I almost never watch “shorts” but my suggestions for it seem to have an…uhhh…adult theme. I don’t watch any such thing with YouTube. Does everyone see garbage like this?

  • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
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    7 months ago

    Bro you should have investigated the actual answer to this question before asking it publicly 😃

    It’s not to say you’re watching lots of soft core porn but the algorithm has definitely decided that you’ll like it

    • Bell@lemmy.worldOP
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      7 months ago

      There’s alot I could argue with but maybe the best answer I have is: why just the shorts? The rest of my YouTube feed kinda sucks but it isn’t porn or titillating at all.

      • XNX@slrpnk.net
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        7 months ago

        Theyre separate algorithms so its prolly the only type of shorts youve clicked or hovered over for a some time

        • Bell@lemmy.worldOP
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          7 months ago

          That’s the thing, I think I’ve watched maybe 2 shorts ever, pretty sure they were not like these or at least only mildly sexy

          • Monument@lemmy.sdf.org
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            7 months ago

            But it’s Google, so they know your browsing history and have you in a “bucket” for what their metrics think will drive engagement from you. (Or they don’t know enough about you and just think boobs will get you intersted, because sex sells.)

            Meh. We’re all human. If Google thinks you like thirst traps, whatevs. Pretty ladies are pretty ladies.
            But if you don’t want to see it, you can probably use feedback tools to change what they show you.

    • Z4rK@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Well that’s just not how recommendation algorithms work. A part of it will be content based, directly related to what the user can be associated with.

      However, the largest part is collaboration based filtering of content. That means, our user is put in a group based on his other preferences, let’s assume nerdy tech stuff, and then is shown content that he has not liked yet but his group of peers has, meaning he could probably like it too.

      In other words - he’s not the one in fault here, YOU are (you pretty much have to be nerdy tech folks to be here).

      Please, could everyone here stop clicking on this stuff so that OP don’t have to be associated with your filthy behavior, thank you.

      • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
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        7 months ago

        that’s just not how recommendation algorithms work

        I didn’t say anything about how they work – only that it shows you stuff it thinks you will like. Which is basically what you said.

        However, the largest part is collaboration based filtering of content. That means, our user is put in a group based on his other preferences, let’s assume nerdy tech stuff, and then is shown content that he has not liked yet but his group of peers has, meaning he could probably like it too.

        Yes, based on other user patterns and how it categorizes him, it thinks he could probably like soft core porn too. That is, in fact, how it works. Glad we agree.

        In other words - he’s not the one in fault here, YOU are

        Please, could everyone here stop clicking on this stuff so that OP don’t have to be associated with your filthy behavior, thank you.

        So it’s perfectly realistic that everyone could be clicking on soft core porn to feed the algorithm these ideas, in contrast to OP, who couldn’t possibly be clicking on it? You’ve decided they’re the one and only person who definitely isn’t doing that when clearly someone is?

        How could you write this hostile and condescending message when I actually made a specific point to highlight the exact point you’re making (“It’s not to say you’re watching lots of soft core porn”) in my message? If a little more succinctly. I wasn’t blaming OP in any way, just explaining (just as you did) that the algorithm based on his viewing patterns is what decides what to show him.

        • Z4rK@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          I had hoped that my last sentence showed my post was clearly in jest. The factual information was just needed to set up the joke. Neither hostility nor condescension was applied.

          In fact, the avid reader might catch that I have implied myself in the group of people causing OP’s annoying trouble with light-clothed females since I too am here - presumably a tech nerd like OP and meddling with the algorithms affecting him by clicking on unsavory content.

    • The Assman@sh.itjust.works
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      7 months ago

      I’ve gotten sexualized ads in my work Gmail which I only use for work emails and nothing else. Pretty sure step one of Google’s algorithms is “is man? Show titty”

  • Huschke@programming.dev
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    7 months ago

    Before anyone rails on OP too much let me tell you this. My shorts feed was full of tech stuff. Then one day I clicked on a hot girl and watched a few of the shorts. Big mistake. Now even though I’m not clicking on them again my feed looks like OPs.

    I guess the lesson here is. Never click on these shorts ever if you don’t want to get spammed by them.

    • Horrible_Goblin@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      agree, I do have some other things in my feed, but I’d definitely say the algorithm has certain preferences.

      Probably has to do with most of my interests being pretty nice compared to ‘ooh pretty girl’. So when it compares what I click on it’s easier to find high frequency recommendations based on other peoples likes. I know fuck all about the algo that makes feeds, but my guess is that’s how it works.

      • Huschke@programming.dev
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        7 months ago

        Good point.

        There is probably also a lot more of these “pretty girl” videos than “5 Fun Facts About JavaScript” or “Here is a Mistake Everyone Makes in C” so it’s easier for the algorithm to serve them.

        • Horrible_Goblin@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          exactly! its not so much that the algo is skewed against us (although…), but mostly the content it has available to it and our lizard brains in general that arn’t helping. (or rather out desire to win the popularity contest and thus manipulate it in a way the algo is sensitive to). Because 90% of the ‘pretty girl’ videos wouldn’t have these stereotypical clickbait dames in them if it didn’t work in the first place

    • AstridWipenaugh@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      That’s what it looks like when I’m logged out. It’s just a bunch of nerd shit when I’m logged in. Don’t click the tits, not even once.

      • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Don’t click the tits, not even once.

        This comment requires and deserves an epic reply of some kind, but I got nothing right now.

      • Rentlar@lemmy.ca
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        7 months ago

        Soon, titty recommendation-free Google accounts could be a hot commodity.

    • muzzle@lemm.ee
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      7 months ago

      I think the real lesson is: do not login and purge your cookies and browser storage regularly.

  • BaskinRobbins@sh.itjust.works
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    7 months ago

    Mine started out like this but eventually was replaced with gaming content and cars. Does anyone know how to get the porn back?

  • myliltoehurts@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    Mine isn’t like that but there can be a few reasons I’d guess at:

    1. YouTube recommends you things other people in your household watch (which can extend to random people if your isp uses cnat and doesn’t give you an individual ip).
    2. This one is more of a guess, but I’d assume a lot of people would click on that content, so if you never watch shorts maybe their algorithm just gives you the default recommendations.
    3. If you watch adult content without protecting your privacy it’s most likely associated with your account in their recommendations.
      • myliltoehurts@lemm.ee
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        8 months ago

        Yeah the YouTube algorithm is one of the worst recommendations engines I have seen tbh. It actively removes types of videos I repeatedly search for from my recommendations, and fills it with garbage I never watch.

        But in the case of op it looks like a 100% horny content ratio which seems excessive, even for yt.

        • Delphia@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          The Horny algorithm kicks in hard and fast.

          If I want porn I watch porn, I dont give myself softcore blueballs. But sometimes when I’m dumbscrolling I’ll click on one and YT thinks I submitted a bulk order.

        • RisingSwell@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          7 months ago

          I’ve never had issues with the YouTube algorithm, my feed is full of games, tech, science stuff and long form videos explaining shit. That’s about it, because that’s about all I watch.

          Am I just lucky that it’s reliable for me?

          • myliltoehurts@lemm.ee
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            7 months ago

            For me, there are 2 specific things that annoy me to no end with it. 1 is my guilty pleasure, I love watching hour long videos from Asian channels where they just film restaurants or bakeries making food in large batches. Honestly, youtube seems to actively remove them from my feed. I have to search for them every 2 weeks despite watching this content at least weekly. The second is the opposite. At Christmas I searched for a video of a fireplace with music to put on as ambient background for dinner. My feed is chock full of 8+ hour music playlists now despite never having looked at another one. It’s been 4 months.

            I don’t know what it is but i swear they have content they like showing you and content they dont like. If you want the former your experience will be OK. If you want the latter then they just decide you’re wrong and still get the former.

  • arin@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Way to out yourself. Their algo depends on what you spend time watching. Lol

    • Got_Bent@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Eh. Pretty much all of my viewing is related to physics I don’t understand, astronomy I don’t understand, and weird history stuff. I still get the soft porn algorithm on shorts.

      Closest I come to viewing is when I’m scrolling and my phone interprets that as a click. Then I get pissed off because that fraction of a second for the algorithm is like letting a single pregnant cockroach into your kitchen.

      • Passerby6497@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Try to remember to select the ‘Don’t recommend this channel’ any time you see those sorts of videos. I’ve been doing that a ton lately and my shorts feed is mainly shit that’s actually interesting, and the more I ban those shit vids, the better my feed has been getting.

      • twig@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        7 months ago

        Yeah, the simplicity and also effectiveness of advertising algorithms are sometimes overstated.

        There is a huge amount of data that is stored about users, and that does definitely make its way into the ads that we see. Grouping all the user information into ad categories is not a simple task, so there’s a lot of mismatch that happens. But a lot of the time it’s also location-based, time-based (when who views what) or even just what the biggest spenders want us to see based on our demographics. Tits and ass are fairly demographic agnostic, so they appear in a lot of feeds regardless of preference or orientation.

        Right-wingers are fairly desperate to push their viewpoints and pay a lot to so, so we end up with a lot of vague associations or fully non existent ones resulting in that kind of content appearing in feeds. I’m a left leaning, queer and trans woman living outside the US and I see these bullshit ads from time to time (which for obvious reasons is pretty infuriating). I honestly think that having a small online footprint and using adblockers, privacy-friendly browsers and operating systems, etc. is going to become more and more common just as a mode of self-care.

    • RogueFoo@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      I had a phase, where it suggested loads of shorts from turkish cigarrette factories. I never watched anything cigarrette related and my subs contain mostly science communication, makers and some commentary channels

    • PutangInaMo@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Idk when I made a new account on Facebook all it did was show me fake pages with porn. After a while the algorithm caught up to my style and now I have to go find it randomly lol

    • T00l_shed@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      I constantly get pro right wing, pro Christian garbage in my feed. I keep spamming do not recommend channel and not interested and yt keeps shoveling that garbage in my shorts feed. Ads are also “suggested” based on geophraphic area.

    • miridius@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      While that is true, it’s also true that if the algo has no data on you it just shows you what most other people want to see, which is usually boobs

    • Altima NEO@lemmy.zip
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      7 months ago

      Yeah, it seems to show me mostly comedy stuff, tool and hardware stuff, and some computer and retro gaming stuff. But almost none of this kind of stuff.

      • TangledHyphae@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        I’ve never had anything softcore-adjacent even, mine are filled with magicians and obscure shorts that are not sexual in any way, at any point in history. They seem highly targeted toward my viewing history at any given moment in time.

    • jj4211@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      I’ll say that at least a few months ago, on a brand new system I went to YouTube and it looked pretty much like this, with a fresh history and no login. I thought it was unusual and then I logged in and they mostly went away.

  • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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    7 months ago

    I don’t know why there’s so much soft porn on every platform, skirting the rules and hiding just enough to be allowed.

    The real porn is still there. You can just go look at it.

  • usualsuspect191@lemmy.ca
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    7 months ago

    Lol that algorithm has you in that demo for a reason I’m sure. Not sure I would’ve asked this publicly.

    Also, who’s is a contraction of “who is” or “who has”. You want the possessive “whose”

        • Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
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          oh, I’ve never used this official mobile app for youtube. I was talking about the desktop version.

          edit: They must have changed something. Previously, no login desktop youtube just had the most bottom of the barrel clickbait shit that appealed the ipad kids.

    • General_Shenanigans@lemmy.world
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      Sort of. It pretends to disable recommendations, but things like shorts that show up in feeds a related videos are still skewed toward you. They just disable the ability to really scroll through them to try to encourage you to turn it back on. You can trust their profile on you is still kept up-to-date ;)

  • GenderNeutralBro@lemmy.sdf.org
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    7 months ago

    Mine shows 90% videos from channels I’ve either subscribed to or at least watched before, and 10% random pop culture stuff.

    Then again, I don’t actually use YouTube very much, and if I come across a video on Lemmy or wherever I never open it with a logged-in browser. Maybe I’ve inadvertently gamed the system.

  • OldWoodFrame@lemm.ee
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    7 months ago

    Youtube Shorts hasn’t done this for me (I actually follow some creators that make shorts so it’s usually them) but Facebook’s version is infuriatingly just like this and also I can’t get rid of them. Every time I see one I go to the dots and select “don’t see any more of these” but they just keep showing up and it’s always some girl doing a yoga pose in a bikini, camera decidedly pointed directly at her vagina.

  • Stern@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Works fairly well for me when I’m on the shorts doomscrolling. Your mileage could vary of course.

  • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️@yiffit.net
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    7 months ago

    It only seems to show me the same 15-20 shorts since they first started featuring shorts on the main page. They’re relevant to what I watch, but they’re all hella old and I’ve seen the ones that interest me already. IDK why it never updates.

        • mindlight@lemm.ee
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          I have no idea but I experience the same problem with small set of repeating shorts when on my home wifi network.

          If I disconnect my phone from the wifi and use mobile internet instead, it often starts working better with YouTube Shorts.

          Edit: my comment was about the set of shorts repeating and not why the algorithm choose sexy shorts for you.

    • andrew@lemmy.stuart.fun
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      7 months ago

      I watched them mindlessly for a while, starting recently. But then the algorithm just started showing me like the same 15 videos and nothing else. One or two new ones here and there, but it’s definitely fully lost any interest I had.