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Avoiding outrage fatigue while staying informed

(www.scientificamerican.com)
757 points headalgorithm | 3 comments | 05 Feb 25 14:55 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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joshdavham ◴[05 Feb 25 15:50 UTC] No.42950233[source]▶
One thing to consider for those of us who are more sensitive to online outrage is to just quit social media all together. I’m technically gen z and I’ve been off of social media (aside from HN, WhatsApp and discord) for years and you wouldn’t believe how great it’s been for my overall state of mind.

Reddit, instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Threads, etc are all the equivalent of digital junk food and I’d argue that we’re all a lot more negatively affected by it than we think. There’s a reason ‘brain rot’ was word of the year.

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1. analog31 ◴[05 Feb 25 17:33 UTC] No.42952084[source]▶
I thank myself for having avoided social media so far. I've also developed a keen eye for headlines that lead to "outrage articles" which I avoid.
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2. ysavir ◴[05 Feb 25 17:38 UTC] No.42952159[source]▶
> I've also developed a keen eye for headlines that lead to "outrage articles" which I avoid.

That's critical. My YouTube rule these days is to block any channel with a video name or thumbnail that says something like "This is why you fail at XYZ" or other statements designed to evoke an emotional response from me. And on top of that, I try to only click on videos where the title/thumbnail is properly informative, exposing the content rather than trying to hide it behind a vague hook. Hooks like "You won't believe this one trick!" and fluff like that, titles/thumbnails that should introduce the trick, not just allude to it.

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3. analog31 ◴[05 Feb 25 19:24 UTC] No.42953738[source]▶
Another dead giveaway is "X is outraged by Y."