Many years ago someone told me that we should care about our mental hygiene as much as we care about the hygiene of the food that we consume.
I quit FB two years ago after 11 years of active use. For a few weeks after deleting my account, I had these temptations to go back but after two months, I totally forgot about it and after two years, I'm very happy about leaving the platform.
I also realized that it wasn't just FB or social media that contributed to my stress and anxiety; sensational and provocative news was as much to blame. These days, I try to get my news from only a handful of news outlets that I trust. I know this is not a perfect solution but at least, I've been able to avoid click-bait titles.
I feel similar. Years ago, I used to be very into YouTube. I followed the channels I loved closely and loved discovering new channels. It felt like I could search for any topic I was interested in and find a small, cool channel about it.
Then yesterday for example I was reading an article about tornado alley and wanted to watch some storm chasing videos on Youtube. My searches just turned up page after page of "Family Vlog" clickbait, with people using their frightened kids as the thumbnail picture. Was so off-putting that it killed my interest.
I'm not sure about that. I still enjoy the long reads in the New Yorker and a few other magazines. But if you mean the 24-hour news cycle, I agree with you.
I quit FB two years ago after 11 years of active use. For a few weeks after deleting my account, I had these temptations to go back but after two months, I totally forgot about it and after two years, I'm very happy about leaving the platform.
I also realized that it wasn't just FB or social media that contributed to my stress and anxiety; sensational and provocative news was as much to blame. These days, I try to get my news from only a handful of news outlets that I trust. I know this is not a perfect solution but at least, I've been able to avoid click-bait titles.