To answer this question, I paid a visit to Youtube, my second-most accessed website. Before any video appeared, a colorful interactive advertisement for a car popped up, enticing me to click on the link so I could learn about the “fatigue-reducing zero gravity seats.” The ad covered a third of the entire screen, as big as ten video thumbnails. And compared to the mostly black-and-white color scheme of the surrounding interface, the bright blues and reds of the ad stood out. Nissan had certainly succeeded in getting my attention.

The barrage of ads had only just begun, though. I searched for a channel I enjoy, expecting it to show up first, as it’s a popular channel. The first two results, however, were both ads, neither of which pertained to my search. Inwardly rolling my eyes, I scrolled past them and clicked on a video of the channel I was looking for. Before it started, another ad, this time for a movie, started to play, making me wait five seconds before I could skip it. So I wouldn’t have the three pesky ads next to the video in my peripheral vision, I hit fullscreen, only to x-out yet another ad popping up fifteen seconds in. Now annoyed by six distracting ads in less than a minute, I barely enjoyed the video.

This story is only partially true—I was met with six ads in one minute, but I wasn’t annoyed by their distraction. In fact, this assignment was the only reason I even noticed them. Advertisements are so ubiquitous that I usually ignore them. But this question made me stop and think. Common sense says that Youtube, an entertainment site, cares most about entertaining us. But the increasingly ad-centric viewing experience makes one wonder if the reverse is true.

After much pondering, I concluded this: Youtube’s best interests are in keeping its viewers entertained. It's the third most successful website on the internet because it entertains millions of people, so for it to continue on its path of success, it must continue drawing as many viewers. If it focused on attracting advertisers only, then its fed-up viewers would look for an ad-free alternative. (This has already happened to Hulu Plus, for example; it is far less popular than its ad-free competitor Netflix.) But it doesn’t—it knows that having few ads and many viewers will generate as much revenue as the reverse, and keep its audience happier as well.

It’s a fine line, because even the most anti-advertising media source needs income. However, compared to TV, in which a third of program time is occupied by commercials, Youtube’s restraint in advertising and improvement in user-friendliness prove a commitment to entertaining.