Why the answer always takes eight minutes
(updated July 2026)
When I look for a tutorial, I generally want the answer right away. Not after an intro, a channel presentation, three anecdotes, and a request to subscribe before even understanding if the video is useful.
My dream would be simple: thirty-second videos that precisely answer a question.
But platforms don't necessarily want to give us the answer that quickly.
YouTube measures the time spent watching a video and, more broadly, the time spent on the platform. A video that holds attention for a long time may be recommended more than a short answer that is closed after twenty seconds.
This doesn't mean that all long videos are artificially inflated. Some subjects require time. The problem starts when duration becomes an objective in itself.
A question that could receive an answer in one minute becomes an eight-minute video. The information is still there, but it is surrounded by enough material to keep the viewer for a few more moments.
The platform therefore does not necessarily reward the best answer. It also rewards the ability to delay the moment the user leaves.
This is where YouTube resembles television much more than one would admit at the time. We have more choices, thousands of channels and infinitely more precise subjects. But the model remains built around our attention, because this attention can be turned into advertising, subscriptions, or data.
Since then, the phenomenon has spread. Short videos have taken up a huge place, but they don't necessarily save us time. They reduce every piece of content to a few seconds while organizing an infinite sequence in which it becomes difficult to stop.
The long video delays the answer. The short feed delays the exit.
In both cases, the goal is not just to show us something interesting. It is also to avoid us closing the application.
In 2017, I mostly complained about unnecessary intros and overly long tutorials. The problem seems a bit broader to me today.
We ask for information. The platform, on the other hand, is mainly looking to know how long it can keep our attention before giving it to us.