My Blogs
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Date: 19-2-2026
My experience in the digital world & my currated list to beat the algorithm
A summary about my experience with the algorithm and what ideas and solutions it gave me to get rid of it and create my own curated list
As you may have read above, I took on the challenge of getting rid of the algorithm and thus found my own method of reading, watching, and listening to certain media without feeling forced to do so.
What I mean by forced is watching media that is presented to you, without you having the power to look for it yourself or make the choice to watch it yourself. This was inspired by a Shameless nerd video and my love for anological living which I'm slowly trying to incorporate into my life.That is why I have started keeping logbook of my my experience in the digital world and what it brings for me. I became the the suspect under investigation, so to speak, observing many important points about myself and how I came up with healthier ways to still enjoy media, without the algorithm playing a role.
Anolog vs Digital
To properly start this blog I started my little research on analog and digital media, based on my experience
It goes without saying that analog is often experienced as continuous, physical, and closer, while digital is often virtual and more distant. Anological life is more based on direct experience, the senses that feel, and the moment itself. Unfortunately a great loss in these times, especially when I was doing my little research. In Dutch I often speak of (Digitale ruis) digital noice, when I realize that I was just going along with the digital maze of media and algorithms without doing anything about it. I am sensitive to sensory overload, too many stimuli and headaches, the main reason for me to never been addicted to my phone
I could already enjoy myself without digital media, but it got serious when I realized I had no real control over it. I mean, often when you're physically reading something, you know when to stop, but when something constantly demands your attention, when do you even stop?
When I read back through my logbook, there have been plenty of times when I was annoyed by my phone, where I had different apps, YouTube and the list goes on. So I took measures, perhaps quite radical when you read it, but for me it brought a lot of peace.
The important measures I have taken
These are measures that partly target the algorithm that tries to catch me in the form of YouTube for example, and at the same time other ways to enjoy media
- As radical as this sounds, I haven't personalized my phone anymore, just gone back to basics. No background or distractions.
- The phone's applications have been stripped back to basics, including calls, messages, email, gallery, clock, and notes. Unfortunately, other apps are still available due to work.
- My laptop has become a good replacement for my phone. I can write, read, and feel quite productive
- I have turned off all notifications on my phone, only when I open my phone and the app then I do see the message, not before.
- I made multiple paper versions of my notes that I kept on my phone, so I have 8 types of notebooks, possibly more to get my thoughts out
- To combat YouTube videos and digital doomscrolling, I tried to overhaul my YouTube. So, I reduced my list of subscribed channels to only the channels I watch, and I stil update it to keep it minimal.
- something else to battle the urge to watch youtube is reading lexicons!
- To put my hatred for YouTube's homepage in place once and for all, I decided to change my settings, no more viewing history, but a "to be watched" playlist where I add videos that I want to watch.
- Bought an analog digital alarm clock, because why not?
- I've started reading more, I always have a book with me that I can read whenever and wherever I am
- I'm still considering an MP3, because listening to my favorite videos with YouTube ads is starting to test my patience
- I still use my note taking app on my phone, but I have limited it to "braindump" and quick notes and thoughts. It is always been my way of being inspired, so to me no harm
- Filling up my commonplace book, since the start of keeping a logbook I found many more inpsirations and experiments to start on. My notebook is filled up and feels more home then my phone.
- I started watching just tv-programmes, lectures or anything else. I never used to watch netflix or other streaming services.
- I started reading the local news-paper and when to the library, my favorite place to be and found magazines to read!
- In the future I would like to gain the ability to remember te phone numbers of people by numbers instead of names.
- to many peoples suprise I don't own social media like instagram or tiktok, I never liked it and have deleted it for almost 8 years now.
My currated list of recommedations
for me to relax and say my little research brought me some amazing new media that I discovered without an algorithm! I had to add a currated list of recommedations to this blog with most of it youtube channels (because I love the crappy channels on youtube made by real pepole) Also the channels I always used to support and love watching since today
Benifts and inportant things to mention
I've always been a simple person and have never had trouble letting go or removing things from my life. In my little research of my experience in the digital world and what I've learned, it became clear that I'm not cut out for the fast-paced, flashing, and attention-seeking world of today's media. For me, these measures, possibly consciously taken but also unconsciously felt, have been the breakthrough.
I don't know about you, but think about how distopian it feels to just digest media without consciously thinking about it and just let it happen. I think that as humans we are failing ourselves in this regard, we deserve a better experience with media, an experience that we can stand behind. This blog is therefore based solely on my experience and what I see happening around me. Feel free to read it and ignore it :)
Just to name some benefits that I have experienced, I think the biggest one so far is that I've started to enjoy silence more than before and I'm more involved with my hobbies. I make room for enjoying YouTube videos I've selected myself, but also for enjoying an hour or two of writing with pen or paper, or for bringing my many projects out of the shadows and giving them more attention. it hasn't escaped my notice that people think I'm living under a rock, but this way is enough for me. More than enough.I experience more freedom in what I want to see, listen to and read in a world that screams for attention and then grabs it and takes you into a deeply disturbing world of the screen. Speaking of which, I do have the right to brag about it, I almost have no screen time anymore....
Conclusion
I've had the pleasure of writing this blog post and expressing my research and who it has ultimately made me. I've always been someone who didn't care much about anything, but not having control over what I wanted to consume didn't do me any good. So forgive me if I've talked too much about myself. And forgive me for the clumsy way I write; it's just how my mind works.
I will update the list of currated recommedations, other then youtube, I would hopefully add some websites and blogs I happend to read.
THANK YOU! (⌒_⌒;)
Date: 24-3-2026
My everyday carry
- sweets(Mentos or chocolate)
- My work ID-card
- keys
- Tasbih beads
- hand sanitizer
- a small purse for essentials like painkillers
- a book to read
- sketchbook (small A5)
- usual pencil case
- pencil case for sketching
- notebook (work)
- Small A5 notebook (personal)
- mini agenda
- My commomplace book
- My mini poetry notebook
- A word search or Sudoku
- A small bag with 8 different tea flavours
- My digital camera PowerShot A420
- some extra sweets
- eather in the rightside or the left I have a handcreme and a small siroop bottle to ad flavor in the water
- The other pocket is where a bottle of water goes or a small but fine sized fabric bag that I need so many times because of my limited space in the main compartment. Also when I do groceries it's handy to bring the bag
As you probably have read from the title, I like to bring little things with me on a daily basis. I think they are called an everyday carry. I still have the obsession with watching videos about what is in my bag? and sometimes look at my dusty little bag in the corner and wander what is in my bag?
That is why I thought it would be fun to share in this blog what I carry with me and sometimes (often) forget to bring along. By the end of the blog, you will probably be thinking: how do you manage to take all that with you? And another important question: why do I even bring all that stuff?
The backpack
To start this blog I would like to introduce you to my mini backpack named "Fjällräven Kånken mini backpack". As the name suggests it is a scaled-down version of the Kånken backpack and it's quite small for a backpack, so you are inclined to just fill the bag as best you can in terms of space. And that my friends is what I do for a living. All jokes aside, it is not easy to take that bag with you before you leave the house; one way or another, you still have to choose what to take with you and what to leave behind. It is almost impossible to decide what to leave behind, and yet it helps enormously. In my case, it helps because I never know what I need until I know that my space is limited for what I'm going to take with me, so naturally I try my best to take whatever space allows. Besides that, it also comes in handy if you know where the trip is going. I often take the bag to work, the library, and for a walk. As the name suggests, it is an outdoor bag, but it is also quite handy for indoors
The need to have a bag
I really have to mention why I keep such a narrow bag with me for almost all my "trips." It started a bit with work; I have an irregular job that makes it quite challenging to think of myself, because I am expected to think more about others at work. I pretty much forgot to bring a lot of things, like a meal or a good book for the bus. I also realize how often I’ve thought about a painkiller for a headache but never had one with me. Besides, as a clumsy girl, it is also nice for me to have hand cream lying around somewhere in my bag. Maybe even with a peach scent? Whatever it was, I needed it anyway. When you consider that you spend almost half your day at work, and of course the commute there and back, it is certainly nice to have things with you that you can put to good use
Evil capitalism and bags
To delve even further into the "what is my bag?" trend or activity of most influencers like to participate in. I must honestly confess that I am not that easy to influence. I always had a bag in high school or when going to a museum for the day, but now in busy adult life, I have realized how important such a bag actually is. I used to get very annoyed about not having what I wanted to use or forgetting to bring a meal, and now I feel at peace knowing that I have it with me. In my experience, the bag is almost something I have always needed: a sense of security and a place where I can retreat, both physically and mentally. But the way it is portrayed on the internet these days is also a vague flaw to me. After a quick Google search, I also found out why most things have become an annoyance nowadays. Such a "what is my bag" trend is seen as a capitalist trend, but what isn't a capitalist trend these days? Everything I can think of has been cheered about and shared on the internet by an influencer at some point, and we can guess what followed: a wave of consumption. Something that is perhaps also well known by now is the fact that what you carry in your bag reflects who you are. But unfortunately, for good reason, that trend has been portrayed as merely a material need and an idea to consume who you want to be or already are. But sadly, in my view, it does not come close to the value you can actually attach to having a bag with items you like to have with you
That is why, at the beginning, I just started acting like a fan girl and talking about my mini backpack and the limited space. Because to me, it has no value if you say "look what I have with me," but rather I have it with me because I want to have it with me and it gives me peace. I wonder if more people see it this way; isn't it just normal to have your favorite book with you wherever you go, or your notebook where you can quickly write down a story idea? Or a sketchbook to sketch a beautiful building in front of you that no one stops to notice at a busy station. Have you never had the feeling that you have to wait a long time and actually want to do a word search in that time? Or perhaps you stopped to think about it but never considered quickly fishing a tasty candy out of your bag instead of buying one? or just buy a cup of hot water at a bakery, then take your favorite tea out of your bag and enjoy the view that no ordinary passerby looks at. Well, maybe it's time I revealed what is hiding in my little bag.....(spoiler it is a lot)
the reveal....
In the small zipper outer pocket, I have the following
The outer small pocket is minimally decorated, I have 2 pins, one of Howl's Moving Castle --> Calcifer and a cute cat sitting on a mushroom. On the rest, I have a handmade fabric bracelet with different colors from a world shop (a specialty shop that sells fair, sustainable gift items and food products from developing countries)
Speaking about decoration, I don't think I'm someone who can "pimp" up my bag without forgetting it's my bag. I usually like to keep things simple. I would like to have a cute keychain hanging lose on the bag, but I'm still looking for one. My friend and I ones exchanged keychains of our bicycles, I think I will hang that keychain on my bag:)
Before I proceed to the large main compartment, I must mention that I first need to explain that I do not bring all my belongings with me all the time. it depends on where I go and what the occasion is and of course my mood haha.
The two outer side pockets
The bag conclusion
That is what I wanted to share about my small but compact bag, which is perhaps a bit more personal than I thought. Besides that, the things I carry with me are priceless. I somehow become attached to my sketchbook, a book to read on the go, or the tasty candies I can sometimes enjoy while wating at the busstop. If I have to explain one by one why I want to bring along those little things, I'm afraid my keyboard will protest. Having a bag with you feels just like having a part of your home with you. Whether it has become a trend that has gotten out of hand or an obsession of some companies to sell us, for example, giant cups to put in our bags, it is and remains a handy and pleasant idea to have your bag with you, don't you think?