Like most people, I spend a lot of time on YouTube. I have tried to get involved with the alternatives but unfortunately there just isn't much good content there. There are niche categories sure, but if you are looking for general information or entertainment, this is almost an excluively YouTube sort of thing.
I never really know what to look for if I am just wasting time, but there are a few content creators that I regularly watch and find that almost all of their videos very insightful, funny, and normally I will learn a thing or two about current events that I otherwise wouldn't be exposed to given that I live in a non English-speaking country that is kind of detached from western media.
The first one is a guy that was once in prison but then emerged as a collector of nerd stuff and is a veritable expert on superheroes, fantasy, and just that sort of thing in general.
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He calls himself Nerdrotic but his real name is Gary Beuchler. He went to jail for drugs, went through rehab, lived in Hollywood and now by his own efforts he is an expert on science fiction, comics, fantasy, and especially modern-day films. He is particularly critical of Marvel, DC, and anyone who messes with Lord of the Rings and has been quite humorous in pointing out the way in which these franchises have had an agenda towards "wokeness" and his take on all of these things is very funny as well as obviously well-researched.
He has had a lot of material lately because the Lord of the Rings TV series is apparently extremely awful. I have only watched one episode of season 1 and the rest of what I know about it is because of Nerdrotic. He has over a million subscribers and produces normally about 1 video a week. I have never watched any of his vids and not been entertained.
The second guy that I regularly follow is a guy that calls himself Arako and he is a more palatable version of Andrew Tate I guess in that he promotes male empowerment and also covers and is critical of other influencers that the world generally considers a pain in the ass.
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He has just over 1 million subscribers and most of his content revolves around gym-culture, the stupidity of a lot of the TikTok content out there, how OnlyFans is stupid, and basically just about how men should be men and not simps. I guess this one wouldn't be for everyone but he produces a video nearly every day and most of them are very entertaining. Women might not like this one nearly as much as men do but basically this guy encourages people to be the best they can be and to stay focused on important things in life and that can't be a bad thing, can it?
I would say that Arako is probably chasing clicks and likes a bit too much and over-produces. Most of what he releases is well thought out though and he gets to the point rapidly. It is a bit annoying when he shoves a promotion in the middle of an episode but we all know how to skip those.
Lastly I'll feature the most popular of the 3 that I regularly follow and that is The Critical Drinker. To me this guy has an advantage over the other two because of his accent and humor. He is really good at what he does.
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His real name is Will Jordan and he is an author as well as a content provider. He rarely features his own face in his videos and instead decides to just narrate in a scripted fashion, which is just fine by me. He tends to focus on being very critical of modern day cinema and tv and in that regard he is quite similar to Nerdrotic. The description of his channel lends an sneak peek into what sort of content he creates.
I drink and I say things. I'm here to deliver reviews, breakdowns and analysis on modern entertainment media. Expect a healthy dose of sarcasm, biting criticism and low-functioning alcoholism. He has over 2 million subscribers and makes a video about once every 3 days. He also does panels which frequently involve Nerdrotic as well, but I have never found these things done by anyone to be as entertaining as their scripted stuff.
In this video he talks about the show "Penguin" and how it surprised him by how non woke it was and how he went into the series expecting to hate it and was actually quite surprised. I have watched 2 of these and feel the same way. If you have a sense of humor and are not easily offended I think you will get some real laughs out of this channel. Unlike Nerdrotic, he tends to avoid spoilers or will give a warning about them if they are about to happen.
Other than these 3 I wouldn't say that I actually get excited about anyone else I follow on YouTube and skip most of what they produce. These are the only providers that I watch everything the make, even if I am unfamiliar with what it is they are addressing. If you are looking for new and talented people to follow that mostly stay out of politics completely, I think these guys are really good. If you have any channels to suggest back to me it would be appreciated since I struggle to find actual good material on that, or any other website.