2021 Junk Media Resolution V2
May 27, 2021
Consuming junk media (YouTube, news feeds, etc.) causes all sorts of problems for me, especially insomnia. I had originally planned to give up junk media in January of this year. I changed my mind when there was a big storm and my life became slightly inconvenient. Now that I have a washing machine again it's time for another junk media resolution.
My life is unusually comfy right now so I want to crank up the intensity of this junk media fast. Here are the rules for this year.
Forbidden
- No YouTube except for music, research, anything I created myself, anything watched and anything sent at the recommendation of a friend. Update July 15: I have allowed myself to watch occasional new videos from individual creators if I decide on the who to watch first, before checking YouTube for what is new.
- No videogames unless I wrote them myself or I am using them to train an AI.
- All media aggregator feeds are banned unless I am posting there. (I'm looking at you, Reddit🙃.)
- Electronic news is banned unless I am responding to it. Paper news is fine.
- Foreign language movies, television and news is an exception iff I have already memorized the entire vocabulary via my personal flashcard software.
- [REDACTED]
Permitted
- Less Wrong is allowed because I post there all the time.
- Reading blogs is allowed. (I might change this.)
- Webcomics and blogs are allowed via RSS.
- Reading manga is allowed, including e-manga.
- Reading books and ebooks is alloewd.
- Listening to audiobooks and podcasts is allowed.
- Research is allowed.
- Anything is allowed provided I enjoy it with a friend or a friend recommends it. This means I am allowed to finish watching Rick and Morty.
- Instructional material is allowed if I deliberately seek it out. Dance videos are allowed even if I do not deliberately seek them out.
- [REDACTED]
- Update June 24: I'm allowing an exception for individual videos by individual creators I like if I decide what kind of thing to watch in advaice.
- Update July 15: I'm allowing a Reddit, in moderation.
- Update July 23: New computer. Videogames are allowed.
- Update August 3: I'm using a daily minimums list instead. Reddit and Less Wrong are allowed. News and webcomics are still banned.
The fast begins on the morning of May 27, 2021. It ends on the morning of May 27, 2022.