Insomniac Nightmares

I spend a lot of time with YouTube running. Not much else to do. Anyone who’s used it extensively is well aware of the “Autoplay” function, which keeps the videos coming, claiming them from that little sidebar of recommended content.

That thing is evil. Based as it is in YouTube’s algorithms, designed to keep feeding you content that it thinks you watched, based on what you watched previously, it drops you down a rabbit hole. That whole thing with Matt Whatever It Is or whatever his name was and the “webcam from” “wormhole” drama followed by a fresh Adpocalypse showed that.

Now, to be fair, sometimes it does what I want. I slap on an ASMR video and pass out, usually YouTube does a good job of picking more soothing voices to hiss at me all night. I pick a Markiplier or Mista GG video, it funnels more weird games or Chris Hansen commentary to me.

The problem comes when I’m already in a foul mood (when am I not, though?) and I watch something for information, but get focused on something else and let the app keep rolling just for the noise/company. Like watching a Blaire White video to see what the whole Jessica Yaniv thing is all about, then get sucked into two hours of hearing about this nutjob and what they’ve done (and are still doing) and how they get away with it. Or when I watch a Sargon of Akkad video to hear what his thoughts on electron processes are, but then somehow end up watching forty minutes of the Socialist Democrats conference, where they spend the whole time shrieking about “Points of Personal Privilege”and voting on how to vote so they can vote and voting if the vote counted and all the while they’re crying because people are clapping, or because someone said “you guys” instead of “fellow comrades” and someone else was triggered.

Yeah, autoplay is bad for my mental health. I wonder if I have a lawsuit of my own in there, somewhere. Probably not, since I’m not one of the cool kids with a Tumblr identity tag, but one can dream that this crap would do something useful for me instead of just increasing my rage factor.

Sorry. Today’s post is a little ranty and mostly pointless. I blame the mental state YouTube left me in yesterday and the assault of insects I suffered in the night.

Hope everyone’s weekend is going well. Until next time!