I always use youtube but never bother to click like, subscribe, and the most engagement a creator can get from me is me sharing their video somewhere else. I can't expect people that like my content or follow me to go the extra mile when I'm too preoccupied and lazy to do the same for strangers in general.
Beautifully well described and eloquently well expressed. Isn't this what everyone, and I mean everyone really does?
Most people just like to lurk and consume things from the shadows. Basically without leaving the slightest trace of what they do or have done. And especially if they have nothing to receive or gain in return.
Well, all that, unless that through your content you have touched a nerve with a controversial topic or have piqued the curiosity of your eventual audience enough about some extremely interesting topic that they would like to know more about and they assume and trust that you as a qualified author on the subject could have the knowledge enough to give them an answer that clarifies their doubts and concerns.
Otherwise, everyone will be always too preoccupied and lazy to do shit for strangers in general. And therefore, you will never have a chance to even know that they exist. :)
That applies to most anyway. When there is a content creator that pique my interest and almost values the same ideas I do, I wouldn't mind doing the extra mile because I want to do it.
The moment you watch a video on youtube, access any site, your activity becomes part of the statistics that affect the algorithm for the site display. What this means is that while on an individual scale, your actions may seem negligible but as a collective unknowns watching the same video, you generate enough push to have youtube AI feature your video for more reach especially when there are likes or dislikes on it.
Our activities online affect some algorithm somewhere whether we like it or not and by simply watching ads or clicking certain links, we give out more than what we intend to give. While I don't consciously believe my own viewing experience on certain youtube channels greatly impact their popularity and chances to be more visible, I still believe that my small viewing time contributes to the cumulative data that can convince the AI to boost the channel's visibility.
That's why it takes great skill to be a content creator and know they are in the right place to make themselves be valued. Sometimes it's just right content wrong platform. The fastest way to be noticed is just not doing what the average content creator does and ask for drama, any publicity just to be noticed and one can actually build their name from that drama or have their name destroyed.