TAKING CONTROL: reclaiming your agency over the algorithm

In the recent Field Notes article, we explored why disgust is a protective response—why your body recoils from contamination, whether it’s mouldy lemons or moral corruption. But knowing why you feel disgusted doesn’t automatically tell you how to be with it skillfully. This is where “titration” comes in: finding a controlled exposure that allows you to stay informed and engaged.

Below are some content strategies I’ve been working with, along with journaling prompts to help you find your own sustainable approach to remaining constructively engaged.

THE ALGORITHM PROBLEM

The problem with scrolling on your phone is that content is delivered to you unexpectedly and without consent. Algorithms have noted that you have read a similar post before, or watched or listened to a reel before, and because it’s a machine - not an empathetic, emotionally intelligent human, however much these technologies would like you to think otherwise - it assumes you’ll be pleased when it serves you up another helping of what you consumed before.

By the time you have registered the headline or glimpsed the image, your body has already responded: disbelief, disgust, despair. You now face a real-time choice: do you look away and somehow manage the dissonance of remaining ignorant? or do you linger, put the sound up, and risk overwhelm at the least?

Even pausing for a second on a post signals engagement. The algorithm learns and adjust the feed accordingly. Before you know it, you have a steady stream of similar content scrolling under your thumb.

I’ve been working through the following content strategies and want to share them with you.

1: CHOOSE PULL OVER PUSH

Access news through reputable news outlets directly. Download their app or use their browser version. This means you decide when to check in, not the algorithm.

Turn off news alerts and push notifications. The goal is again to go searching for news rather than be ambushed by it.

Set specific times to check the news. Just as you wouldn’t snack all day between meals, avoid ‘grazing’ on your news/social media feeds throughout the day.