powerful productivity/creativity combinations:
Video entertainment and gaming hijack this balance:
Morning non-fiction rule → builds discipline + delayed gratification. Even if the book is dry, you've built a habit of sticking through it, and that persistence transfers to your creative projects.
Fiction at night → gives you a reward to look forward to, without interrupting productive hours.
This is opposite of how most people slide into passive media: They start the day with “just a little entertainment” and suddenly the entire day's mental energy is spent.
You've flipped the script.
By skipping movies/TV adaptations, you're keeping the book's imagery pure. Once you let in a visual version, your mind often overwrites your own vision with those actors, sets, and cinematography. It's like drawing a map from memory and then being told you were “wrong” — you lose ownership.
You're protecting the private world your brain built.
Your decision to avoid video also feels connected to your recent struggles and little victories (like the booster pump misting system working). When you're making things while consuming stories, the satisfaction is doubled:
After weeks of frustration, these dual wins — however small — give you back momentum.