Be very mindful about the content you consume online.
You might think you are above its negative influence on your mood and thoughts, but you aren't. Nobody is.
The content you consume influences the way you think over time. Even if you are on a platform to fight the opposition, what the algorithm is feeding you there will have an influence on yourself over time.
Be careful what you feed to your brain.
@Em0nM4stodon @User47 Well said! But that goes for Mastodon, too. There's a lot of crap floating around, even though there's no algorithm to boost it.
@Em0nM4stodon I used to use the "recent searches" page in Instagram as my homepage so I could guarantee I only saw the people I wanted to see. If I ever had to run a new search or use the regular interface I was bombarded with manipulative ads, promoted content, and an increasing amount of genAI slop. It got to be too much hassle so I stopped going.
I stopped using the app long before that and was using a browser with multiple privacy extensions.
@Em0nM4stodon Gammon rants (which I've seen vastly less of since I stopped doing Twitter) only inflame me to despise gammons even more.
@Em0nM4stodon Heard and agree. Too many tigers in the woods to be aware of these days. Unfortunately, dopamine is a hell of a drug and I need a timer to eject me from the social media network. 🖖
@Em0nM4stodon@infosec.exchange already have deleted X (Twitter) and facebook never had Tiktok either 👍
@Em0nM4stodon I really hate to be pedantic *not* but I think you mean 'over time' - two words signifying and an episodic or continuous process completed over a duration of time - and NOT 'overtime' -one word signifying excess duration of a project or normal work - apologies, but if you have a message, it is important to express it clearly to reduce the change of misunderstanding.
@sjcooke66 Indeed. Typos happen, and my autocarrot isn't helping. https://infosec.exchange/@Em0nM4stodon/115787556985092446
@Em0nM4stodon I so very much agree!! Our brains are being rewired without our direct consent. ..
@Em0nM4stodon Also consider this a lot, I got off twitter and Facebook years ago for this very reason, love the communities I've come across here!
@Em0nM4stodon fullack. It takes a little bit of your mental health. Every single time.
And at the end of the day you feel a little bit worse that before.
@Em0nM4stodon Oh boy... my producer had it really bad for a couple years (in particular, AI craze in RP). He's done stuff to minimize it, and is currently taking a break from it.
Then again... the type of stuff we consume otherwise is outside of this influence.
It is such a blessing, that Mastodon not only allows to sort Accounts one follows into lists, but has the option to hide the accounts in a list from your standard home feed...this way I have a 'high spoon list' from which I only see stuff if I actively chose to.
@MurmeltHier Lists is such an amazing feature! I use it a lot as well.
@Em0nM4stodon I am even carefully curating my Fedifollowing as some of the newer follows this past year are active in boosting toots that I find begin to drag me into a more negative headspace.
Someone repeatedly brings me down either with their own toots or boosts? Mute their boosts, and possibly mute them or even unfollow them.
@Em0nM4stodon As a neuroscientist, I approve this message!
Also, things we do just before going to sleep seem to be the things that will be most consolidated in your memory, so we should be particularly mindful of what we "feed our brains" at that time!
