Escaping the Algorithm

 Among the various New Year's Resolutions this author has this year a couple that will not be fully resolved in a year or even a lifetime. One is escaping the matrix. This is a life change wherein one challenges everything in one's life and figures out who one really is and what one really believes. The other is escaping the algorithm. Escaping the algorithm is where one tries to limit other's influence in life.

The best examples of escaping the matrix involve discussing issues like politics, religion, philosophy, etc. which are taboo subjects on this blog. Discussing anything like those things opens up a whole hornet's nest of controversy and we're not going there until this author can figure out how to discuss it with a reasonable degree of neutrality.

However, escaping the algorithm is less controversial. It is a form of digital minimalism and doesn't really involve any discussion of taboo subjects. It actually involves choosing what you view online (and even in real life too) and ignoring the rest of it.  We will continue this post with a discussion of the online aspect and leave the offline world for you to cipher out.

Back late last year I signed up for Facebook/Instagram/Threads accounts. The sole purpose for this resignation to the evil empire was to get on Facebook Marketplace to find old tools and to sell my wares. Well, of course, this turned into a "thing" and I started following a few people and groups. Then one day I noticed that I was on Facebook and I didn't see any post by any person that I followed. This continued on for the next few visits too. One day I noticed that in the "people you may know" category not only did I not know any of those people neither did any of the friends that I followed on Facebook. One day I got on Facebook and actually timed how long I scrolled my timeline before I saw a post from a person or group that I actually followed. It was 15 minutes!

I spent 15 minutes of my life filling my head with what Facebook wanted me to see and not what I wanted to see. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the algorithm in action. Science has repeatedly warned up that what we fill our heads with influences our lives and mental states. Remember COVID lockdowns? We all bought into some crazy stuff back then.

It was/is time to change.

Social Media

Most of my parasocial media platforms have been eliminated or have fallen into disuse.

The Facebook account is retained mostly for business purposes as was stated above but the apps were removed from my devices and I hardly ever look at my timeline there. If I post anything there it will be a link back to this blog. Similarly, my Instagram and my Threads are on waivers as well. Truth is I haven't looked at Instagram and Threads in months aside from looking them up just now to get the links for this post.

I do not have an account on Twitter, or Bluesky, or Reddit or just about any other of the hip and trendy social media sites. I do have an account on the Mastodon platform but haven't used it in years. I'd have to figure out the password before I could even find the link for you.

News

Given the current climate that we are in, this recovering news junkie slipped and started following a few news type things online. I figured out that I was going down some rabbit trails that I neither needed nor wanted to go down. So gone are news apps like Google News or NPR or BBC or anything other danged app that gives me news. They are all algorithmic anyway.

Somewhere along the way in my recent news relapse I decided to follow news outlets directly opposite of mainstream stuff. In about a week I figured out that left or right, progressive or alt-right, Dem or Rep, they were all full of poop and that their beloved news was probably written by some AI bot and that I have no way confirm whether or not any of the news had any basis in truth.

I no longer see the news and if something newsy pops up I figure out a way to keep it from popping up again.

Email is King

People can bellyache about email all they want but the fact of the matter is that over half of the world has an email account. It is the simplest and easiest (and probably cheapest) way to get in touch with anyone anywhere anytime.

In addition to it being a fabulous communication tool between people, many websites offer email newsletters. I have subscribed to a few related to woodworking and computer geekery and have found them to be a delight. I don't have to hunt down the website. The newsletter comes to me. They are according to my interest and by my choosing. 

RSS, nearly the King

Most of the rest of my escaping the algorithm plan involves the old skool cybertech called RSS. I won't go into great detail about what RSS is and how to use it but, simply stated you find a website, blog, podcast, vlog, or whatever that you like. You can find the "feed" for that site and you can plug that feed into a feedreader and whenever the site updates your feedreader will fetch the feed for you and all you have to do to read the site is open your feed reader and read the update.

The beauty of RSS is that YOU choose what you read and when you read it. No algorithm. No personal information sucking accounts. No giving your email out online. No giving of credit card info.

For beginners in RSS I recommend Feedly. It is fairly easy to use but it is an online thing. If you prefer to not have another online account there is a myriad of feedreaders out there with a range of features. Find one you like, plug in a feed or two and have fun.

Less Screentime

In addition to the absence of all the doom and gloom, one of the greatest benefits of this new lifestyle is that my screentime has shrunk. It doesn't take all that long to read online stuff that really matters to me. Everything that matters comes to me via text or email or rss. It is super simple, clean and it is not a timesink.