Recently I decided to limit the amount of time I waste on youtube, reddit, etc. but blocking it altogether is too restrictive (sometimes it's useful - for example for background music or some tutorials).
There are several chrome extensions that supposedly let you delay loading of choosen websites, but: 1. most of them have a google warning that they might be removed for "breaking the rules" 2. none of them work correctly. They don't block the first time you enter a website, and they don't block when you click links on the same domain. They work the best when you refresh, but even then - not always.
Similar extensions on firefox work perfectly. At this point I'm starting to get paranoid and think Google blocked this functionality on purpose (but then it wouldn't also be blocked for reddit and other websites so it's probably not on purpose).
List of extensions I've tried: one sec YouTube Detoxifier Delayed Gratification WaitBlock probably something else I forgot about
On the off chance this is done on purpose I switched back to firefox cause if true it's outrageous.
I recommend 'Untrap for YouTube'[1] - it lets you selectively block YouTube UI elements. I use the free to redirect the homepage to my subscriptions feed and block all recommendation algorithms. Now I only see content from channels I've explicitly chosen to follow, with no algorithmic suggestions tempting me to spend more time on YouTube.
The pro version could also provide you the delayed launch that you asked for.
I’ve been using LeechBlock on Firefox for exactly this for years
The warnings you're seeing are because they are Manifest V2 extensions.
Blocking/routing is harder and less configurable in Manifest V3