Shocked expressions, big red arrows pointing to nothing, titles based on shock, surprise or open-ended questions are videos I tend to avoid. I don't particularly care to watch a video where the first emotion had is sympathy for desperation. (It makes you almost question the emotional state of most of the users that "the algorithm" tuned itself for, TBH. I say that only as an observation of scale when looking at the sheer numbers of viewers that YouTube has.)

Sticking with the subtle stuff is just fine. A picture of the host smiling with an informative title and thumbnail is OK, and not very gag evoking.

Blaming "the algorithm" for having to do that shit is likely a very real thing. However, I will religiously watch channels that produce good content first.

Either way, I have conflicting views: A person has to earn a living, but when emotional exploitation is used in this way, I don't know what to think. Is it really harmless? Not sure about that yet.