Removing algorithmic feed slop from my life

Recently, during a very relaxing holiday in Cyprus, I had a revelation of sorts: my brain was rotting. I know this because I read a lot of books on holiday. It’s the only time I do read books!

Well, I did read a lot on holiday, but the last couple of years I really struggled to focus.

I used to put it down to “I’m just super tired, man, I don’t have the mental strength to concentrate” but that was probably only a part of it. I struggle to concentrate all the time — brains, innit — but it looks like algorithmic feeds of content, such as Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky (For You feed) have been doing a lot more damage to that existing problem than I thought.

I decided to cut loose. I deleted Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky from my phone because I don’t use anything else. The feeling I had, for the first couple of days after that was the exact same feeling I had in attempts to quit nicotine, which was rather concerning. I persisted though, leaning more and more into my beloved RSS feeds whenever I had a pang to pick up my phone and scroll.

I get my Bluesky content via RSS too, via a little system I’ve been tinkering with. I don’t like to miss what my pals are up to — especially where there’s an opportunity to signal boost — but I also think there’s value in reading posts from my peers and others. This is serviced well by my RSS setup, so if you see me in your notifications tab, that’s why. When I Log On™ to Bluesky, all I see is this:

My brain is starting to work again

No surprises here! I’m feeling a lot less ground down and my brain is working much better, only after a week. My phone always has battery too, which is handy.

The thing that’s really surprised me is I’m sleeping so much better than I was. I’ve had a hard rule for years: my phone doesn’t come into the bedroom, but even then, my brain was clearly struggling to relax after watching TikTok for an hour or whatever.

I’m going to keep going with this to see where it takes me. I’ll miss sending good videos to my pals in Instagram and discovering new music to listen to, but that’s about it. The algorithms on that service, as well as TikTok (since the Americans took over) are really quite shit when you think about it and if you think about it even more, the content you do actually end up seeing really doesn’t improve your life at all. It just fills time.

Wrapping up

I guess I’m in a pretty fortunate position. I don’t rely on these services for my income so I have the option to just leave. I feel really bad for those who do rely on these services because it must feel like a prison a lot of the time.

I’m also fortunate that I’m not rotting my brain talking to LLMs all day either. I can see the immense damage that is having on everyone that is into this technology. If you’re thinking “not me, though”, I’m afraid to say that yes, you too. I see it every day in my peers and it’s rather distressing. Protecting your intelligence is, and will continue to be, the most important thing to do. That’s a topic for another day though!

Try removing yourself from algorithmic feed slop. It’s only affected me in a positive way so far, so it’s certainly worth a shot if you’re also feeling like your brain is rotting too.