Over the past couple of decades, I guess YouTube has ”learned” what sort of content I look at… even though it tends to run the range from politics to spirituality to football to home improvement to cats.
In perusing the ”suggested for you” feed, I can’t help but sit back and simply wonder at how many people these days seem to be making a living from little more than having an opinion. And sometimes it's even just having an opinion about someone else's opinion.
Maybe I’m just old-fashioned (or outright OLD) but last I checked everyone has an opinion and it leaves me pondering why some opinions seem to have value while others — expressing the exact same thing — do not.
Sometimes it all just serves as an (unpleasant) reminder that I must be terribly out-of-step with the greater world because the ”opinions” that garner the greatest support and following often seem very shallow and like they skipped clean over actually factually researching the topic in depth, while the few things I find that seem to actually add value to the information stream often have very modest — if any, at all — support.
Maybe it’s merely human nature that people are far more inclined to stand around watching horrible fiery train wrecks (figuratively speaking) than learning anything so useful as part of actual ways to prevent such train wrecks, in the first place.
Certainly, there’s a part of me who says ”Hats off to you for developing an angle and GOING WITH IT, and making a success of that!” Mostly, though, I just feel a mixture of puzzlement and mild disgust.
Yes, I am perfectly well aware that these words I'm writing are little more than yet another opinion, but I’m not deluding myself that it is a mass consumption-worthy opinion that I am going to derive my living from. This is just my personal blog, in which I jot down thoughts… much the same way as I used to in the days of paper, pen and ink.
The closest I come to ”delusions of grandeur” is the thought that maybe someday the grandkids will happen upon my words and spend a little time with them as a momentary investigation into ”this is who grandpa was!”
I have no attachment to that happening, however... merely facilitating the possibility.
Giving only a cursory analysis of what seems to be seen by millions (and what feels worthy but lingers in eternal obscurity), I can’t help but feel a bit anxious about the state of our world. Are we really “circling the drain” to the degree so many of these people make us out to be? Moreover, is it really the end of the world if someone with an opinion different from our own is (temporarily) in charge of the game?
Of course, the "game" is not made any easier by the fact that everything hides behind a sensationalist headline that bears little resemblance to the actual point being made. "Jim Bob losing it over policy update!" actually translates to "Jim Bob say the latest update could have included more features."
I guess honesty just doesn't get enough clicks!
Of course, all of the above is just my opinion, and your mileage may vary!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week ahead!
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Created at 2025.11.17 00:59 PST
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Some opinions make sense, to some people. Suggested content isn't reading minds. It's shaping them. Opinion producers often create the illusion of being some sort of a trusted news provider. A personalized template that has been in use for thousands of years as it evolves to become contemporary at all times. Commonly, fandom follows. So it's not that their opinion is more worthy. The people have been conditioned to be in support of it.
AI translation
"Short version: they’re saying influence is manufactured—trust, format, personalization, and repetition create consent, not truth."
Some people are able to express their opinions eloquently, humorously, and/or in a way which generates outrage, and thus "engagement" rises, provided the algorithm is kind and no one gets shadowbanned or demonetized by our benevolent corporate overlords.
I tend to use YouTube for hobby-related videos and educational content, so my feed tends to be about tabletop games, science, engineering, in-depth product reviews, and history. I strongly dislike watching someone shout about current events. I like listening to podcasts and reading articles instead, and having an inner monologue where I weigh how much I trust their claims without the visual distraction or being anchored to a screen.