Do people just not use the YouTube subscription feed?
I consistently hear people on YouTube complain that the subscribe button doesn't do anything for viewers, now that channel notifications are controlled by the bell. But it does do something: it puts the videos from that channel in your subscription feed, which is readily accessible on all versions of YouTube. So why do people act like it doesn't exist? I think it's super convenient, especially if you're subscribed to a ton of channels and don't want your notifications feed flooded with new videos.
I get too many Notifs from the YouTube app for channels I don't want. I use Newpipe Subscriptions, I can refresh feeds from multiple channels whenever I choose.