Junk News
[…] In the pageview and ratings driven media economy, too much of the content these days is designed to be just like junk food to quickly boost quantifiable viewership. If you make content that is the intellectual equivalent of gummy bears, your site will appear to grow quickly. Advertisers reward size, and growing fast is expected in most places I’ve seen. […]
The first thing I did was to take back my time. I quit all the online content that was id-provoking and knee jerk. I stopped reading the stupid hyped up news stories that are press releases or rants about things that will get fixed in a week. I stopped reading the junk and about the junk that was new, but not good. I stopped reading blogs that write stories like “top 17 photos of awesome clouds by iphone” and “EXCLUSIVE ANGRY BIRDS COMING TO FACEBOOK ON VALENTINES DAY.” And corporate news that only affects the 1%. Most days, I feel like most internet writers and editors are engaging in the kind of vapid conversation you find at parties that is neither enlightening or entertaining, and where everyone is shouting and no one is saying anything. I don’t have time for this.
[…] With my three extra hours a day, I will often go to the beach. Cook a healthy meal. Do a bunch of exercise. Have a drink with friends. Read a book. Write a poem. Mow the lawn. Go skiing while checking my email from the chair lift. Visit a museum. […] All it’s cost me are LOLs and LIKES and YOUTUBE VIDEOS OF EXPLOSIONS and news about startups. It’s more than a fair trade–it’s a no brainer. And I think almost anyone with a job based on information can set up a similar life that is just as enjoyable. It might take a few years, but you can’t do it while you’re rotting online reading junk content. Get on, make the most meaningful information and connections, and then get offline. Then, live purposefully towards happiness. Because I’ve never met a person who spent their days and nights online that was happy as I am right now.
The Wirecutter, Brian Lam: “Happiness Takes (A Little) Magic”.
Guillermito
A peu près chaque mois depuis 1994, je lis un article de quelqu’un qui, après avoir passé un peu trop de temps en ligne, redécouvre que la vraie vie se déroule loin d’un écran. Et je suis d’accord a chaque fois.
De la même façon qu’Adblock supprime les publicités, il faudrait un filtre pour éliminer tout contenu sans intérêt, circulaire, a propos de télé, contenant “youtube”, manufacturé pour des raisons financières, ou parlant de la vie privée de gens célèbres. Ca serait un peu plus difficile a faire rentrer dans un algorithme. Pour commencer, je propose d’éliminer le mot-clef “Lana del Rey”, la Justin Bieber pour adultes. Ca m’éviterait de me taper les délires vaguement branchouilles de connards enamourés des deux cotés de l’Atlantique.
Blah ? Touitter !