Ahh I got you. That's sad, means people are being taken advantage of more than I realised.
For me, I feel quite balanced, so i watch to try to learn something or for a little escapism, such as see a new country or product. I don't get conned into their trying to take advantage of me, in many ways I feel I'm taking advantage of them. I have ad block and I use hook tube. So they don't even get a view from me. But I get to experience something new. About 4 years ago I found a way to get youtuber ebooks free, so I did and they were utter tat. I love buying leather bound vintage books that are classics, and they aren't cheap so I save up and to me that is worthwhile. I'm so glad I didn't buy any of these yt books. I could not finish any of them.
Ofc if it's a genuine youtuber, I watch for real and click an ad if they're fab.
But now I feel awful for all those fans who, in finding a connection with a youtuber feel some kind of validation. And possibly enormous pressure to cave in and buy all the merch to feel validated. That's so sad.
![Crying :cry: :cry:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Especially as the yt'ers make it quite clear in their every action that they don't care about the fans. Quite the opposite. The fans are just little cash cows. Makes me sad.