RSS feeds are nice to my brain

This week I tried reaching for my RSS reader instead of social media as much as I could. I still have a phone screen time that is too high for comfort, but shifting it towards reading more intentionally and more long form was noticeably better for my mental health and overall peace. #

Even if the social media I use is heavily curated (liberal use of the block button (opens in a new tab), being stingy with the follow feature (opens in a new tab), and other hygiene), my RSS feed is just slower. Each article is delivered one at a time, and there isn’t an infinite feed or several new opinions waiting for me. I can stop in the middle of a paragraph and think. I can highlight. I can take notes. My brain doesn’t like that I’ve deprived it of the dopamine fix, but it thanks me for it. Now I can breathe. #