The Hidden Cost of YouTube

My Biggest Regret

Not long ago, a friend and I were talking about regret. He asked me what I had regretted most in my life. I told him, with absolutely zero hesitation, that it was the time I spent on YouTube.

From the age of about 14 to 20 I spent at least 3 hours a day on the video-sharing platform. Some days more, others less. But 3 hours a day is a conservative average.

Me, being the nerd I am, wanted to know just how much time I spent on YouTube in that 6-year span.

6,570 hours.

This is equivalent to 273 days and 18.75% of my waking hours in that 6-year period.

Did I get much in return for giving those 273 days away? Not really.

Was it enjoyable at least? Barely.

Do I wish I had allocated my time in a different manner? Absolutely.

The Real Cost of YouTube

Recently, I pondered about what other things I could have done with that time.

I realized that at my reading speed ( which isn’t very fast) I could have read 438 books.

If I had decided to work even a minimum wage job paying 13$/hour with that time, I would have had $85,000 more dollars than I do right now.

I could have also spent that time doing other activities I enjoy like playing basketball, spending time with my friends, working out, swimming or even writing during that time.

YouTube isn’t free. It costs you precious hours of your life which you will never get back, ever.

Be as stingy with your time as you are with your money.

You don’t spend massive amounts of your money on things that don’t add genuine value to your life. So why are you doing it with your time, a resource you will never get back whose worth is far superior to that of gold.

Seneca said it best.

You will find no one willing to share out his money; but to how many does each of us divide up his life! People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy. — Seneca