Consuming things on the Internet can inspire us, show us something new, transform our ideas of the world, & genuinely add to our lives…

But consuming the wrong things is like eating junk food: it feels good at the moment but in the long term it has negative side effects.

& It’s probably not a shocking revelation to you either that majority of people are constantly consuming digital junk food.

I’ve been one of them, & some days I still do eat too much digital junk food (nobody’s perfect).

Scrolling endlessly on TikTok, Instagram & Twitter, everyone has their own preference for digital junk food.

So today I want to dive into some ideas & actionable tips that have actually helped me (& will hopefully help you) curb my poor digital diet. (So you can spend more time on things that actually matter)

Barebone tips to clean up your digital diet.

Listed below are the most actionable tips I’ve gained while cleaning up my own digital diet.

If any of these helped you, or you need help implementing them dont hesitate to hit the reply button. I read all the replies.

Curate your social media feeds.
Create lists of people you want to see content from & only view those people’s content. This way of curation allows you to manage the types of content that make it into your feeding zone (your social media feed)

On Twitter there is a literal list feature, Create a list by adding people to it and keep it to people who provide useful content.

On Instagram & other social media platforms you can stick to the following tabs, but this is still a hard task as they always put you back to the for you pages that make it impossible to close the applications.

If curating doesn’t work, it may be time to look at a different approach listed below. ⬇Set time aside for using social media.Set aside time in your day for using social media. This is even better than curating your feeds because most of the scrolling isn’t progressing your life even with curation.

I plan my days ahead the night before so I’m a lot less prone to scroll when I have a task list of other things I need to get done.

A small bonus if you’re reading this & want to plan your days too, here’s a link to download my free daily planner template in Notion.

If you set a time to scroll on social media:
- Watch the clock or set a timer
- Stick to your time limit
- Don't go on social media at other times of the day when you get bored

The next tip is an alternative to death scrolling, & aimed to help add more vegetables to your digital diet.

Subscribe to valuable newsletters
Preferably ones that provide in-depth value on the topics you want to learn about.

...then go read your email when bored instead of scrolling.
ex: Being subscribed to Frik It Filosophy (the newsletter you’re reading now)

A lot of people have newsletters now, chances are the things you’re interested in have newsletters, spend time to go find them & spend less time on social media death scrolling.

Use a 3rd party tool to create content
If you need access to social media because you use it for your business or something similar, try using a third-party tool to create content and post it so you dont get sucked into scrolling.

I use Typefully for Twitter & Linked In, the free version will suffice plenty to help you on Twitter.

There are other apps for Instagram & Facebook but I just use the Meta Business Manager.

Turn your phone into black & white mode.
I set up a shortcut on my iPhone for this.

When I click the power button 3 times my phone goes black and white.

I won’t make you google how to enable this feature either.

I want to help you out to make sure you do this one, so here are the exact steps for iPhone & Android.

How to Iphone Black & white mode: Go to Settings, Then Find Accessibility, Next, Scroll the button to find Accessibility Shortcut, Then find Color Filters under “Triple Click The Side Button For:” & Enable it. Now when you click the side button 3 times your phone should go black & white.

If the black & white filter is not applied & it used a different filter then go search for Color Filters in your settings & enable them by clicking Grayscale

How To Android Black & white mode: Go to Settings > Modes & Routines > Sleep. On the Sleep page, toggle on Turn on automatically (and set your schedule if you haven’t already). OR Go to Settings > Accessibility > Visibility enhancements Then Select Color correction and tap Grayscale.

This makes your phone boring & gives you far fewer dopamine hits that in turn make you less prone to scroll.

Delete apps on your phone
Make it harder to mindlessly open Twitter or another social media app.

Assess your wasted time.

Evaluate how much time you spend wasted on social media, start setting timers to track your scrolling sessions & think about the things you COULD have done instead - relate it to your passions or interests.

“I could have worked out, I could have made myself a really good meal, I could have improved X skill that would benefit my life”

Plan your day.

If you have things you NEED to get done, you're much less likely to scroll. Having a task list or plan for the day helps curb digital junk food.

Again: Here’s my FREE Daily Planner template, use it, and then reply to this email with your progress. (I read all replies)Pomodoro is a study technique where you work, take a short break, do this 4 times, then take a long break, & repeat.

I’ve used it a ton along with my daily planner, it helps a TON to be more productive.

Here’s the free timer I use: Pomofocus.

10: Close your phone now & put it on the other side of the room

This is the end of this long body of text, now if you read it all the way to here then it’s time to close your phone, or if you’re reading on your computer: close this tab.

It’s time now to go create or work on something valuable to you or just go give someone a hug.

Either or: don’t open up social media on autopilot, curb your digital junk food for at least a little bit.

Thanks for reading this, see you in the next one.
- your friend jack. 🙂 ❤️ 

STILL READING??? Okay what the heck are you doing??

If you’re going to feed on digital junk at least add some greens to your diet.

3 Methods To Add Greens to your Digital Diet
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I thought the above was clever. Anywayssssss…

get off this app, & Thank you so much for reading.