Let’s start with the obvious. YouTube is a great tool. It’s entertaining but also informative. There’s a wealth of content right at your fingertips. I even learned how to program applications on YouTube! It’s amazing! But, as much productive content is available on YouTube, there’s just as much distracting content. 

You could be learning a new topic or watching your favorite vlogger, and then the next second you’re far down a rabbit hole of a random conspiracy or watching the 7th random video in a row for no good reason. Sound familiar? 

This little scenario is a huge problem for many people - including me! YouTube turns from an amazing tool to a huge time waster to even a method of internet addiction. We’re here to talk about how to break (or prevent) your internet addiction to YouTube and how you can learn to use the tool wisely. 

1. Dim the experience

YouTube works largely on recommendation algorithms. Based on the design, the experience wants to feed you as much information as it thinks you like so you can spend as much time as you can on it. Sometimes, the feed surfaces content you love, and sometimes, content you hate (for lack of a better word). In psychology, this is called variable rewards. In turn, this makes the platform extremely addicting. 

To make the experience less addicting, tailor your experience. Try the following methods to do this: 

• Review your subscriptions and filter your list down to the channels you actually care about. 
• Disable autoplay.
• Watch on incognito. 

There are even Chrome Extensions specifically to dim your experience. I use Distraction-Free YouTube. It’s a game-changer for my productivity. The extension removes the algorithm, the newsfeed, comments, recommendations, subscriptions, and more. 

2. Set rules 

Because there’s so much content on YouTube, it’s easy to lose track of time. By setting rules, you can limit how much of your day you spend on YouTube. The most common rules to set are: 

• Time limits. Example: Spend 1 hour a day on YouTube. 
• Work hours. Example: No YouTube from 9 am to 5 pm. 
• Sleeping hours. Example: No YouTube from 9 pm to 9 am. 

You can easily keep track of these rules manually with a timer. You can also set these rules on Ahero, our distraction blocker, and we’ll take care of it for you. 

3. Use a site blocker during work sessions

If you’re desperately in need of a hard focus session, try taking the temptation of YouTube completely out. This is a cold-turkey way to break your Internet addiction or prevent it from interfering with your goals. You can use site blockers, like Ahero, to block access to YouTube during your session. After you complete your session, you can access YouTube again. By doing this, you make sure you limit your usage on YouTube when it really matters. 

— 

Take your time on YouTube into your own hands! We’re proud of you for taking this first step. Good luck! We’re rooting for you.