bingham vs content

I'm changing the way I consume content.

For too long the big tech and media conglomerates have dictated the way that we consume content. Their incentives directly contradict the incentives of the average consumer: The platforms want to maximize eyeballs. Big tech has architected a number of insidious tricks to keep us glued to our devices, chief among them being the infinite scroll and the recommendations algorithm. Starting with Facebook it saw liftoff with Instagram and explosion with TikTok.

For years I've struggled with addiction to content, especially YouTube. The algorithm can pull you down a Rabbit Hole only to discover hours later that you've wasted 2 hours of your life learning about Malaysian Airlines Flight 3543 or watching a Lizard escape from snakes. This is often fascinating and well-produced content, but in the grand scheme of things, it falls firmly on the waste-of-time side of the scale. Other sites such as Reddit or Wikipedia are just as likely to ensnare me and steal a half hour on nonsense. Almost invariably the problem is not the content itself that I was visiting the site for, but the recommendation algorithms tuned to dissolve my self control.

For years I've tried to fight this battle against the algorithms, and I've tried every tool and trick in the book. I've tried using site-blocking chrome extensions, time limits on my phone, and even changed my phone to grayscale for about 6 months all in an attempt to de-condition my instinct to waste time with frivolous content.

The problem with this cold-turkey method, I discovered, was that after some point I would always need to go back onto one of these sites for a legitimate reason. I would need to watch a YouTube tutorial or read a Reddit thread about a bug I was encountering. At this point, I would disable the extension, then proceed to relapse and get sucked down these rabbit holes all over again.

Luckily, with the rise of AI and especially Claude Code, I now have a tool to fight back. Rather than removing my access entirely to these sites, now with a vibe-coded chrome extension I've been able to selectively hide the recommendation algorithms on these sites. This allows me to still access the valuable content I need on YouTube, Reddit, Wikipedia, etc. without the risk of falling down a Rabbit Hole and expending hours of my life. On YouTube I've disabled the recommendations panel, autoplay, and the homepage. On Wikipedia I've disabled all embedded links (yes, it's way more boring). On Reddit I've disabled the homepage, all subreddit pages, and the recommended tab on the right, so I can only access directly linked posts.

How does this work on mobile? Since chrome extensions aren't allowed on mobile I've simply deleted all distracting apps and only allow myself to access these apps through the desktop. Obviously this isn't an ideal solution, but I've grown accustomed to only accessing these sites through the desktop, so the mobile craving has essentially entirely disappeared. Although I won't declare victory just yet, I'm confident this method will be able to work in the long run for me.