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Why I Stopped Watching YouTube Tutorials

Grant Ralls on April 19, 2019

TLDR: It's not that long but OK. I got tired of outdated information. Also, searching through docs is faster for me than watching a video. ...
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Basti Ortiz

Goes to show that reading (and writing) documentation is indeed one of the most important skills a developer can learn. Thanks for sharing.

Personally, I use YouTube as my primary source of learning material because I easily lose all of my attention when reading anything. I know it might not be the most efficient learning pattern, but it works. Reading feels too much like a chore for me, whereas watching YouTube videos caters for my short attention span (for reading) and my need for education and entertainment.

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Grant Ralls

That brings an interesting thought to the table. When I was thinking about what point I wanted to get across for this, I was thinking about efficiency. I did not think about learning styles. Now I feel it's more of a balance. Part way efficiency, part way what's best for your learning style, and choosing a resource that fits in the middle. Do you agree? (Thank you so much for your kind and thought provoking comment! I love conversations like this!)

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Basti Ortiz

No problem, my friend. I enjoy these kinds of conversations as well.

Yes, I definitely agree with that sentiment. This reminds me of why some education systems in the world are inefficient. The fact that everything is paced and standardized makes it really difficult for some students to keep up. Not everyone learns in the same way, thus self-paced and personalized learning is always the best move forward.

Unfortunately, we just don't have the luxury of time for that. At the end of the day, a school year is a school year. There are schedules and deadlines to be met just like in the "real world".

As programmers and lifetime devotees of learning, this issue becomes more relevant than ever. Just like students, we have to meet our own deadlines. It's either we learn efficiently (and fast) or effectively (but slow). We have to compromise between them to make the most out of our time. And that is the true dilemma.

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Grant Ralls

Absolutely!

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Grant Ralls

Resources and time needed to update isn't something I thought off! Great point! I also agree with @somedood saying that as developers we need to be comfortable with reading docs. The most basic "docs" being code comments.

@"internet speed is quite slow"

Oh no! My main form of entertainment is YouTube and online games. What is yours with slow internet?

 
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Grant Ralls

Aw man, is it just a bad area for internet?

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Grant Ralls

Very true, I think I mentioned in a draft version of this is that I feel YouTube is most helpful when I need a quick, broad overview of a topic. But then becomes a crapshoot of hit or miss when someone starts to desire the details. (Thanks for the comment I really appreciate it :D )

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deji adesoga

I get bored and easily distracted reading through the Documentation most of the time. This is something I hope to improve upon over time. A major percentage of my learning is through watching videos.

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Grant Ralls

That was me for a long time. I think what helped me get better at reading docs with my full attention was reading more books and articles. I started on Medium, I found dev.to a year or two ago and didn't think much of it. Now here I am back again! (Thanks for your comment. It means a lot to me for people to see what I have to say and have something to add to the conversation! :D )

 
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Grant Ralls

no biggie!

 
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Grant Ralls

Wow, the Philippines! That's pretty cool! What's something that's the norm in the Philippines that you don't hear of happening in other countries that you enjoy?

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Joe Zack

I'm with you, I prefer videos and books for concepts and docs/blogs for specifics.

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Grant Ralls

Yep, I wonder if it's cause my brain can't handle trying to get the overall concept AND the details at the same time! (Thanks for the comment by the way :D )