I’m all about sailing the seven seas, yar har, but at some point the time spent trying to circumvent ads exceeds the $15. Support the people you watch. Hell, I pirate games and if I like it I’ll buy it later. There’s a difference between not getting taken advantage of by corporations and just straight screwing over people trying to make a living.
And there’s a difference between supporting creators and supporting a cash grab company screwing over everyone and everything around them.
Is there a difference? Sure. The problem is doing the former without the latter getting in the way. Small creator can’t make videos if YouTube dies. Can’t find new people to watch their videos. To support them. I think it’s way too easy for people for forget that these platforms facilitate an essential service that is being taken for granted. There is no meaningful alternative.