The viable alternative is to stop watching all the crappy content you don't need anyway. Their restriction to 3 videos for people with ad blocker was a wake up call for me, helping me realize how much content I consume from youtube that not I only don't have a need for, but is actively occupying a sizable portion of my mind. I am old enough to remember the world without youtube, when you could read a book, talk to people, do sports etc, without staring at the screen mindlessly. A 30 min video might not look like much, but that is the equivalent of a decent stretching workout, drinking a cup of tea while relaxing or a multitude of other activities that will actually help you become happier and healthier.

Thank you youtube for helping me realize how harmful you really are!