Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the concepts behind feed filtering, attention control, and algorithmic manipulation — each linked to the tools, guides, and use cases that put the concept to work.
A
-
AI Slop
AI slop defined: what it is, why it's flooding Facebook, YouTube, and Google Search in 2026, how to spot it, and the tools that filter it out of your feeds.
-
Algorithmic Amplification
Algorithmic amplification defined: how Reddit, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok rank engagement-bait above accuracy, per PNAS Nexus, Pew, and the Facebook Papers — and how to reduce it in your own feeds.
-
Attention Economy
The attention economy explained: why platforms compete for your attention, how they monetize it, and what it means for your feed, your mood, and your focus.
B
-
Behavioral Addiction
Behavioral addiction defined: the clinical framework for compulsive platform use, how it differs from substance addiction, and what actually works to break the loop.
-
Brain Rot
Brain rot defined — the 2024 Oxford Word of the Year explained, what's actually happening cognitively, and the structural changes that reverse it.
C
-
Clickbait
Clickbait defined: the headline and thumbnail techniques designed to bait clicks through curiosity gaps, shock, and false promises — and how to remove it from your feeds.
D
-
Dark Patterns
Dark patterns defined: the deceptive UI designs that trap you in longer sessions, harder cancellations, and unwanted permissions — and how to fight back.
-
Digital Detox
Digital detox defined: what a structured break from devices achieves, why casual weekends off usually fail, and how to design an abstinence period that resets your baseline.
-
Digital Minimalism
Digital minimalism defined: Cal Newport's philosophy of keeping only the digital tools that serve your stated values, and eliminating everything else — and how to implement it.
-
Doomscrolling
Doomscrolling defined: what it is, why algorithmic feeds reward it, what it costs attention and mood, and the 3 specific tools that break the loop in 2026.
-
Dopamine Fasting
Dopamine fasting explained — the legitimate behavioral science behind the popular name, what it can and can't do, and how to apply the underlying principle effectively.
E
-
Echo Chamber
Echo chamber defined: how social and algorithmic reinforcement traps you in a self-confirming information loop, and the tools and habits that break it.
F
-
FeedCutter
FeedCutter defined: what it is, what an attention firewall is, and why the directory exists to help people reclaim focus from algorithmic feeds.
-
Filter Bubble
Filter bubble defined: how algorithmic feeds trap you inside a narrowing view of reality, why platforms build them, and what you can do to break out.
-
FOMO
FOMO defined: the anxiety that keeps you compulsively checking feeds, how platforms engineer it, and the tools and mindset shifts that quiet it.
I
-
Infinite scroll
Infinite scroll defined: what it is, why platforms built it, what it costs you, and how feed removers put the off-ramp back.
-
Information Overload
Information overload defined: the cognitive cost of too much input, how social media and news feeds accelerated it, and practical ways to reduce it.
-
Intermittent Reinforcement
The behavioral psychology behind why social media feeds are impossible to put down — and the same mechanism that makes slot machines addictive.
O
-
Outrage Optimization
Outrage optimization defined: the platform strategy of amplifying anger-producing content because outrage maximizes engagement metrics — and how to filter it out.
P
-
Persuasive Technology
Persuasive technology defined: the design science behind behavior-changing apps, how it became the foundation for addictive social media, and what to do about it.
R
-
Ragebait
Ragebait defined: content engineered to provoke outrage, how platforms amplify it, and the specific tools that remove it from your feeds.
S
-
Surveillance Capitalism
Surveillance capitalism defined: the business model of harvesting behavioral data to predict and modify behavior, why it makes free platforms possible, and what it costs you.
22 terms defined. New entries land weekly — see the RSS feed.