To say that reactions to YouTube Red were mixedwould be generous.
On the one hand, its a pretty awesome service on its own.
On the other hand, yourepayingforYouTube.
If youre really annoyed with ads, you canjust use AdBlock, right?
Well, technically, yes.
Instead, I usually roll my eyes, maybe let out an exasperated grunt, and then click Skip.
If its really bad, Ill pick up my phone and check Twitter for a second.
That gave me a bit of a wake up call.
You see, ads dont just show up on your gear.
When I watch a YouTube video on my phone?
Watching a music video onwhatever DJ site isnt dead yet?
However, my YouTube life is nowentirelyad free.
Paying for an ad-free service isjust nicerthan blocking ads.
Previously, Id had the normal $8/month plan, so I was now paying $12/month.
A $4 increase is a pittance to get rid of Hulus constant, repetitive, and irrelevant commercials.
It was at this point that I almost completely forgot ads exist.
Netflix, Plex, Hulu, and YouTube are my main sources of video entertainment.
This is the life.
More importantly, its not much different from what my life was like before.
I was already paying for a Play Music subscription and regular Hulu.
That may not be the case for everyone, but I appreciate having the option.
As a consumer, I havechoice.
Now I want this option everywhere.
However, theres another angle here: people who make stuff you like need to get paid.
Ad blocking is a bit of a murky ethical area because ads can be intrusive andeven invasive.
Even though lots of content creators rely on ads to get paid (that includes us at Lifehacker!
), you cant just say that blocking ads is universally bad.
Content creators have to make money somehow.
This is why ads get so obnoxious to begin with.
A paid, ad-free option is a truce between creator and consumer.
Its a white flag that says Look, I know ads suck.
In a weird way, theyre the best possible option in a world that demands endless free content.
Its one thing to block mandatory ads that make a service unusable, or to protect your privacy.
For the larger web, this issue is likely to stay complex for a long time.
Wed certainly never say that using an ad blocker is 100% bad.
Otherwise the internet could get a lot worse.
This trend towards paid modelsisnt going anywhere.
Apple made it easy to createmobile ad blockerson the iPhone, and regular ad blockers arejust getting better.
Thats how companies like Twitter could become publicly traded on the stock marketwithout ever actually making a profit.
But it does mean YouTube didnt really have much choice but to start making its own money.
Some creators might offer reasonable solutions like charging for additional features orrunning Patreons.
Wemight not be glad that we did.
Theres some good news, though.
As it turns out, there are plenty of people who are willing to pitch in.
Of course, paying to remove ads isnt going to work for everyone.
Broadly speaking, though, it may be time to rethink how we approach paying for stuff online.
Ultimately, this deal is better than some of the alternatives we already have to deal with.
It sucks when youre getting something for free and it either gets worse with ads or starts charging money.
The knee-jerk reaction of getting angry or indignant is totally normal.
Illustration by Sam Wooley.
