My Husband Blindly Accepts What He Sees on YouTube

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:13 JST, May 12, 2024

Dear Troubleshooter:

I’m a self-employed woman in my 50s. I’m concerned because my husband, who is in his 60s and also self-employed, blindly accepts what he sees on YouTube and demands I believe it and act accordingly.

For example, it is information about what not to eat, how to invest money or how to avoid getting cancer. It is exhausting.

I enjoy watching YouTube videos for entertainment, but I don’t trust their content.

My husband may think that he can easily gain knowledge while watching YouTube, but I resent the fact that he is quick to believe what he sees on the site.

I cannot understand how he can believe it so easily. It is hard for me to be influenced by such things.

He says that I am the one who is crazy because I do not want to learn from YouTube videos. How should I talk to him about this?

— Q, Shizuoka Prefecture

Dear Ms. Q:

The other day, I asked my students what they would do if they had an hour to spare. More than half of them said that they would watch YouTube.

I often say that information found online is not always accurate. But the problem is that some students just believe it.

It seems that the habit of gathering information from YouTube and putting it into practice gives your husband something to live for. He will argue with you, even if you say the right thing. He will not give up the habit until he can get you to admit that what he is doing and saying is right.

As long as no real harm is being done, why don’t you try to think of this as him getting addicted to a hobby that doesn’t cost a lot of money? There are many people in the world who are in trouble because their partners are addicted to expensive hobbies.

I gather from your letter that he is detail-oriented but easily bored. If you try to practice everything you find on YouTube, your life will be become a mess.

Try to deal with his words, neither confirming nor denying them, while making sure he does not spend too much money because of what he found on YouTube.

He will eventually start saying something different. I think you just have to get used to the repetition.

— Masahiro Yamada, university professor