New Year, New Feed? Declaring War on Social Media Algorithms
I’m thinking about the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions — of boldly declaring that this year, everything will change. I will meditate daily! I will not let my PMS run the family! I will eat kale in the amounts recommended by Resee Whitherspoon! The reality however, is that most of my New Year’s resolutions tend to resemble sticky Post-it notes that’ve lost their glue.
Still, I’ve decided to take on one of the toughest challenges there is — a resolution that may not stick, but where I have nothing to lose trying.
Because I really need to do something about the time I spend on social media. Why? Because I’m tired of being at the mercy of algorithms whose only goal is to pull me into a dopamine doom-scroll abyss.
The more fragmented my attention becomes by pings, alarms and notifications, the more I feel my ADHD running the show.
My hope is that with fewer digital distractions I will feel calmer, more intentional, and dare I say… mindful.
This sounds great, right?
So, what am I up against?
How come screens are so hard to leave outside the bedroom at night or in the jacket during a dinner party?
How come I allow my phone access to my most precious times in life and what makes the digital world so sticky?
Well, let’s face it — social media is ADHD kryptonite.
It’s shiny, unpredictable and endlessly stimulating.
In a battle between TikTok’s perfect-for-my-attention-span 15-second videos and my unfinished research manuscript or the growing laundry pile. Guess who wins every time?
The problem is, as entertaining as social media can be, it hijacks my ability to decide how I want to spend my time.
It’s no secret that apps and social media are designed to bypass our frontal lobes and win the race to the bottom of the brain. Deliberately exploiting our vulnerable reward systems.
What starts as “I’ll just check Instagram for a minute” turns into “Where did my afternoon go and why am I watching chickens learning to drive boats?”
Our awareness becomes more and more fragmented by the cognitive demands of modern digital life.
But, the less time we spend scrolling mindlessly, the more connected we’ll feel to real life — and the less our ADHD will derail us.
Start by setting some limits
I’m not planning to quit cold turkey — I’m not going off-grid or deleting my apps entirely. But I do want to be able to choose when and how I use social media and avoid doom-scrolling in bed or at meals.
I guess I’ll have to start by setting some limits on my social media apps to make sure that I spend more time with actual humans instead of parasocial influencers.
I’d like to track how less time on social media affects my mood, relations and everyday priorities.
And I will use Letterlife to help me objectively assess this:
I’ll keep track of how I feel and function by setting daily, personal questions to explore potential changes in mood, energy, sleep and relations.
I’ll also use the app to keep a journal — just a few sentences at the end of the day—to note my experience. When I inevitably slip (because let’s be real, I’ll slip) I’ll reflect on what pulled me back into the vortex.
Anyone who knows me realizes that the chances of me suddenly becoming a zen-like yogi overnight are slim.
But here’s to 2025:
the year I stop letting algorithms run my life.
The year I reclaim my time, and my brain. And this year I finally delete TikTok chickens from my feed.
What about you?
Are you ready to take back control of your scroll?
Share your thoughts and experiences with all of us in the Community!
Happy New Year!
🎆
Lotta Borg Skoglund MD PhD
MD PhD & Letterlife Co-founder
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