Controlling Information Exposure - Strategies Employed

4 minute read

For the past month or so I made it a deliberate goal to ignore and stop any form of social media usage and news that did not enrich me.

By enrichment, considering these questions:
  • Is this matter urgent?
  • Does this interaction help me or help someone?
  • If I looked through this, do I come out of this better off or am I better off without it?
  • How much effort does it take to open and view this? Is it worth that effort?
  • What could I be doing had I not read this?
  • Why should I care about this next hot topic?
  • Do I think I’ll feel worse off having read this?
  • What am I distracting myself from doing if I look at this?

As a minimalist I am usually pretty good with my digital privacy and footprint working at home and outside. However, digital knowledge workers usually have multiples tabs open for their craft. Some of those won’t be work related. My greatest media consumptions are Youtube videos and podcasts. I won’t fully abstain from those videos, if used deliberately they can make me feel good and help muster through those mundane periods. Such as music or podcasts that I use as white noise for concentration.

The real problem is addressing and cutting out the click-baity articles, videos, etc that provide no value but emotional driven responses, ultimately wasting time.

Those considerations in mind act as a first filter when shared some info or recommendation from the services I have open. Practicing mindfulness over my internet usefulness. Even with this process in the forefront of my mind I still found it challenging controlling my procrastinating tendencies.

Attention problems
  • Focused on a main task I find myself gravitating towards other screens on occasion, particularly if I’m stuck waiting on something.
  • Watching one thing often leads to another
  • Access to these sources are made too easy, either from device or a convenient next tab
  • Ingrained in my daily routines and habits
  • Peer and social pressure to follow what is going on
Therefore I took more deliberate measures that I would like to share
Phone Device Usage:

I was off most social media platforms prior to this realization. However, now I have completely removed any extraneous apps. Limiting the communication channels to only the bare minimum necessary for work and some friends.

I go with a pay as you go data and phone plan that provides only 1.5 GB a month. That further restricts excessive internet and data usage form the phone. For any other apps remaining my phone, those notifications are suppressed. The apps that do have a sign-in process are also logged out to make it extra hard to access them.

Computer Usage:

By far the toughest thing for me to address. Demonstrably a huge majority of my internet usage is through my laptop and desktop usage.

So already with my subscription feed, Big G/Big Y already knew my watching preferences. I am fed a tailored version of information that I would like. The videos that suit my taste and are from created I used to subscribe to.

This puts me in a weird situation where I don’t want to completely remove that type of content away from my preferences but leaves me no other option.

However to put my money where my mouth is now I have to right-click each recommended video and opt to not get these videos recommended anymore.

From any other site where I subscribe to I applied to 80/20 rule. For any content where I have not visited or watched in the last X timeframe I might as well unsubscribe as I’ve unconsciously decided that content was of no more value to me anymore. That pruned away about 10% of my Youtube subscription feed and a majority of my email lists.

Aside from web site with a subscription service I know my behavioural tendencies towards other sites, before this I have already installed plugins like Momentum and News Feed Eradicator that wipes out any on screen indicators of my most views pages. Taking away visual cues from navigating to those sites I still have the habit of checking those sites first before I begin my day.

So comes to the issue… that being on the devices itself is my cue to browse and browse.

Other than the drastic option of subtracting the hardware out of my life what can I do?

Lately I’ve been experimenting with a new plugin that outright block my problematic websites: blocksite.co

The process is simple, once installed it takes you to a page to add a list of sites you wish to block. After that is added anytime time I try to visit those pages intentionally or out of negligence I’ll be immediately greeted by a big blocked warning. So far I am disciplined enough to stay away after the initial warning and not purposefully open up the list and disable the block.

For those of us not so mentally strong, you can setup a time limit or require passwords to access websites. Those passwords could be kept by someone else to doubly ensure you won’t ‘accidentally’ open them up.

Recent Failings:

After quelling one bad habit another one comes to fill the void. Although I’ve limited my exposure to YouTube to just entertaining videos over provocative salacious click bait, that is still my biggest time sink. Lately, in the evenings whenever I find myself with free time I’ll open up and watch some new shows (Fall 2020 Anime season has started!).

Needless to be said, this problem won’t just be solved in a snap. This will be a long running process.