1 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: YouTube's new tools to help you keep tabs on how 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 1: much you watch. 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:11,160 Speaker 2: What's going on. I'm rich Demiro. This is Rich on tech. 4 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:14,200 Speaker 1: YouTube is introducing some new ways to help you stay 5 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:16,599 Speaker 1: on a good digital diet. This is part of a 6 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:19,680 Speaker 1: bigger trend we're seeing around digital wellness from big companies 7 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: including Google, Facebook, Apple, and more. Now YouTube's new tools 8 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: are in the mobile app. To get to them, just 9 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: open the app and then tap your profile picture. Usually 10 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: it's in the upper right hand corner. Then look for 11 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:33,519 Speaker 1: the new section labeled time watched. 12 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 2: Once you open this up, you can immediately see your 13 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:38,560 Speaker 2: viewing stats. You can see how much time you spent 14 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 2: watching today, yesterday, the past week, or your daily average. 15 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:44,879 Speaker 1: This can be a handyway for parents to check in 16 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 1: on their kids to see how much YouTube they're really 17 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: watching on a daily basis, But as a regular person, 18 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: you can also just see for yourself. 19 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 2: Am I watching too much YouTube? 20 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: That I watch more or less than I thought over 21 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: the past couple of weeks. Down below this information are 22 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: some tools to help you manage your YouTube time, including 23 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: an option to remind you to take a break. You 24 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:05,960 Speaker 1: can set this frequency as you like, whether it's every 25 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,040 Speaker 1: fifteen minutes every hour, or really whatever you want. Once 26 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: you hit this time limit, you're gonna get a friendly 27 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,440 Speaker 1: screen telling you to take a break. And yes, you 28 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:15,760 Speaker 1: might be thinking yourself, Hey, rich this was already in 29 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: my app before. 30 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 2: Yes, you're right. 31 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 1: This is a relatively new feature, but it has been 32 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: in the app for a little bit of time. But 33 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,640 Speaker 1: now it's all under this new section labeled time watched. 34 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: Underneath the option to remind you to take a break 35 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: is a toggle to turn auto play off. AutoPlay is 36 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 1: one of the ways that YouTube gets us to watch 37 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: and watch and watch, So if you have this problem 38 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: where you keep watching you're spending too much mindless time 39 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,119 Speaker 1: on the site, it's probably a good idea to turn 40 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: this off. And if you have kids that are watching YouTube, 41 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: like I talked about in a couple of episodes ago, 42 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 1: it's a good idea to turn off auto play because 43 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: you never know if that next video is going to 44 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: be appropriate for them. After this, the next two toggles 45 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: are very useful. The first is called Scheduled Digest. This 46 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 1: bundles all of your new subscription, video alerts and other 47 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: YouTube notifications to one giant notification at a specific time 48 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: now I definitely see the pros and cons of this one. 49 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: As a creator, you don't really want people turning this 50 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:10,799 Speaker 1: on because they're not going to be immediately notified when 51 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,360 Speaker 1: your next video drops. Plus, if your video notification is 52 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: bundled in with a bunch of other people's video notifications, 53 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: there's a. 54 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:19,800 Speaker 2: Good chance that your video won't be watched. 55 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:21,760 Speaker 1: Now, on the flip side, you do get to pick 56 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:24,959 Speaker 1: the delivery time for your digest notification, so that means 57 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: you can choose a time when you know you're sitting 58 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: around or you know you're gonna have some free time 59 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:31,680 Speaker 1: each day to catch up on your video subscription. So 60 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: for me personally, I get these little notifications from some 61 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 1: of the creators. I've turned on that bell for throughout 62 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: the day and I'm at work, I'm busy, and guess what, 63 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: I just swipe them away. Now, if I knew it, 64 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:43,959 Speaker 1: let's say three PM, when I was sitting in front 65 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:45,799 Speaker 1: of my TV, I was able to watch some of 66 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: these things and had some time, then perhaps I would 67 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: be more app to watching these videos. So it's definitely 68 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:53,119 Speaker 1: a pro and con to that one. You can turn 69 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:55,640 Speaker 1: it on if you find it useful. The final setting 70 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: is sort of a do not disturb, but just for YouTube. 71 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: You can silence notification during a timeframe that you specify. 72 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:04,279 Speaker 2: So if you don't want YouTube. 73 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: Nagging you while you're at work, you can set those 74 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: as your silent hours. Now, keep in mind this feature 75 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: might overlap with your standard do not disturb setting, so 76 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: keep that in mind when you're setting it up. 77 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 2: But realistically it doesn't matter. 78 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: It's just for the app. You can set it as 79 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: you like. So why the big emphasis on digital wellness 80 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: right now? Well, it just seems like we're spending a 81 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 1: lot of time on our phones and if we let 82 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: every single app notify us every single time they want 83 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 1: our attention, we'll think about it. We won't have any 84 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: time in our days for anything else. And already we 85 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: notice this happening. Controls like this are letting us take 86 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: back the digital rains. And on that note, I've been 87 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 1: testing Google's new digital well Being feature in Android nine PI, 88 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: and it's really interesting because there's a lot of aspects 89 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: of this that I like. Because these phones are new, 90 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: all these notifications are new, we're still figuring out how 91 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: to deal with them in our everyday lives. So, for instance, 92 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: the do not Disturb feature in Pie literally takes away 93 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: any notifications on my screen while I'm sleeping. 94 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 2: Or if I'm out at night and I have it 95 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 2: turned on. 96 00:03:57,440 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: And the neat thing about these notifications is when they're 97 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: out of sight, they're out of mind. You're not even 98 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:03,080 Speaker 1: thinking to check them if you don't see them on 99 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: your screen personally. I've also set thirty minute timers on 100 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: all of my social media apps, so I get thirty 101 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: minutes to use Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter each day, and 102 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: you can set that number to whatever you want. I 103 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: just pick thirty. It was kind of arbitrary just to 104 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: see what it was, and I've been hitting my limit 105 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: mostly in the early evening, maybe five six o'clock, and 106 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:22,719 Speaker 1: it's kind of liberating because that's the time I spend 107 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: out my kids. And once that happens, the app, like 108 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: my Twitter icon, is literally grade out and I cannot 109 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:31,040 Speaker 1: use it. I can't open it, I can't see any 110 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 1: notifications from it until the next day. And sure I 111 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:37,040 Speaker 1: can probably override the time out somehow by going into 112 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:39,360 Speaker 1: the settings, but so far I haven't. I haven't even 113 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 1: felt the need to. You just sort of forget about 114 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 1: checking the app again. Until the morning when it's not 115 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: great out anymore, and you can use it again. So 116 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: I think that this is actually serving its purpose. The 117 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: other side effect is that I don't want to waste 118 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 1: time in these apps because I know that every minute 119 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,039 Speaker 1: spent inside of them is precious and I might need 120 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:57,280 Speaker 1: that time later on in the day to share something 121 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: or to comment on something, or do whatever inside Facebook, 122 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: Twitter or Instagram. Now for me, this is a little 123 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: bit complicated because part of my job relies on social media, 124 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: so I'm still figuring out. 125 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 2: That and how to navigate that properly. 126 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: But the bottom line is, Look, we're all spending wasted 127 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:13,359 Speaker 1: time inside these apps, so I'm sure we can all 128 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:15,480 Speaker 1: trim it just a little bit. Apple's also going to 129 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: introduce a similar feature in the next version of their 130 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:19,640 Speaker 1: operating system iOS twelve. 131 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:21,000 Speaker 2: Which is going to launch in a few weeks. 132 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: And although all these limits seem counterintuitive to the businesses 133 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: that these tech companies have built, which are basically based 134 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,280 Speaker 1: on grabbing our attention, in the end, they're seeing this 135 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: self regulation as a good first step. 136 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:33,760 Speaker 2: Thanks so much for listening. 137 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: If you want links to more information on these YouTube 138 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 1: controls or digital wellbeing in general. 139 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:39,359 Speaker 2: Go to my website. 140 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:42,920 Speaker 1: It's Rich on tech dot TV, or check the show notes. 141 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:45,279 Speaker 2: I'm Rich Damiro. I'll talk to you real soon.