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Derp @lemmy.ml

How to get away from doomerism in my media feeds?

Looking through my media feeds, including Lemmy, YouTube, News Outlets (Reuters, Financial Times) as well as news related to my profession, I would estimate that 85% of what I see is doom and gloom, i.e. reports about something that's going wrong in the world or might go wrong in the future.

I try to limit what I follow to educational and unopininated sources (as far as that's possible anyways) and some satire or a meme here and there. I don't like suggestion algorithms and don't use social media, because I don't want to be trapped in a self-reinforcing bubble. On YouTube for example, I use third party apps which show me only videos from channels I explicitly follow.

Still, it's mostly depressing information: how bad the job market and economy is, geopolitical threats, AI risks, symptoms of late stage capitalism. I am aware, thanks. But I didn't ask to hear these things over and over and over again, and it's negatively affecting my outlook on life. I've given up on reading the news entirely because I just get triggered by the enshittification of society, politics, the environment and daily life where I live. At this point I'd rather not hear about it anymore.

What I want to ask is whether you are having the same experience? Am I doing something fundamentally wrong? I don't want to be blind to what's happening in my/the world, but I want to have a positive and optimistic outlook on the future. How can I make that happen? How can I get away from an engagement economy constantly bombarding me with bad news without giving up on learning about the things that I am interested in?

39 comments

  • Block users, block communities, setup filters for keywords. But you will not fully escape it because there is actual doom in this world. Things aren't good for everyone, no matter how hard people try to tell you it's the best it's ever been.

    Its a pretty low bar to clear when you use history as your measurement. Comparing our information age civilization with feudalism is not the win people think it is. Things were worse, but that doesn't mean things are good as is. Have higher standards.

    That said, I hope things are good for you and your people. Peace.

  • Try to be informed about the stuff you can have an impact on

    For example on my rss feed I just wiped out most of the non EU stuff. It’s ok to know that there are wildfires somewhere in the world but being overexposed is really just toxic

    I can organize here in Italy, not even the whole of it but my region and the cities I spend time in. It’s much better to know what my little city council is discussing about rather than any even major event but so far from me.

    Unluckily, social media doesn’t help too much with curating the feeds but as others said try to work more on mutes and filters. Don’t forget that getting informed is just one tool for change, do not get too high on it :)

    Edit and P.S. : it’s also much easier that on social networks driven by engagement algorithms the posts that travel the most are the ones that cause hate/rage and sex or generally emotions easier to exploit online. Newspapers themselves tend to post more negative stuff. It’s just a human bias, take it into account and watch around yourself to find the positive stuff of life

  • Echoing solarpunk! Along those same lines is “hopepunk”. I like to think of my media consumption in a similar way to my diet and consider how much I need from different areas to stay balanced. It is hard to fully escape the doomerism narratives but seeking out generative, hopeful narratives has made a difference in how much I find myself disrupted by them. Also poetry can be a great way to explore the heavier subjects and often where I head when I get overwhelmed.

  • I'm only a day in of trying to get away from this, and I'm mostly talking about Lemmy right now (but it would also work / help on Bluesky), but something that's already made a huge difference for me personally since yesterday, is separating the feeds. I woke up this morning and scrolled through content that didn't make me want to start a revolution first thing in the morning and I'm already having a pretty good day for it.

    I decided to cut most news and politics out of my subscriptions, other than maybe some small communities that don't show up on 'All' on a 24 hour cycle. So from now on, my subscriptions will be only things that interest me and not enrage me. And 'All' is still there if I happen to feel like indulging in the rage for a little bit.

    Also, finding a server that's more tailored to what you personally vibe with adds a 3rd option in the 'Local' tab for a feed that doesn't destroy your soul piece by piece.

    So the 'Reddit' experience is still there in the 'All' tab, for everything. From rage to cool shit you haven't subscribed to yet. But you don't have to spend all day there. You can fill the other two tabs with stuff that makes you smile or learn or that aligns with your interests / career / philosophy or whatever. And spend more time there.

    I was doing the same when I gave Bluesky a try, making use of different feeds for different things. Keep the news and politics in its own tab and only go there when you feel like catching up, or if you're specifically in the mood to rage against the machine.

39 comments