People are less likely to quit buying something when they’re addicted to it.

Google wants you to be addicted to YouTube. It makes you more likely to renew.

And it helps keep you off competing platforms (TikTok, reels, etc).

But users like me who hate shorts so much that they want to disable them in the app aren't addicted to shorts because we refuse to open them. And there's no risk of me going to Tiktok or reels because I hate short-form video.