Why does muting or unfollowing people backfire and show me more negativity?

[Samuel24]

I’ve been trying to cut back on my screen time, but every time I mute or unfollow someone for being too negative, my feed just seems to fill up with something else that stresses me out. Has anyone else found that trying to curate your feed this way just makes the algorithm show you more of what you’re trying to avoid?

[Oliver_W]

Yep, I tried muting and unfollowing a bunch of folks who felt negative, and somehow the feed still shifted to other stuff that stressed me out. It felt endless.

[Chloe_G]

I gave it time, but after a week my mood didn’t improve. So I started leaving the phone in another room after dinner, and the days I did that felt calmer even if the feed served something else.

[ZoeyOS]

Is the real problem maybe how the feed algorithm nudges you toward the next post instead of letting you breathe?

[Nathan8]

I wandered off topic for a minute and thought maybe the problem is the habit of scrolling itself. I tried a stretch of evening reading instead and noticed I slept better, even if the feed still popped up with stuff.