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Don't watch things on your
phone.
It's not healthy for you, or
your eyes.
TicToc = brain rot.
Consider if the content is
healthy for you to consume, and
also healthy for the creator to
make. Watching an obese person
eat as much as they can is not
doing anyone any favours, for
example. Don't be an enabler.
Watching strangers' cats being
cats, for an hour or more, is
not a good use of one's time.
Avoid binge-watching and
mindless scrolling.
Youtube and TicToc employ
various algorithms/techniques to
serve up content (such as
through their
Feed) to keep you scrolling,
tapping, clicking, watching and
consuming. These platforms want
you to be a moron, you do not
want to be a moron.
Pick a time. Avoid addictive tendencies
encouraged by such platforms by
consciously choosing the content
you want, where you source it
from, when you want it, and for
how long. Consider if things
benefit you.
Keep your own list
of channels to watch rather than
relying on a Feed.
Download videos and watch them
offline, perhaps on a dedicated
device, and at a time that best
suits you. Consider longer form
content that can be listened to
just as audio, over shorter
video snippets. Avoid consuming while
you're consuming (eating).
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Ways to download:
Parabolic. This tool
has the ability to download
Youtube and Rumble videos in
various formats. It should also
be possible to be able to
download from a list of video
URLs, although I have found this
to be problematic of late, and
resort instead to doing things
manually, one-by-one. If this
fails, here are two other
options, although more clicks
and hoops are generally
involved:
Y2Mate.
This service allows you to
download Youtube videos as MP4
video or MP3 audio files. (After
'converting' the video,
right-click the Download button
and choose 'Save Link As...')
PasteDownload.com.
This service allows you to
download Rumble
videos. (After 'converting' the
video, right-click the Download
button and choose 'Save Link
As...') While this lacks an
audio-only option like Y2Mate you
can use either VLC Media Player to convert the
file to MP3, or Audacity - I
prefer the latter because it is
more straightforward and results
in smaller file sizes (64 kbps
is fine for podcasts). Or on my
phone in the VLC app I
can "play as audio".
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Adblock
Of course you want to block
adverts. I'm not sure how the
internet functions without
generating revenue, so perhaps
consider supporting worthy
creators directly.
Unhook
Youtube (like others) wants to keep you on their
platform for as long as
possible. This browser add-on
enables you to remove the Feed
and more, helping you to only
watch videos you've actively
searched for. You can also
disable Shorts, recommended.
ReturnYoutubeDislike
This is an Add-on for various
browsers that brings back the
Dislike counter on the Youtube
page. This is important in order
to help you judge if a video is
going to be worth watching.
Video Length. Consider actively seeking
educational and informative content of a
reasonable length (you can
always digest this in smaller
portions). Keep a
notepad/Notepad to hand and
build on what interests you.
Playback Speed.
Value your time. Consider
playing videos at an increased
speed based on the speaking
speed of the person in the
video, how detailed/complicated
the information in, and your
level of attention/focus. This
is generally achieved via the
gear icon, but may be found
disabled on Youtube, because
again, they want you glued to
their platform for as long as
possible (you can circumvent
this by downloading the content,
or boycotting it).
Quality Setting.
Lower the quality of video
playback from the gear icon on
Youtube or Rumble videos to
minimise your impact on internet
connection. While this setting
is remembered on Youtube it has
to be set each time on Rumble.
Free Speech and Anti-Censorship. If you value these things,
consider seeking out creators
who upload their videos to
Rumble or BitChute, rather than
Youtube.
Comments and Creativity.
Avoid short comments that are
just regurgitating what you have
just watched, especially on
channels where the creator is
too big to care. If you have
something constructive to add,
consider elaborating on it
(although maybe don't rant in
someone else's Comments
section); can you instead create
your own content out of it, in
the form of a blog or podcast of
your own?
Last
updated: December 2025
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