What Happened to YouTube, Why YouTube Is Falling Off And Why We Should Bring the YOU Back into YouTube

Man, remember when YouTube was a collection of the most random things you’ve seen. I would come back from school, dash my bag on the floor and hop onto my computer or ipad (I didn’t have a proper device I kept moving places for context I went from home to home I didn’t want to get fostered the system is so bad but back to the topic) opening a new tab and typing YouTube while popping pills (mints💀) and getting exited to watch some top tier edgy content or I don’t know Markiplier’s newest video. I would watch peak YouTube content with unrestricted internet except this one old lady I stayed with was anti-internet. I would sit and actually enjoy the stuff I watched. Do you remember to good old days? Technically it hasn’t really changed except it’s not good random. In today’s blog we’re going to talk about what went down, why it feels like it’s losing that spark and why we gotta bring the "You" back into YouTube.

So let’s talk about YouTube. What’s really happening and I think it’s falling off. YouTube’s been A LOT boring lately and honestly it’s lost a little of that realness and rawness that made it special. That crazzzy ride we all grew up on, from the 2000s to now. It’s been a trip watching it change and not always for the better. It’s time to bring the YOU back into the tube. What made it the digital home in the first place. Like the true essence of what made this place awesome: the randomness and personality. Instead now it’s content farms and AI slop that pops up more than actual real life people (not talking about people who use talking to chat bot videos that’s for another blog). It’s all about the algorithm feeding you the same stuff over and over again, clickbaity titles (I like some💀), auto-play loops and brain rot on steroids. It’s like the platform is more about keeping you hooked than actually giving you good content. It kinda feels like social media’s dumbed down humanity. The algorithm rewards all the trashy behavior, so good content gets buried. Finding something good is like finding a needle in a haystack now. Old-school YouTube was good before it all got so commercialized and oversaturated.

Back in the day, YouTube was like chilling with your friends, sharing your thoughts, your creativity, your weirdest thoughts. Now? It’s like "Hey, here’s a recommended video that’s totally not what you wanted, but you’ll watch it anyway because the algorithm says so." It’s kinda like being trapped in a never-ending scroll that’s just feeding you more noise especially the freaking YouTube shorts. Oh my God I will make a blog about that. 

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUTUBE AND WHY IS IT FALLING OFF?

The "Corporate Takeover”

It’s capitalism, plain and simple. Big brands and corporate suits stepped in, turning YouTube into a money-making machine. It’s all about sponsorships and brand deals now less about the creator’s authentic voice, more about the dollar signs. Bigger companies wanna control what we see, push their ads and keep us hooked on the dopamine hits. But in doing so, they’re killing the whole point of YouTube. What made YouTube special the community, the authenticity, the weirdness that made it ours!!! Where’s the edgy, raw and weird stuff? Getting drowned out by the mainstream stuff.

The Algorithm Overload And The Content

Remember when YouTube was about discovering your fave niche? Now it’s all about pushing what the algorithm thinks you should see more ads and more clickbait. Youtube is starting to seriously suck. It’s like the platform’s chasing that quick dopamine that HALF of it has wasted your time. Recommendations is awful, it shows you like YouTube videos you’ve already seen a million times. YouTube has gotten so repetitive! It just shows me the same videos over and over. The reaction content era drives me insane I have to sit through some guy saying “TODAY I PRANKED MY GF AND SHE BROKE UP WITH ME ALSO THE IT’S 100 LAYER OF GLASS VS 100 LAYERS OF STEEL CHALLENGE! EPIC FAIL DESIGNS AND 100 GIRL SPEED DATES” and they're hitting the 😱 in next to the video. Not all reaction YouTubers suck some actually do add value to the video not just straight up content stealing. Youtube these days is such a letdown. It’s like the algorithm’s just pushing trash and everyone’s acting extra just to get views. Everyone’s just yelling to be the loudest instead of actually creating original things. We’ve got grown adults yelling, fake drama and the same tired stuff you can just Google or find on Reddit for the same freaking info. The comment sections are just meme spam and copypastas. Content is reaction vids, reuploaded TikToks, outrage bait and people just explaining what’s obvious. It’s wild how many vids are just people dramatizing stuff or straight-up misleading. And don’t get me started on those AI voiceovers doing half baked news. It’s like the platform’s turning into a click farm, and it’s only gonna get worse with AI generated content everywhere. It feels like we’re all just mindless consumers now and honestly it’s hella depressing. it’s like yikes where did all the authenticity go?

AI & The Attention Span Crisis

I guess yeah, it’s “cool” or “helpful” for some stuff, but when it starts writing scripts, making content and basically replacing the soul of creators? Dude. That’s where it gets lazy. It’s pure laziness, straight up. People are losing their ability to think for themselves, to be original!!! (Excluding commentary and gamers YouTubers also trends from this) AI-generated content, trending challenges, and endless clickbaity thumbnails have turned YouTube into a spiral of useless junk. It’s like every video is just a copy-paste of what the algorithm thinks will hit, not what’s real or meaningful. AI-generated content is creeping in and it’s kinda draining. It’s kinda like the "brain rot" era where real personality and authenticity get buried thanks to the algorithms and sponsored stuff. It’s like we’re losing that human touch, that weird stuff that made YouTube fun. Now it’s just…brain rot, just endless loops of trash. Plus everyone’s got the attention span of a toddler (No you don’t have ADHD to that one girl going around saying she’s got DID and ADHD). Short clips, TikTok like quick hits, it’s hard to find those deep, meaningful videos anymore. Shorts messed up the whole algorithm. YouTube feels oversaturated with noise AND I LIKE OVERSATURATED STUFF my attention sucks I need engaging content but even I hate it.

Why We Should Bring the “You” Back Into YouTube?

BECAUSE YOU SHOULD. 

BRING BACK AUTHENTICITY AND RANDOMNESS 

At its core, YouTube was all about that genuine flow people sharing their creativity, their passions, their interests not the nonsense we call brainrot. Just raw content that hits different. The original content isn’t how it used to be how it was before. I hate the content that appears on the algorithm. Remember the 2000s & 2010s that era was all about random discovery finding some weird DIY video, a rant about literally anything or a skateboarding fail. It was genuine, messy and full of personality. Back in the 2000s and 2010s, YouTube was a wild west. Now, it’s all curated, polished, and sometimes just fake as hell. That randomness? Gone. We need that kinda vibe back. It wasn’t about perfection. Not the sanitized and algorithm-friendly stuff. We need those videos that make you feel like you’re just hanging out with your friends. We need to see real people, not just “influencers”. The raw, unfiltered stuff that’s what’s missing. Bring back the randomness I’m begging you, let creators do their thing without fear of algorithm backlash. The old YouTube days were all about that wild variety. Creators feel like they’re just throwing out the same recycled content. The authenticity that made YouTube special is going away. YouTube was built on creators sharing their passions, their weirdness, their stories. It’s time to bring that back—more authenticity, less corporate noise. when the "You" is front and center, creators can really do their own thing without getting lost in the algorithm. Bringing the "You" back also means giving everyone a voice, but with respect. We can protect the good vibes while still letting people speak their truth. It’s about finding that sweet spot where free expression and safety coexist. 

Humans NOT Robots! Mometization SUCKS 

AI can’t replicate that genuine human energy. We want creators who are just being themselves, not just feeding the machine. I’m worried with AI video creators blowing up it’s just gonna get a lot more worse. Comment sections, collabs, real talk remember that YouTube censorship is ridiculous. I can’t comment anything without it being removed, haven’t said anything bad or used any “bad” words but does YouTube care NO. How the hell can we be so selective in our words that we can’t even have a conversation? And who decided that censoring certain words? Comment sections are full of crazy bots spamming actual terrible hate crime and links to inappropriate stuff that doesn’t get banned meanwhile I’m going to get banned for saying “that’s insane”.

THE DIFFERENCE 

Videos used to be like this:

Peak YouTube content right here ^

W song L person 

No context. take notes

Now it’s videos like this:

No hate to Gacha. Gacha cringe GLMMs are cinematic masterpieces.

Conclusion: Remember When YouTube Was Like That? Back in the day, YouTube was a place of discovery, randomness and PURE passion. No algorithms telling you what to watch. It was a mixtape of everything. That’s the vibe we gotta bring back. Ditch the brain rot, skip the add, ignore the AI overload and start creating content that’s actually YouTube worthy. We gotta stop letting AI and corporate idiots drown out what made YouTube special. YouTube’s been through a lot, but it’s still got that core: people wanting to connect and share.  and make YouTube a place where YOU truly matter again. Maybe it’s just me but I SWEAR TO YOU, something shifted in the last few years. Back in the day, the content creators weren’t THIS desperate for attention, so the vibe was more authentic. Now, it feels like everyone’s just chasing clout and we’re all just watching them. Bring the YOU back to the Center. When we put the YOU back in the spotlight, it’s all about authenticity, diversity and real connections. Like, really YOU. Yes YOU. YOUR voice, YOUR content. That’s the energy we need to reclaim. Make YouTube great again. So yeah let’s bring the YOU back into YouTube. To be honest we y’all the Internet as a whole sucks more than ever. It’s about pushing back against the cookie cutter, mindless scroll and making space for the good stuff. Because honestly? YouTube’s best when it’s you…not some AI-generated clone (not referencing anyone). It’s kinda sad how it’s turning out. Hope it gets better but for now, yeah it’s kinda trash.

Sorry for repeating myself 100 times…my brain isn’t working and I’m tired.💔 

What do you watch content on YouTube or which YouTubers do you what?