I agree, totally.

I watch a lot of youtube videos (hang me lol) and I never comment any more because I either never get a reply, or my reply mysteriously never appears there.

And yet, Youtube algorithms mean that even channels I don't comment on, or like or subscribe to, just pop up anyway, for me to watch, because youtube knows me.

So the channel doesn't even need to acknowledge me at all, because youtube is curating me, and protects the youtuber from having to interact with me lol.

You called it. Youtube is the media part of "social media," whereas this place is the social.