#information-diet

I found this great blog post: Attention is all you have on the front page of Hacker News. It is well worth your time to read it, but what it is essentially trying to do is to encourage us to be more intentional about our internet use. Instead of letting the algorithm decide what we see, we must be in control of what we consume.

Instead of picking what we want to see we let other people decide what is supposed to be good for us. And when you let someone else dictate what appears on your screen, it’s the same as giving them the key to your brain.

I wrote about this last year in my post about quitting social media: 5 years of no social media.

My thoughts, my identity, taste and interests are not shaped by the algorithm. Following an information diet is one of the most important things I have done in my life.

A few things have changed since I wrote that post - I'm back on X and trying to post more on LinkedIn. The main motivation is that I want to interact more with the Tech/AI community, and share more of what I'm building and writing with others.

There are ways to use these platforms without letting the algorithm tell you what to consume, and that's why I'm writing this post - to share how I follow an information diet and hopefully encourage you to do the same.

It was in October-November of 2020 that I decided to quit social media. I was an active user back then - bunch of stories everyday, a new post every once in a while, comments, tagging, and all of what was usual at that time.

Why I quit

There was enough content on the internet warning about the dangers of social media and I was always aware of it. I was spending hours circling through the apps and it was clear that I was an addict. I quit it all after watching The Social Dilemma on Netflix.

Downsides

There are very obvious downsides like not being up to date with what my friends are doing on a daily basis and staying connected with older friends or acquaintances. I do not understand memes which are trending. It is also harder to grow a personal brand (which is very important). But I find that this is a trade-off I am okay with considering the long term benefits.

How does it feel?

Honestly, I'm very proud. I feel like people have problems that are non-existent for me. I feel normal. The analogy I like is that of a diet. I feel healthy because I am conscious of what I consume.

Information diet

I am intentionally oblivious to events happening in the world. When I was an active user, I used to always see content or news that would either enrage or upset me. Daily news is not important news. If something is important enough, I would hear it from friends or family.