Should You Start a YouTube Channel? The Dark Reality
Life Notes
In art and in life, desperation only brings stress. Trust the process, keep going, and leave the rest to God. Hard work matters, but we must also learn to let go of what we cannot control.
I recently started a YouTube Shorts channel, and my views kept freezing at around 1.2K. That made me question how YouTube works and whether chasing views was worth the stress.
I began believing there was an invisible threshold creators had to cross, perhaps a viewed-versus-swiped-away rate of 60% or more during the initial testing phase. My videos were getting around 35–45%, and I started feeling as though the algorithm was rejecting my work.
I tried desperately to make things work. I became sleep-deprived and stressed until I finally stopped and asked myself: Why am I sacrificing my peace of mind for views? I already have so much to be grateful for. Why should I let an algorithm determine how I feel about my art?
Somewhere along the way, I had temporarily lost the joy of creating. Thankfully, I realised what was happening before it went any further. I deleted YouTube Studio from my phone and stopped constantly checking my analytics.
I no longer want to be caught in a cycle of chasing numbers, hoping for another spike in views, and feeling disappointed when the growth stops.
Reading about other creators who have experienced stress and burnout made me realise that this problem isn't simply about working hard. It's also about the pressure we put on ourselves when we begin measuring our progress through numbers.
So, I've decided to take a step back. From now on, I'll share my artwork when I feel ready and when I'm happy with what I've created. I want to follow my own creative vision instead of constantly adjusting it to satisfy an algorithm.
People often talk about reaching 1,000 views as if it's a magical milestone. Then come 5,000, 10,000, and beyond. There's always another target to chase. But reaching one milestone doesn't guarantee the next, and there's no end to the numbers we can pursue.
The viewed-versus-swiped-away rate seems particularly important for Shorts. If viewers aren't interested in the opening frame, they may simply move on. My videos initially reached hundreds of views and eventually around 1.2K. However, when I started showing more of my drawing process, the views became less encouraging, even when I included a preview of the finished artwork.
Perhaps that format wasn't what the initial audience wanted. But I had developed the idea myself, and I don't want to keep changing my creative vision simply because a particular video doesn't perform well.
My videos not reaching more people doesn't automatically mean my artwork is bad. Different people appreciate different things, and not every piece of content will appeal to every audience.
What concerns me is how easily the pursuit of visibility can turn something enjoyable into a source of anxiety. Social media can encourage us to keep scrolling, checking, posting, and waiting for the next reward. Before we realise it, we're spending more time thinking about performance than enjoying the work itself.
I don't want to spend my life fighting an algorithm just to prove that my art deserves attention.
As they say, choose your battles wisely. I don't have the time or energy to keep chasing numbers at the expense of my well-being.
I'll leave the rest to God. I'll continue creating, enjoying my art, and sharing it whenever I feel like it. If growth comes, I'll be grateful. If it doesn't, I still have my art, my peace, and the satisfaction of creating something of my own.
Hard work matters, but peace of mind matters too. Success shouldn't require us to sacrifice the very joy that made us start in the first place.
Can the Algorithm Really Find the Right Audience?
This is one question I keep coming back to: if YouTube's recommendation system is so sophisticated, shouldn't it eventually be able to find people who appreciate my artwork, even if the initial audience doesn't respond as strongly?
I understand that YouTube cannot guarantee views for every video. I also understand that viewer behaviour, competition, and audience interest all influence recommendations. But when a video suddenly stops receiving views at around 1.2K, it can leave a creator wondering what happened.
Some creators suggest that after publishing 20–35 Shorts, YouTube may become better at understanding a channel's audience. Perhaps that happens for some channels, but creating 35 original artworks takes considerable time and effort.
Art may become easier with experience, but reaching that level takes years of learning, experimentation, and struggle. Every artwork begins with an idea, and turning that idea into something worth sharing requires real work.
Should artists really have to produce dozens of pieces before they have a reasonable chance of reaching the right audience?
I'm not expecting a million views from my first ten videos. I simply want to understand why views can suddenly stop growing and what that means for a creator who is still learning how the platform works.
YouTube may deny that there's a universal 65% or 70% viewed-versus-swiped-away threshold, and I understand that no single metric guarantees success. Still, the experience can feel as though there's an invisible line creators must cross.
That uncertainty is frustrating, particularly when you're investing genuine time and effort into your work.
Many creators have shared their experiences of struggling to grow on YouTube. Their experiences don't necessarily prove that the platform is unfair, but they do show how emotionally demanding the process can become.
The worst part is that unpredictable results can make you question your abilities. You begin wondering whether your art is good enough, whether your ideas are interesting, or whether you should change everything about your creative approach.
I've experienced this before. Many years ago, I tried YouTube, but my videos barely reached 200 views despite the effort I put into editing. Recently, I decided to try again, only to find myself struggling with the same uncertainty.
This time, however, I don't want the experience to take away my enthusiasm for art.
Art Deserves a Life Beyond Recommendations
One thing I appreciate about publishing artwork on my blog is that my posts can be indexed by search engines. Someone interested in a particular style, subject, or technique may discover my work through a search, even long after I've published it.
Search isn't perfect, either. Getting indexed doesn't guarantee high rankings, and low traffic can be discouraging on a blog just as it can be on YouTube.
Still, I like the idea of people actively searching for what interests them rather than depending entirely on recommendations. It gives artwork another possible route to discovery.
I sometimes wonder whether people still search for original artwork as much as they once did. Perhaps they do, but competition for attention is enormous. I don't know all the challenges involved in ranking on Google, and I'm not sure I want to investigate every detail. There's only so much time and energy I want to spend worrying about these systems.
For now, I'll continue publishing my work and let search engines do what they can.
Could Social Media Give Users More Control?
I recently came across Australia's proposed My Feed, My Way initiative, which aims to give eligible users more control over whether they see algorithmically recommended content or posts from accounts they follow.
The Australian Government introduced its Digital Duty of Care Bill to Parliament on 20 October 2026, although the proposed feed-choice requirements are not yet established law.
You can read the official announcement for more details.
Perhaps the world is slowly moving towards giving people more control over their online experiences. I hope more people begin asking whether these platforms are genuinely serving our interests or encouraging us to spend more time chasing attention.
Technology should help us discover things we enjoy, not make us feel that our time, creativity, and self-worth depend on constantly pleasing a recommendation system.
Choosing Peace Over the Numbers
Even older YouTube videos can experience declining or stagnant views. That can make creators question the long-term value of their work and feel pressured to keep producing new content simply to remain visible.
Of course, creating regularly can help artists improve and give audiences more opportunities to discover their work. But there's a difference between creating because you have something to express and creating because you're afraid of disappearing from a platform.
I want to preserve that distinction.
Even Google's Gemini may explain why platforms have incentives to keep viewers engaged. But that doesn't prove that YouTube deliberately imposes a hidden retention threshold on every creator. Its recommendation system is complex, and I cannot know exactly why my videos stopped receiving views.
What I can say is that the uncertainty affected me more than I expected.
And when even my blog receives fewer views than I'd hoped for, I sometimes wonder whether the effort is worthwhile. But I remind myself that meaningful work doesn't become worthless simply because fewer people see it.
Sometimes, you need to step away from the hamster wheel to realise that you've been running on it for too long.
I'm not a hamster.
I'll leave the rest to God. I'll keep creating art, enjoy the process, and share it whenever I feel ready. If support comes in the future, I'll be grateful. If it doesn't, I'll still have something meaningful that belongs to me.
My art, my peace, and my creative freedom matter more than the numbers.
And honestly, that realisation might be the most valuable thing I've gained from this entire experience.
Now, I'm happy again. π€
