Ask Lemmy

I really do not like video as a medium for things that could be written. I don't really care for "wow look at this wacky thing that happened". I really dislike videos that are just someone talking at the camera. (Standup comedy gets a pass, but that's also not something I watch much)

So I'm probably not watching most videos.

If I didn’t ask to be sent a video, I will almost certainly not watch a video of any length.

Considering its only moderately interesting and is not of any particular intrest to me, the maximum I would spend is like a minute.

Honestly, my answer is zero. It's a rare day when I click on one.

I particularly dislike talking videos. I would always prefer to read instead of hearing someone talk.

5/10 interestingness gets 0 seconds of watch time for me, there's just too much quality content produced in my topics of interest every day for me to keep up with. I already have to miss some 7/10 projects just because there's only so much free time in a day.

Regarding the time question, for something that barely crosses the "okay I'll watch it" threshold, 10-15 minutes is probably what I'll give it. It can be longer than that, I'll just skip through parts of the video for the gist to decide if I want to give it more time.

Worth noting though, that for extremely interesting content, a 15 minute duration actually dissuades me from watching it, as I doubt there's enough time to cover much of anything at a decent level in that little an amount of time. So like, for a neat history vid on a topic I'd like to hear more about, if it's 30 minutes or less then I'm less likely to give it a chance, unless it's covering something super narrow where there wouldn't be as much to talk about. But if you're going to cover a major historical event, you better be at least a half hour. There are some exceptions to this, Indy Nidell(sp?) is a good example, but it's my general rule.

Length of video doesn't factor into whether I watch it at all. If I decide to watch the video, I'll either watch the whole thing, stop halfway, or just skip forwards to various points depending on how well it caught my interest.

What determines if I open it at all has more to do with who sent it to me, why they sent it to me, and what the title/thumbnail looks like.

The who: I don't bother clicking on videos from most people. Usually I'm away from my pc at the time and don't have headphones in so I really can't be bothered. There are a couple of friends that have very consistently sent me hilarious or fascinating content though, and I will either watch those right away or save it to a watchlist for later. This is a very short and exclusive list.

The why: Context matters. I generally don't bother watching videos that get sent to me without any sort of explanation - if it's nothing but a link, it might as well be nothing. If the person sending it can't even think of an emote or a couple of words to add to it, it's probably not worth watching. In contrast, sometimes friends will send me a video to get my opinion on something, or to share their current special interest, or because it's something they've made themselves. Those, I will always watch regardless of length. If my close friends are invested in it, I am too to some extent.

The what: If the video has a clickbait title/thumbnail, I'm not clicking it no matter how interesting it sounds.

I most cases, the decision is made long before I even notice the length of the video

5 minutes usually.. If its longer i tend to have it in the background and not really listen.

And if its a random video i wont watch the entire thing, I will stop watching it if its not interesting in the first 20 seconds. The 5 minute thing is for my own subs.

For a random moderately interesting subject, I'd rather read a blog post.

Depends on where it links to (e.g. it's a tiktok-link, vs. a video they directly uploaded into the chat), what the thumbnail looks like (if any), how much I like that person, and how interesting their previous links (if any) were. Also, if it's something they recorded themselves.

If it’s only 5/10, I probably wouldn’t watch it. Maybe I’d do a few seconds to a minute. My friends pass around mid meme videos all the time and I barely watch any. If i’m not sober however, then probably like 5 mins.

Any length.. As long as its content related..

Why 15/20 rambling minutes of banality to describe something that needs 2 minutes. I don't care about you, your fucked up goofy smile, a cross fade to your dog doing stupid shit, banal commentwry on the state of the world etc while you are there to show me how to wire an electric plug.

Random friend, a minute. Random person on the Internet, 10 seconds.

About 5 seconds. Give me an article instead.

I don't open any email attachments of any kind unless they are critically important and the sender has spoken to me about them in advance.

Surfing videos, on YouTube for example, I might casually look at a video up to about 10 minutes long. I only look at longer ones if I sought out the specific video.

There are SO many variables at play here, I have no idea how to answer this. What am I currently doing, where am I, what time is it, did I just wake up, have I had my meds, have I eaten, was the food good, am I bored, am I waiting for an appointment, what is the appointment, is the video mildly interesting because it's about a thing I like or because I like the other person, are they waiting for my reaction, how urgent is it.........

How long I'm willing to watch depends more on the video than on who sent it. If it's too long to watch right then but still interesting I might save it for later.

After reading the title I was going to say it depends on how interesting it was but after reading the body it depends on a combination of how much time I have and how bored I am.

Less the length, more the subject, source, and why are they sending it to me.

A video that explains a concept my friend has been trying to tell me about, or it's about a shared interest, I'll find the time to go through it.

A video that "seems neat, what a concept" better be shorter than 2 minutes.

A video from a news source "thought you should see this" not watching it and no response from me on that.

Depends on the sender, so a couple friends stuff is worth watching to the end but some of them send stuff that I will actively ignore or give it about 10 seconds to decide if I'm going to watch the whole thing. The difference is that the first groyp sends stuff that has payoff even if it might appear first because it is mocking something and the second group just sends whatever they liked a few seconds of but it isn't worth sticking out if the opening annoys me.

For videos in general it all comes down to topic and presentation. I will watch hours of 40k info dumps from one particular person because their presentation is engaging. There is a writing advice guy I watch because he gets to the point. I love Pitch Meetings because the humor works even when it is repetitive and the thumbnails are bait but it took someone I trusted to watch enough to get it.

So it varies widely, but when sent by someone it really depends on who sends it and what it is.

If we are in a voice call I will never watch anything anyone sends to me immediately because they are going to continue talking over it anyway.

If the video is something I am genuinely interested in I will watch it regardless of length, otherwise 5 to 7 minutes is my max range.

I watched Big Joel's review of every Disney Channel movie last Christmas Day, while my partner was at work and I was defrosting the turkey. So... at least 6 hours.

I also watched this four-hour video on the fall of Doctor Who, and hbomberguy's nearly-four-hour plagiarism video.

I have ADHD and can't stand to sit in silence, though, so long videos don't really phase me. 😄

How long a stretch I watch depends on my bladder. If the video is interesting, it doesn't matter how long it is. I do want to know what the subject matter is before hitting play.

Greater than 4 hours is usually too much. I have only watched maybe 1 or 2 four hours videos in the last few years

Anything if it is interesting to me. If they're more than an hour then i might need to save it to a watch later list but the duration alone isn't going to be a "nope"

1,5 minutes. Then I fall asleep.

Depends a lot on the topic. Everything from 30 seconds to hours. I like long form videos for when I'm travelling.

Do not send me video. With the exception of my friend who was in a video for his favorite band, I have not watched any videos sent by anyone, I will read the transcript maybe but don't like videos on the phone at all.

I ignore videos people send to me. Back in like 2007 or something a friend discovered Youtube and sent me links for every video they enjoyed. Which would add up to hours a day. So now my policy is just to ignore. Especially crap from the socials that make you sign up/in.

Meanwhile, I'll watch video essays from creators I respect that last 1-4 hours.

If it's my wife or oldest child: 90 seconds

My other children: 90 seconds if it's a selfie or of our cats, otherwise nope

Anyone else: Does not matter, will not watch

Like five to fifteen seconds. Anything more than a minute is homework.

If it's super interesting and I've asked for a video they recommend, it can be if any length though.

Edit: someone else mentioned self-made videos, those I will watch fully if sent by someone I care about, regardless of topic or quality.

I'll give it up to a minute. If it catches my attention, I'll keep it going.

45 seconds maybe? Depends on what it is

I like my videos to be at least 20 minutes long and in the background

5-10 minutes or so, assuming you mean it's about some point they're trying to make in a discussion.

If I have to watch it as soon as I receive it, no matter how interesting it is, I wouldn't watch anything longer than a minute and a half.

If you give me time to choose when to watch it, I can easily watch something up to 5 hours long. Back to back.

Don’t really care about the length of the video when I get it. If it’s interesting, I’ll keep watching.

Two minutes tops.

If it's something I'm not especially interested in myself, then I'd say about 5 to 10 minutes.

If it's only mildly interesting based on a "watch it right this second or never again"? Maybe 5 minutes, max. If it doesn't capture my interest by minute 5, and I can't find a summary anywhere (NOT "pOwErEd bY AI")

Is it a video about prehistoric humans, their civilizations, a lore video on one of my favorite franchises, or a nature documentary? The current record is 6 hours and 38 minutes.