With all that is currently going on in the world, it is hard to navigate the digital sphere and maintain peace of mind. 

I am trying to remove myself from all services that I don't align with for various reasons. I am tired of the negativity that comes from much online discussion, especially via social media. The news is increasing depressing. Big Tech corporations are increasingly extractive, not respective of our privacy, and in many cases actively aiding authoritanism. In addition, the actions of the US administration over the last 15 months has left me wanting to avoid any US based services where at all possible.

In that vein, I have stared taking measures to clean up my digital life, and use services that serve me, align with my own values, and help improve my mental health.

• I have moved my principal email away from Google, and am researching alternatives for other services in the Workplace suite, so I may more fully decouple myself from their ecosystem.
• I have deleted my Bluesky account - I had moved there as a Twitter refugee when it was purchased by Musk in 2022, but I find that it largely contains the same doomscrolling content as X. Every time I opened the app I just became more depressed about the state of the world. I just don't get anything from using this service. I can still be found in the Fediverse through Fosstodon.
• I cancelled my subscription to GitHub Copilot Pro – I always hated Microsoft as a company, but had grown reliant on using the integration with VS Code to access models such as Claude Code. I am now exploring a fully local LLM setup based on tools like Ollama, Open Code, and others.
• I have also deleted my LinkedIn account. I never really liked it, but always saw it a necessary evil, as everyone is expected to be on there for professional profile and in job searches. However, with the latest Browsergate scandal, I have simply had enough, and cannot be on that service any more.
• I am only going to give financial support to podcasts and other content creators who I feel are aligned with my values, and are a positive influence in the world. I have compiled a list of the creators and causes I support here.
• In the personal entertainment category, I am also limiting the number of streaming services I subscribe to at any one time. Those costs pile up fast.
• I am also going to be decluttering of my home office space, which has tended to be a bit of a dumping ground for miscellaneous junk. I will be channelling Marie Kondo to purge what doesn't give me joy, and making my working space feel more like a place I want to be.

This process will continue over several months, but I hope that this digital "spring cleaning" will be good for me overall.