YouTube Certified!
If you’re like me, you spend a good deal of time on YouTube searching for answers to questions, solutions to problems, or tutorials on how to do something.
I have crossed the abyss into home improvement, electrical work, car repair, and computer science, all thanks to the wonder of YouTube and its legion of loudmouths, know-it-alls, and subject matter experts.
Sometimes, it’s straightforward. How do I change out the hood lamp bulbs on a Lexus from Halogen to LED? What’s the easiest way to clear a clogged drain? Sure, there may be differences of opinion, but all of them are following the same basic roadmap.
There have been no end of time-saving tips and tricks. One of my favorites involves cleaning out a clogged dishwasher drain. There is usually a vent on your kitchen sink top that can be accessed. Once opened, you slide a full roll of kitchen towel over it, place your mouth over the end, create a seal with pressure, and blow!
The foul-smelling, putrid gunk that sprays out into the disposal drain is both stomach-churning and strangely satisfying. You will need to be prepared to wash that congealed death down the sink drain before the smell permeates the entire house.
In the end, you finish your little home project with a sense of accomplishment and pride. You feel like you can add that to your tool bag, so to speak. You will then find unique ways to tell the world about your success and offer your expertise on the subject like a haggard war veteran who has returned from the front lines with the top secret plans to overtake the reinforced concrete gun turret where snipers and spotters lie in wait.
However, there are other problems that YouTube has become a lightning rod for. General well-being or health-related problems. Here is where it gets tricky…
If, for example, you have a shoulder injury. Let’s say, shoulder pain not caused by a traumatic injury. For people like me, this could occur from sneezing too hard or turning over in bed.
The first stop will be YouTube. You will ask for diagnostic information. What kind of shoulder injury do I have? A frozen shoulder, an impingement, perhaps a rotator cuff tear. Maybe it’s bursitis.
What follows are a number of self-tests. You are asked to move your arm and shoulder in different ways to reproduce the pain, generate a clicking or a grinding noise, or determine the range of motion. If only the tests revealed a singular culprit. Rarely, if ever, do you determine the exact cause. In fact, you test positive for two or three of the injuries on the list.
Now what do you do? Call a doctor like a normal person? No, sir. We are miles away from that.
Assuming you identify the exact injury type, your next stop is treatment. These recommendations may overlap, or they won’t. One physical therapy expert will say, “You need to keep the arm in a sling and rest the shoulder.” Great, that’s easy enough. Another expert will have a video with a thumbnail that reads, “Whatever you do, do not rest your shoulder injury!” Or “Why your arm sling is making your problem worse!”
In your case, your injury or concern may be different, but the cold, hard truth is, YouTube experts will confidently offer advice that is diametrically opposed to one another. None of them will say, “Try a range of ideas and see what works.” No, they are the one true god to follow, and god help you if you go somewhere else.
The end result of this leaves you frozen, unable to decide in fear of hurting yourself further or making your pain worse.
Do you call the doctor now? No, dear reader, no. Now is the time for worrying about your problem and cursing the sky father for putting you in this situation.
At some point, the injury disappears on its own or becomes less over time, so you never really have it treated, and it never really goes away.
Having said all that, I wouldn’t trade YouTube for anything. I use it constantly for help with various issues and problems. I guess I just live with the fact that the source of the information might be, at best, in love with the sound of their own voice, and at worst, completely insane. We deal in extremes here. There’s no room for nuance.