Youtube changed their advertising rules such that videos of less than 10 minutes didn't get ads so everyone padded their videos to be at least 10 minutes long.
They also prioritize watch time as a metric (and a payout stream for Youtube Red)
Agree. If a video on how to tighten a bolt or change gas in a mower is 36 mins long then that's a total waste. I don't want to hear somebody's rambling life story if I'm trying to directly find info. Short and sharp videos get more view from me. I agree also that Twitch is a waste of time. Never understood the utility of watching somebody doing some task.
There was a point a few years ago where there was this sudden shift to longer videos on YouTube. I think part of it was greater engagement is seen on such videos, leading to more ad time. As a result though, the actual quality of the content is down but I would say the “showmanship” is up. In a longer video, you have to be good at delivery and keeping people interested, so it starts to favor entertaining speakers. So now people watch videos for a large part because they want to “hang out” with the presenter. Also, Twitch is essentially just hanging out with someone. Anyway, now I’m just rambling like an old man.