Why do you put up with ads?

It's completely within your control to stop them.

My perceived costs/benefits for YouTube content don’t make sense.

If you can share the family plan and use Google Play Music, it's a pretty good deal. I couldn't care less for Youtube Red, however. Just the ad-free experience is good enough for me.

There is zero cost associated with ad blockers, and they will significantly improve your entire web experience.

uBlock is free :).

Youtube Premium is my fav thing I pay for because of this.

I've you've used that for a while, Youtube has recently gotten absolutely ridiculous with ads. I canceled my Premium/Red 6 months ago and I'm about ready to go back. I'll get ads every 2-3 minutes. I'd say it's been 3-4 months of this. I don't even want any of the other features, or Google (Play?) Music or anything. I just want fewer ads.

Google simply can't afford to be seen losing money on Youtube anymore - and the real economics of the situation are finally here. Easy money for producers is gone, and so is good ad-free content for viewers.