Videos in place of text - is it just me!

[homelessvoter]

Is it because I’m in my 40s and not a millennial or whatever- that I just switch off whenever someone puts key information into a bloody video? Instead of continuing the article in written form? …

eg) start off reading an interesting article - watch the rest on a video. Nope - cba

or - FAQs on managing my account / subscription - goes to video. I just never watch. It seems too much of a hassle! I delete the subscription sometimes to save watching it.

or - learning new module at work. Half of its in a video format with someone I don’t know yapping away. I find it really off-putting.

i can’t help but switch off. I find watching videos really uncomfortable. Not sure why! Why is so much content now in video form? Is it just for the sake of improving the website rankings - or do people genuinely want to watch rather than to read?

I know my children do - but do people in their 30s and 40s actually watch all these videos?

Totally agreed. I was trying to help my son with his maths homework last night, I couldn’t remember how to do the topic and I was trying to work it out from the video they provided. Absolute nightmare, had to keep pausing and flipping back to the question to work through each part. Would have taken a fraction of the time using a written example.

Gen z here. Depends on the information. If it's a how to fix your washing machine then I appreciate a YouTube video. If it's passing on info then it needs to be text or I won't click on it.

I want to read too. The only exception to that is fitness videos, it's much easier to watch someone doing a move than follow written instructions.

And sometimes a video is easier to follow if you are trying to work out how to do something like change a tyre.

I don't like podcasts either.

Ugh. Online training, Estimated Duration: 55 minutes.

Actual duration - once I've clicked through the irritating video/animation where somebody reads out the pretend script at the slowest pace known to humankind with appalling audio quality, often with crappy background music to interfere with hearing it, the so fucking slow click here, click there, click every fucking where for a phrase or word to sloooooowwly appear like some throwback to Powerpoint Word Art and gone straight to the bit at the end - 3 minutes 37 seconds.

The worst are the ones that do not have a transcript (because d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing people don't exist in the workplace, and it's never a workplace where there are other people getting on with their jobs and talking as you're trying to resist the impulse to hoy the computer out of the bloody window, clearly) AND lack the facility to click through at the speed of light - so you have no choice but to sit through the entire thing, taking in absolutely nothing.

Worth noting that - like podcasts - you can watch at 2x speed.

I don't like videos either. There a place for them eg if the skill is something practical that you need to actually see someone do it. But otherwise no thanks. Takes too long and usually way too much waffle. I don't have the patience and I'll drift off. Plus I like to have something to easily refer back to.

There should always be a transcription so if there isn't one I'd challenge that. No transcription means it won't be accessible to some disabled people.