SITE BLOCKERS/GUIDES

website blockers

• ★ THE SEXY leechblock - a FREE website blocking browser extension. it is highly customisable and flexible. it works on chromium based browsers and firefox.
• ★ forest - a smartphone app with a browser extension version which allows you to pick an amount of time to focus. in this time, you are growing a virtual tree. if you leave the app (or on desktop, access a banned website) your tree will die. brutal. student me owes this app a lot lol
• ★ hide twitter trends - removes "whats happening", "who to follow", and "topics to follow" from twitter. for chromium based browsers.
• ★ unhook youtube - allows you to remove features such as recommended, comments, likes, and more on youtube. for chromium based browers, firefox, and edge.
• ★ ublock origin - blocks adverts, popups, and some tracking. you can also use it to block elements on a page, for example, follower counts. works on a variety of browsers.

  other

• ★ peta sittek’s webtime tracker - this is particualrly excellent if you want a reality check into how much time you REALLY spend on certain websites. Motivates me to click off sites as quicly as possible so my statistics aren’t embarassing

  MEDIA

• youtube to mp3/mp4 – theres millions out there dogg u just have to find one lol. ALWAYS use an adblocker though
• video game music - a place to listen to and download community uploaded video game music. you can download individual tracks free and download albums with a paid account
• musify - ;)
• internet archive - takes a bit of getting used to but you can find lots of obscure things and with an account you can 'take out' books for an hour or so to read
• playlist randomizer - a site that you can input youtube playlists and have them actually be shuffled as youtube seems incapable of doing it well. the playlist must be set as "unlisted" or "public" in order to work.

  PRIVACY

• nordvpn - a well trusted but paid VPN
• ★ free VPN services + some to avoid
• how to install and configure ungoogled chromium - ungoogled chromium is what it says on the tin...google chrome but without all the google tracking ur whole life. To add to this, how to add extensions to ungoogled chromium
• 10 minute mail - a disposable email address
• ★ temp-mail - a disposable email address
• ★ justdeleteme - a directory of websites and how to delete your accounts from them... well, if that site allows you to, of course...
• ★ alternatives to big tech platforms and programs - a compilation of alternate OS, search engines, browsers, and many other facets of everyday internet use. i hope to check out more of this stuff myself soon.

  FURTHER READING

• the social dilemma - a documentary with commentary from many ex-big tech workers and outlines the consequences of social media's design. mirror 1. GOOD TO SHOW UR NORMIE FRIENDS OR IF U HAVE 0 KNOWLEDGE
• cal newport's digital minimalism - how to philosophically approach how to have technologies in ones life. cal newports site and works in general around productivity are great
• the great hack - an exploration of how data company cambridge analytica used social media to help influence the 2016 US election, most interestingly how ‘neutral’ profiles were targetted to help swing certain states. good food for thought irrelevant of political stances. mirror 1 mirror 2
• join a library - (UK only) in the UK, you can get a free library membership and take out books for free. you can also get books in from other libraries for £1. you only have to pay this fee, and any late fines. might vary across UK
• ☆ james clear's atomic habits - a book about how to build and breakdown habits. useful not only in a digital wellbeing context, but in all aspects of life.
• ☆ marie kondo's konmari method - i mentioned how i follow her philosophy of discarding anything that doesnt spark a genuine joy inside you, and though her philosophy is mainly used in decluttering homes, i believe it can be applied to anything in life, including one's digital habits. she has videos, a book, and a brief explanation here on her philosophy.
• THE SHALLOWS NICHILAS CARR
• NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT THIS – PATRICIA LOCKWOOD – this is a work of fiction, where a real life event causes a chronically online woman to leave her online sphere.