I'd say it depends. I'll admit to spending inconsistent amounts of time a day on shorts. Some days none at all, but some (typically stressful) days I've probably lost 1-2 hours. The content I'm getting is mostly cooking, horror movies/gaming, education, and health and fitness related. Through it I've found content creators with podcasts and have found some motivation to make exercise an achievable part of my daily life.

Is there a sea of toxic bullshit out there? Absolutely. But there's also some freshwater lakes and rivers. It's why media literacy needs to be included in education along with critical thinking.