Key Takeaways
- If you’re trying to overcome YouTube addiction, analyze YouTube usage to identify your habits.
- Limit YouTube app time on the smartphone, turn off notifications, and set reminders for breaks and bedtime.
- Block the YouTube website on your computer, bookmark the Subscriptions page, and remove distractions.
From watching videos on Komodo dragons to cool life hacks, I found myself falling down the YouTube rabbit hole more often than before. It’s time-consuming, especially when you have other important tasks to take care of.
If you’re heading down the same path, here are the few simple steps I followed to overcome my YouTube addiction.
Analyzing YouTube Time and Habits
Understanding and analyzing your YouTube habits can help you decide which further steps are necessary to reduce your YouTube usage.
For instance, if you watch YouTube on your phone, there’s no need to block it on your computer. Likewise, setting a bedtime reminder won’t make any difference if it doesn’t affect your sleep hours.
So, as a first step, note the following:
- Time spent each day on YouTube
- The device you watch on (phone, TV, or desktop)
- Particular days or hours when you spend more time on YouTube
To analyze your usage, open YouTube on your mobile phone, go to the You tab, scroll down to Time Watched, and select it. Here, you can find your YouTube usage stats for the last seven days. For more detailed stats or earlier data, you can use features like Digital Wellbeing or Screen Time.
However, note that YouTube Time watched includes videos on all devices using your profile. But if you use screen time tracking apps, you’ll have to set them separately for each device.
Limiting YouTube App Time on Mobile Phone
For me, the most effective measure was to limit the time I spent on the YouTube app through screen time monitoring and tracking. Android devices have the Digital Wellbeing and Parental Control app for this, while iPhone users can use Screen Time.
On Android devices, head to Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls > Dashboard. Find YouTube from the list of apps and set a daily timer for it.
If you’re an iPhone user, you can use Screen Time to cut your phone usage and set a time limit for YouTube.
Setting YouTube Break and Bedtime Reminders
YouTube has a couple of built-in features to help you reduce your watching time. First, you can set a reminder for a break once you’ve spent a certain amount of time on YouTube. To set this limit, go to You tab > Time Watched > Tools to manage your YouTube time.
From here, you can create a bedtime reminder by setting a custom schedule or using your phone’s bedtime settings. Likewise, you can set a break reminder, so YouTube reminds you to take a break after a set time.
These reminders work only on the mobile app.
Turning Off Notifications
YouTube notifications can take a toll on your productivity. If you can’t resist watching videos from your favorite channels after receiving one, you should turn off or manage YouTube notifications.
To do so, go to You tab > Settings (top-right corner) > Notifications. Here, you can turn off different types of notifications individually. On a computer, you can access Settings from the sidebar.
If you don’t want to turn off the notifications, another way is to create a scheduled digest. This way, instead of disturbing you during work hours, all your notifications will be sent as a digest at a set time. To create a scheduled digest, go to Settings > Notifications, toggle on Scheduled digest, and set the delivery time. Win-win!
Disabling Autoplay
Another feature that keeps you hooked to YouTube is autoplay. When enabled, YouTube automatically starts playing the next video, and you don’t even realize how many videos you’ve watched.
To disable autoplay on YouTube, toggle off the autoplay button after playing any video. On a mobile phone, you can also go to You tab > Settings > Autoplay and turn it off.
Blocking YouTube Website on Computer
If you can’t help but watch YouTube on the computer while working, blocking the YouTube website on your device is the best solution.
You can install a site-blocking extension, such as Block Site or Site Blocker, and add youtube.com to the blocklist if you use a particular browser for YouTube. The other way to block sites is by editing the Hosts file.
Bookmarking the Subscriptions Page
YouTube’s algorithm keeps you glued to your screen. Scrolling through the home feed makes it easy to fall into the trap.
One way to avoid this trap is to bookmark the YouTube Subscriptions page on your computer instead of the home page. So when you open the site next time, you can directly choose the videos from your favorite channels instead of watching unnecessary videos.
Removing YouTube Recommendations
After bookmarking the homepage, the next step to defeat the YouTube algorithm is to remove recommended videos.
One way is to turn off your YouTube watch history. This way, YouTube will still suggest videos, but since it won’t have your history, the recommendations might not be as tempting.
For a stricter approach, use a browser add-on that removes YouTube’s suggested videos. Though there are several of them available, Unhook is a popular one that works on Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. This extension removes the homepage feed, related videos, and end cards. Best of all, it removes YouTube Shorts, which can be one of the reasons for your addition.
Download: Unhook for Chrome | Firefox | Edge (Free)
Saving Videos to Watch Later
Instead of playing videos from the Home or Subscriptions page, save videos to Watch Later and only play them from there. This little step can prevent you from being enticed into watching videos that aren’t worth your time.
Ideally, you should watch videos a couple of days (or at least hours) after adding them to Watch Later.
Watching YouTube Videos on a Third-Party Website
If none of the above works, you can use a third-party website to watch YouTube videos. Doing so means you will no longer have to face YouTube’s algorithm that keeps you hooked.
One such site is Watchkin. It asks you to paste the URL of any YouTube video and plays that video on its site. With no distractions on the screen, you won’t be tempted to watch any lifehacks.
SafeShare is another site you can use for this purpose. Though it was meant to share YouTube videos, it can also help you remove all the distractions and overcome YouTube addiction.
Without a doubt, YouTube is the go-to source of entertainment and education for billions of folks. But watching it excessively can seriously hamper your productivity and sleep. So, if you’re looking to cut down on your YouTube usage, you can try out these tips and apps to overcome your addiction and protect your mental health.