Design a media diet with explicit inclusion criteria
Specify in advance what media you will consume, from which sources, and for how long — rather than consuming whatever the algorithm serves.
Key takeaways
- What it is: Specify in advance what media you will consume, from which sources, and for how long — rather than consuming whatever the algorithm serves.
- Why it works: Algorithmic feeds operate on engagement maximization, not value maximization — they serve content that keeps you watching, regardless of whether it serves your goals. A personal media diet with explicit inclusion criteria shifts editorial control from the algorithm to you. This is not about consuming less — it is about consuming deliberately, from sources you’ve evaluated and chosen rather than sources that have won an engagement auction.
- Evidence: Plausible mechanism, limited direct outcome data.
- Avoid: Designing the media diet but continuing to browse algorithmically curated feeds "on the side" — the feed is the problem, and curated substitutes only work if the feed is closed.
Why it works
Algorithmic feeds operate on engagement maximization, not value maximization — they serve content that keeps you watching, regardless of whether it serves your goals. A personal media diet with explicit inclusion criteria shifts editorial control from the algorithm to you. This is not about consuming less — it is about consuming deliberately, from sources you’ve evaluated and chosen rather than sources that have won an engagement auction.
How to do it
- 1List the information categories genuinely relevant to your life and work (industry news, one quality newsletter, a specific podcast).
- 2For each: choose one specific source, one access frequency, and one maximum time per session.
- 3Cancel all subscriptions and unsubscribe from all content outside this list.
- 4Revisit the list quarterly and evaluate each item: is this still earning its slot?
What the evidence says
MechanisticInformation overload research (Eppler & Mengis) documents that beyond a threshold, additional information reduces decision quality. Deliberate curation addresses both the quality and quantity dimensions of media consumption. This is a practitioner application of information hygiene principles.
Honest caveat: Information overload research is mostly organizational; the personal media diet application is a principled but not directly studied extension.
- — Eppler & Mengis (2004), the concept of information overload, Information Society
Common mistake
Designing the media diet but continuing to browse algorithmically curated feeds "on the side" — the feed is the problem, and curated substitutes only work if the feed is closed.
IX Coach supports a weekly media diet review as part of the Weekly Review, asking which content genuinely served your goals and which was algorithmic drift.
Practice this with IX Coach →