Oh, the internet – that amazing global collaboration that brings the world to a digital device near you.

Like all awesome technological progress, it also brings plenty of problems. In this case, it’s the huge amount of useless or even dangerous information it puts at your fingertips.

Let’s see how we can sort the digital wheat from the chaff.

Honestly assess your information diet

A recent post likened the abundant information from the digital revolution to the abundant calories from the agricultural revolution. 

Calories are food for our bodies. Information is food for our minds. 

So, how’s your mental diet been lately? Do you feed your mind with healthy amounts of wisdom-rich information? Or is it more like one long empty information binge?

Empty information is just like empty calories: great for instant endorphin releases, terrible for long-term health and vitality. 

Cutting out empty information is key to a healthy digital diet. 

Video streaming

Digital video entertainment offers an excellent example of this comparison between information and food: 

• Semi-illegal streaming of series and movies is like dirt-cheap empty calories. A decidedly average experience that makes you prone to catching some nasty viruses, but oh so addictive. 
• Budget subscription platforms like Netflix are like a cheap all-you-can-eat buffet. To get good value from your purchase, you have to stuff yourself to bursting point. 
• Platforms like Google Play where you pay for what you watch promote quality over quantity. This is like buying a fine chocolate and enjoying it slowly, preferably with friends. 
• Going to see a highly rated new movie in the cinema is like a fine dining experience. 

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the last two are much preferred to the first two. 

Just like food, endorphins from digital treats are sometimes useful to improve mood or enhance a nice social situation. And just like food, we should focus on healthier snacking. 

The key bit of wisdom in the above-linked post goes thusly: if you can’t get yourself to pay for a healthier snack, you clearly don’t need it. 

So, it’s either healthy digital snacking or no digital snacking. 

It’s not just video

This simple rule works for any other type of online information.

Online news offers a highly topical example in these virus-infested times. Having all the world’s problems conveniently summarized at your fingertips is a smooth highway to overwhelm and anxiety. 

And then there’s the big one: social media. This one’s big and scary enough to leave for tomorrow.