protecting the mind against digital pollution
I am a firm believer in filtering content through practices defined by a moral framework before it reaches my eyes, in order to not have to filter it myself at the point of consumption.
This stems from an aversion to the conformist mind, I have never wanted to be anything but unique; and joining mass-consumed social practices qualifies under that norm.
I remember my first encounter with this concept; it opening a facebook account when I was about twelve or thirteen. Everyone was getting them, and I did too. But it felt like a euphoric filter over the world. I could sense this filter as a faux reality, and could not fit it into my world. Today, this moral filter expands further as my experiences have broadened.
how i practise ad aversion
Total aversion, I will do anything in my power to not see another ad again. This includes deliberately looking at my feet when on a walk, as I am force-fed an ad via physical media.
Why this is such a strong moral obligation for me is partly intuitive, but has something to do with viewing people who engage and consume ads as more susceptible. I don’t believe in allowing myself to be persuaded by an ad. Advertising aims to change behaviour; resisting that influence feels integral to my autonomy.
How do I implement this ideology into my internet life? For starters, I will never use a browser that does not allow uBlock as an extension. This has led me to move away from Chromium-based browsers. I currently use Zen as it is open source software and based on Firefox, uses Arc design principles that I once admired.
All devices I own, as a base, use the Cloudflare CDN (1.1.1.1) - mobile and TV devices use NextDNS with custom filters. This is the unfortunate necessity for operating systems that have built in advertising.
how i use my television
For example, my TV is a Hisense with Vidaa OS. I learned the reason Vidaa OS based TVs are cheap is that they ship with ads on the home screen, these aren’t just any generic ads; THEY AUTO PLAY UN-MUTED, For me, that crosses a line in respectful design.
So what is the solution? — I turned off the internet at the OS layer and bought a Xiaomi TV Box S (3rd Gen) and run this as my main TV OS. It does not stop there, as per my pre-defined content filtering rules I will not have the home screen google gives me with content served to me. So I purchased Projectivy Launcher (one of the best digital purchase I have ever made) and have it auto-start into a customised home screen with the content I want to see.
So that’s the end of the television setup, right? Hell no - We are anti-Balkanisation of the streaming ecosystem. I use a custom paid for Stremio setup that allows me to watch whatever I want whenever I want. No locked content algorithms, no multiple subscriptions, just pure unfiltered content without ads.
how i use youtube
On my mobile Android device this is rather simple, I use youtube through Revanced with shorts removal enabled. This allows me content viewing with zero ads (including in video sponsorships). As well as the avoidance of short form content.
On my workstations, I use Zen browser with SponsorBlock and uBlock with one custom filter and one custim filter list. The first custom filter is a result of youtube hiding videos in search results if it detects ad blocking at the network layer, this filter allows the ads to flow through from the network but hides them with CSS. The second list remove all short form content.
other practises for content filtering
- I do not have meta social media (facebook, instagram)
- I have never, nor will ever, consume tiktok
- I have linkedin but use a feed removal browser addon
- On windows OS installations, I always run the bloatware removal script
- on Android devices, I turn off the Discover feed
- I avoid media outlets; car radio, digital news sites etc.
concluding thoughts
This strict adherence to protecting what content reaches me is not really anti corporation or anti tracking. It's primarily a desire to have a unique outlook on the world - an attempt to just be an individual, uninfluenced and singular.