DeGoogle Yourself

I'm not sure how much time you've spent on using YouTube and I'm in no way a big fan of YouTube, but please do not be too hard on yourself on wishing your time back.

As for me, I'm still using YouTube via NewPipe as well, being subscribed to about 8 channels or so, which upload on average once per week. For me watching these videos is relaxing and as long as you don't spend too much time using it and as long as it does not get in the way of more important things in your life, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself on having wasted time. Humans simply need some time to relax and you can't expect yourself to be productive as long as you're awake.

Nevertheless, I'd wish that the content creators I followed were on other platforms, preferable libre and not controlled by a giant company, such as PeerTube, but sadly there aren't any monetary or other incentives for them to do so.

NewPipe & invidious helped me to cut back significantly on video consumption.

A big factor is also whether you're logged in or not. Is commenting, giving thumbs up/down + subscribing really worth it? Engaging with all these things only make the platform more addicting.

I agree that most videos are a waste of time, but you can safe half of the time by watching them at 2x speed. Especially good for skimming parts and getting the gist, which is usually what you'd want from most videos.

I used to spend a lot of time on youtube, but I have unchained myself. When I want to watch youtube now, I use freetube or invidious. That way, it's much harder to manipulate me from staying longer on the platform.

I also used to comment a lot on youtube, but it's just depressing. The interactions you gain is mostly people disagreeing with you, so it doesn't feel rewarding.

I currently spend lots of time on YouTube, mainly educational channels. I should subscribe to nebula really. YouTube is very good at knowing what I want to watch and that is probably a big reason I am staying.