I’ve always considered myself a productive person, but there’s one thing that consistently derails my focus: YouTube. And now I question: Why do I continue to fall back into watching YouTube, even after multiple attempts to minimize it? And I’ve realized this: it’s not just the content; it’s the connection I feel with certain YouTubers who seem like part of my online family. They inspire, educate, and entertain me. Giving up YouTube is like giving up this online family of YouTubers I’ve watched for years. They are what keeps me coming back, but in the end, the useless Shorts are where I spend most of my time.
👨💻 Here’s What I’ve Learned
YouTube, especially Shorts, has become a significant productivity killer for me. Despite my efforts to quit, I always find myself returning. Here’s what I found out:
- It’s More Than Dopamine Alone
I often hear from smokers that it’s not all about the tobacco; it’s often the smoking breaks with colleagues that bring them valuable connections. Not buying cigarettes anymore does not resolve the entire issue because they would also have to give up that community ritual they’ve built. Dopamine is what gets you in; the community is what makes you stay. The same can be said for YouTube. - Dopamine Is a Trap
Dopamine is a neurochemical that motivates us to do certain actions. James Clear explains the use of dopamine in building habits very well in his book Atomic Habits. The biggest dopamine spike often comes before taking the action—it’s as if your brain says, “Yes, that’s a good idea; go do that!” The idea of doing the action is what we get the reward for, which motivates us to get going.
Now, dopamine can never run out, but the sensors in your brain meant to pick up the signal become less sensitive to it the more you’re exposed to the chemical. This means you need more and more dopamine to feel the hit. Social media is designed to produce a lot of dopamine. After a session of watching YouTube, the receptors in the brain are pretty numbed out, needing much more dopamine to feel anything.
With this basic science out of the way, here’s the trap: if dopamine gets us to do something, being numbed out on the chemical means you don’t feel like doing anything anymore. Your motivation is depleted, and even quitting YouTube feels like more effort than you’d like to take. If we want to achieve anything in our daily lives, we need to make sure that we don’t deplete our dopamine by watching YouTube.
- Blockers Don’t Address the Main Issue
I’ve tried many things to quit YouTube for good: deleting the app, using app blockers, and setting screen time limits. But nothing worked long-term. I believe this is because all those solutions try to block us from using the app instead of tackling what gets us to use the app in the first place.
This is why trying to lose weight by simply stopping eating is so difficult—you’re still hungry, and during lunchtime, you still have the habit of sitting down to eat. You can block the food, but your natural patterns work against you, making it unsustainable.
🙌 The Solution
To overcome this, I decided to quit YouTube for one week, trying every strategy I know.
- Replace, Replace, Replace
Like in the weight loss example I explained earlier, the first strategy is to replace the high-calorie food with very low-calorie alternatives. For me, that means any form of entertainment and relaxation that produces less dopamine. For example, here’s what I tried:
- TED Talks App:
The app contains only TED Talks. It’s not as fun, but it can be inspiring every now and then. The good thing is that after just one TED Talk, I already feel like getting off my phone and doing something else. - Quick Reading:
Books can be intimidating sometimes, but an app like Deepstash condenses the insights of different books into a scrollable feed. This way, I still spend my time reading, just faster. It’s a good replacement, but it doesn’t help your brain shut off as much as fiction or pure entertainment would. - Movies, Podcasts & Music:
These are all alternatives that produce less dopamine but can still be very entertaining. The main benefit of podcasts and music is that they get me moving, cleaning the house, and doing stuff.
- Keep the Community, but Ditch the Platform
This one’s tricky, but let me explain. We all have favorite creators on social media who inspire and bring us joy—they are our online family, the people we keep coming back for. In my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with sticking with them if they truly help and energize us. But we have to avoid the trap of watching other things. That’s why I’ve developed this strategy:
- Phase 1: Collect, Don’t Watch
Here’s what I do: I go straight to the channel of my favorite creator and send the newest video to myself on WhatsApp. The rule here is that while on the platform, don’t watch anything! Just send it to yourself and go do something else. - Phase 2: Watch, Don’t Collect
When I want to watch a video, I go to WhatsApp and watch the videos there. WhatsApp has a feature where you can watch the video in the app, so you don’t have to go to YouTube. Once I’ve watched all the videos, I go do something else—not straight back to collecting again. Keep the two separate.
Conclusion
After spending a week without YouTube, I’ve noticed significant changes. I’m more present, have extra time, and consistently complete small tasks around the house. This experience taught me that replacing the function of an addiction, rather than just the habit, is key to overcoming it. If you’re struggling with similar issues, consider subscribing to my blog for more insights on taking back control of your time and life.
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