YouTube stars heading for burnout

I look upon this idea skeptically. In my experience, the content delivered to me is as divisive as the videos I've already watched. If someone is getting divisive content, that's probably the content that they want to watch. Is it really up to YouTube to determine if a person has been watching content that's too divisive, like a bartender who cuts off a someone who's had too many drinks?

When I log out of my YouTube account or open YouTube in incognito mode, all I see are viral videos and nothing that's "divisive". For example, the YouTube homepage without being logged in shows prank videos, Rube Goldberg type fascination videos, educational videos, Mexican music, daytime TV crap, SNL skits, and pop music.

So basically, in order to get to the divisive stuff, you have to already be using search queries that will bring one to political commentators.

But then what should be done? If someone is watching a lot of videos by the far left, should the recommended videos proportionally include more videos by right wing commentators? Is this really what people want?

Sorry that this is tangental from the actual point of the article, but I've read of this idea multiple times before and it's always asserted as if it's a matter of fact, but I'm not sure I buy it.

Highly doubt that if you are commenting on a social media platform. What's an "adult" challenge?

> and that my success in life isn’t depending on thousands of teenagers pushing a like button.

Sure it does. From journalist to software programmers and everyone in between.

Just a counterpoint, I think it depends largely on the subject matter. my 'disengage the brain' videos are mostly tool teardowns and slow-motion videos of milling machines, or reviews of '90s luxury cars.

If I let youtube pick the next video a few times in a row while I'm watching car videos, I end up in supercar land, (which is not very much fun for me, but not divisive or anything.)

If I let youtube pick the next video a few times while watching tool teardowns, I sometimes end up with more interesting tool talk, but I often get survivalist stuff, and sometimes 'sovereign citizen' stuff starts to creep in.

I feel like you'd get the same spirit of complaint from a disenchanted musician, actor, chef, or even entrepreneur.

"It's a lot harder than I thought. The market's tastes are fickle, I've got to make stuff to please them instead of things that creatively satisfy me. If I stop relentlessly competing I can't pay my bills"

I'm older than the average youtube star, but I don't begrudge their success or view them as trivial people like a lot of my peers. That said, perhaps it's the _initial_ grand slam success and money that is the aberration (like app store hits at their peak), and the "bad side" is simply a sort of market correction where you've got to do unenjoyable things roughly commensurate with the payoff.

Doubt they ever were.