Does anybody else just not watch videos when linked?

[Recursion]

I have to admit that's true of me. I haven't watched a political video in years, literally, other than live streams of speeches and debates.

I can't stand them. They're an awful way to make an argument. You can't take each part in sequence at your own pace, looking up things as you need. You have to go at the pace the director provides. The video can't (at least not easily) link to supporting documents.

I'm the same way with "training" or "educational" videos. Unfortunately my field (information technology) has been swarmed with them. I'm looking for a particular grammatical construct in a given programming language and the first five or six Google results are inevitably Youtube videos. Don't care. Won't click on them. Not how I learn programming languages.

Anybody else have that same dislike of videos as arguments?

[leftstreet]

1. +1

Maybe I'm getting too old

I want to read a story, not watch it.

Unless it's a 'funny cats' video or something...

[vanamonde]

2. Right there with ya, pal

I hate watching video when I can get the info I need in just a few paragraphs.

[Orrex]

3. On this, you and I agree

And it's a very rare YouTube-specific video that's worth more than 2.5 minutes. Not talking about music videos, film trailers or clips from films/tv; I mean videos produced specifically for airing on YouTube.

Yes, there are exceptions, but most of the high quality original work I've seen on YouTube has recognized that brevity remains the soul of wit.

[hunter]

4. Yes, yes, a very intense dislike.

Don't waste my time with a video, especially a long video expressing some political opinion that could easily be expressed in a few short written sentences.

[840high]

30. ....x10+

[monmouth4]

5. I am with you all on this...nt

[Hayduke Bomgarte]

6. Anybody else have that same dislike of videos as arguments?

I do. A captivating thread title accompanied by a video link, I just move on.

[arcane1]

31. Especially when there isn't even a synopsis of the video's content.

I hate that.

[kiva]

7. The only time I watch linked videos on DU

or any other site is when the visual are a compelling part of the story - a wave of water washing over the roadway or a visual tour of a cathedral, something like that. OK, I did watch how to peel potatoes with a drill and toilet bowl brush, but wouldn't anyone?

I read quickly and have no patience with verbal tics like "um" and "like", so it's faster, easier, and doesn't jangle my nerves to read rather than watch.

[Logical]

8. no nt

[ScreamingMeemie]

9. I hate it when I click on a news link, and it's a video.

I want to READ the story.

I am also the same way with step-by-step instructions. It's the reverse of "Don't tell me, show me." I'm perfectly happy with being told.

[petronius]

12. +1000. If I click to a video I immediately scroll down to find the text. If it

isn't there, I go elsewhere. I want to read the article, and then--if it's a story that benefits from illustration--I'll click on a focused, specific video of the event to see imagery. But I have little interest in watching the news be read to me.

And video links posted on DU without accompanying text almost never (99%+) get a click from me. Unless it's clearly a cat video or similar, and I'm in the mood for something cute...

[one_voice]

29. +1

[smirkymonkey]

52. Same here - drives me crazy! So many

news sights do this as well. Even the company I work at does it. It's maddening! At least now I know I'm not the only one. I thought I was unusual that way.

[Pathwalker]

10. I stopped clicking on any link when one crashed my laptop

My son fixed my laptop but advised me to not open any more links on DU. The poster who linked ti that malware was banned shortly after that.

[Nay]

11. I don't watch them, either. I don't even watch the debates. I just want to read

transcripts. I want to be able to go backwards and forwards by eye, reread, etc. I also hate the slowness of videos; I can get the gist of an argument in text much faster than suffering through verbal mishmash.

Training videos drive me crazy, too. Hate them. Give me a well-thought-out text on the subject.

Edited to add: I love cat videos, Russian dashcam videos, etc., because these sorts of videos are not verbal and cannot be verbal.

[tammywammy]

13. I rarely watch videos.

I also hate when people don't even post an excerpt and just a link. Worse when it is a link Like this so you have no clue what weird website they're directing you too.

I also hate the "OMG CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT SO AND SO SAID!?!??!!" About some crap they're watching on tv with absolutely no reference.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. I agree. I don't watch videos of speeches or news material;

I want to read that sort of thing. The only videos I watch are those that have primarily visual content that can't be conveyed in writing; something arty or funny. And I never click on a link to any video where the poster hasn't described what's in it.

[xynthee]

15. I thought I was the only one!

I skip any thread that doesn't have a transcript to go with the video and I won't even click on the video/multimedia threads.

[bhikkhu]

16. Me too...I like to read, and just skip videos

Even things like important speeches, state of the union and so forth, I do a search for a transcript.

[Lizzie Poppet]

19. I'm particularly insistent on text for political speeches.

I think I got into that habit trying to be objective about W. I wanted to avoid having his stumbling delivery and smirking mug ruin my objectivity about what he was actually saying. I wanted to be able to come to a fair conclusion (which was, of course, that he was talking shit...but that's not the point!).

[Lizzie Poppet]

17. I usually only watch linked videos in the Lounge.

Music videos, cat videos, fail videos, etc. Linked political videos? Never.

That carries over into my online news gathering, too: I look for text stories, not videos, when I'm looking for news. There are exceptions, such as when the story is about an incident for which there is live footage. But mostly I only look to online video for entertainment purposes.

[BainsBane]

18. Not often

I much prefer to read. I don't like noise.

[malthaussen]

20. Mostly not.

Some exceptions may apply if it is a particularly good video, or some form of entertainment. But as for news and opinion, I want to read and digest, not listen to some talking head bloviate, even when the talking head is someone I respect. I simply find speeches boring, not inspiring or valuable. Talk is cheap, and rhetoric is an art meant to appeal to the emotions, not the intellect.
And besides, I'm about totally deaf in my right ear, which means I have trouble hearing them anyway unless the volume is cranked up high.

-- Mal

[jberryhill]

21. Nope

Reading is much faster. Posting videos as some kind of argument strikes me as a statement of "you have nothing better to do with your time."

[TexasProgresive]

22. I never watch them and I wish they would post them in Video & Multimedia (Forum)

which I have trashed. It really pisses me off when they put them in GD.

[stevenleser]

23. This discussion strikes me as part of the reason Conservatives dominate political media.

At least part. Maybe closer to all.

[Recursion]

41. That's an interesting thought (nt)

[mike_c]

24. absolutely....

I can't stand them. I'm very choosey about video. Comes from decades without television, or at least from the same disdain for that sort of media, I suppose.

[REP]

25. I can read a transcript in less time than it takes to watch a video

Which is what I'd rather do. I don't know exactly why I dislike videos so much, but I do.

[tularetom]

26. If there's some text that accompanies/explains the video and it sounds interesting I might watch

Otherwise no.

[lpbk2713]

27. I have added many to my hosts file.

In the past I have found some links give as many as twenty or so cookies and three of four popups/unders and an unwanted audio/video pitch for something that has no connection at all to why the DU link was given. And any OP that gives no description of what is at the link other that "This is cool!" or "Total Fail" results in me backing out of that OP and going somewhere else before going any further. Usually I log off from DU and clean out my cookies and history, editing my hosts file before returning. Some times I have to wonder what is the motivation behind someone offering a link to a site that is a real PITA but that is another story.

[Old Codger]

28. ME

Never, if I open an OP and it has a video I next check to see if there is any text explaining the op without having to use the video, if not click on out of op

[DavidDvorkin]

32. I ignore videos

For all the reasons you gave, plus my poor hearing.

[Nye Bevan]

33. You will have a very different opinion if you watch THIS video:

[Bonx]

34. I never watch them for all the same reasons.

[HeiressofBickworth]

35. Couldn't, even if I wanted to

I have an old computer and, like a car, I don't need to know how to build one in order to drive one. I can read whatever website I want, I can send and receive emails, and I can post on DU, but whatever it is that makes videos play on a computer, I don't have.

So why not upgrade/change, or whatever it takes? A few reasons:
If it costs money, I can't spare. (Senior/Social Security income)
If it takes some computer knowledge to upgrade, I don't have it and son-in-law (computer career) doesn't help.
I have an old genealogy program that won't work on anything better than Windows 98.
A new genealogy program that would run on something better than Windows 98 costs money.
I have 15,174 individuals recorded on the existing program. I dread trying to transfer that much information to a new program, risking corruption of information or elimination of information, not to mention the amount of time I would take to check each and every fact that was transferred.

So, while I'm sure the videos posted on DU are informative and/or entertaining, I'll be sticking with my old computer setup until I finish my genealogy book.

[Mister Ed]

36. I'm with you. n/t

[GusBob]

37. Never, of any kind. If I can't read it I don't want it

If I wanted to watch I would pick up a remote

[egduj]

38. I'll only watch a video if there is a kitten in it.

[eppur_se_muova]

39. Waste of time and bandwidth. If it's not a music video of someone I *know* I like, or a cat ...

it's just not worth it.

I suppose if I saw the words "edited for length" prominently displayed, I might change my mind occasionally. I definitely don't need to watch someone talking to the camera when I can read several times faster than that, from text doc that's a few kb in size.

Honestly, I think the only people who watch the videos are the most passive learners.

[JI7]

40. i usually don't like them as educational/informational source

Edpecially if there is no text. I like to at least read sometHing first and then i will watch if i think it would help.

[Codeine]

42. I prefer to read. It's much faster

and I'm not irritated by poor delivery or stupid voices.

I'm amazed by what people link to; people actually sat on their dead asses and watched a 20 minute video of some random woman ranting about polling techniques? You could have read that shit in 30 seconds!

[Liberal_in_LA]

43. Sometimes I watch, depends on my mood. Other times, can't be bothered

[bravenak]

44. I do not watch them.

I also learn languages best by using them. Videos cannot help me with any of them; spanish, german, french, c++, or even java, js, i hate the videos. Hate them. I will buy a book and get to highlighting rather than have somebody teach me the bare minimum in a weird way. Ok. Sometime the german videos help. I won't lie. French too.

[Recursion]

45. Foreign languages are about the only thing I find them useful for

And only if they're short, like pronouncing a vocab list correctly, or a phrasebook style conversation. Definitely helped with Hindi.

[bravenak]

46. Exactly. Only for pronunciation.

I usually go through a grammar tree and then a short course along with textbooks for elementary and intermediate, then pick a good book and a dictionary on my kindle and work my way through it. Working my way through the last book of Dances With Dragons backed up by a German dictionary. Helps because they put so much complicated vocab and sentence structure in those book; reading Der Speigel is easy in comparison.

[Recursion]

51. My favorite new language learning technique: Twitter

I've followed the twitter feeds of a bunch of French, Swahili, Arabic, and Hindi newspapers. It's a bunch of very simple sentences, and Twitter will translate it for you if necessary.

[Judi Lynn]

47. I'm sure many take time to watch when they are posted by someone they respect and value.

Since a lot of us are stretched for time, sometimes it's not possible to see the videos immediately, but we come back later to study them when we think well of the people who chose to share them.

[ladyVet]

48. I dislike watching videos.

My old computer will barely show some of them (Vimeo is a no-go, as is U Stream), and I get so frustrated because something I could pick up in two minutes by reading a short article takes twenty minutes or more of fumbling, mumbling, rambling nonsense.

Crafts are really horrible for this. I tried to watch one about making something for dolls, and it took the woman five minutes to even get to the tutorial. Between her kids causing a fuss, her stumbling around looking for the shit she needed to make the damned thing, and her rambling convo about something I don't even think was real, I just ended up clicking off. I'll figure it out myself, thank you.

Another thing I hate? Those sites where you have to click and click and click to read what should be a short article. Good grief.

[MH1]

49. You may have read my mind.

I was thinking this morning of making a post like this but I couldn't think how to word it.

I detest the infatuation with posting videos instead of text.

[kwassa]

50. This is why I prefer print journalism to tv news ....

the only exception being certain live events that convey better visually. Sometimes pictures are worth ten thousand words.

But usually not.