# As I’ve mentioned before, Feedly has been my choice of RSS reader since Google announced the closure of Reader. While the Android and iOS apps have been mainstays of my mobile life, the Mac app is sorely lacking having not been updated since 2014.
Well, I call it an app but it’s essentially just a container for the website - one that’s not implemented very well at all.
I was, therefore, a little sceptical when I stumbled across Fluid, a mac app designed to turn web pages into “apps” which are just self-contained instances of Safari.
I needn’t have been!
Unlike the actual Feedly app, the Fluid version behaves exactly like the website which, itself, has improved considerably over the years. It is well packaged with plenty of options even without moving to the paid tier.
I think I’m a convert.
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Mental health
I've been very impressed with my doctor recently. During the past few visits, after speaking about my throat issues, rather than just kicking me out and moving on to the next patient he has taken the time to inquire about my mental health.
Going from a very busy, high profile job, plus commuting up to four hours a day, to almost nothing is a big jump. To then stay that way for what will be four months is such a shift in mindset. Not to mention the frustration at being incapacitated in this way for so long.
He was pleased and surprised when I said I had been taking a philosophy course and I think this helped to demonstrate that I was largely okay.
I’ll admit it’s been a struggle at times and I have felt incredibly down, being unable to do something so natural as speak for so long is tough, but I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Of course, the transition back to work will be equally as hard, maybe even harder, so a focus on my mental as well as my physical health is of paramount importance.
My move away from social networks, combined with a desire to take positive action through meditation, learning and hand written notes, is a direct response to realising that my mental health was in danger were I to carry on the way I was.
With no metrics or stats to concern myself with, having also removed them from the blog, I am able to concentrate on creation and discussion without any added pressure.
Quality not quantity.
There have been numerous studies linking social media use to mental health issues but a new report from the Children’s Commissioner for England illustrates how damaging it can be to children. The report makes recommendations that schools should be more actively involved in preparing children for the emotional impact and demands of social as well as the traditional messages of online safety.
Social networks were intended to connect, inform and empower - they still can when used responsibly - but the ever greater imposition of algorithms makes this harder to achieve. That we should even have to consider the need to emotionally prepare our children shows just have far removed from the original vision we have become.
Comparing ourselves to our peers is nothing new - I struggled to find my place and identity as a teenager in the 80’s long before the internet - but the modern social infrastructure of the web exposes us to much wider spheres of influence and amplifies these struggles a thousand fold.
With the networks themselves apparently unwilling (or unable) to address certain issues we must be responsible for our own welfare and that of our children. For some that has meant leaving entirely, for others it is finding a way to manage their experience.
What we must do, however, is find our own path and our own reasons for choosing it. Blindly following the mob serves no purpose.
We are all still learning how to live in this environment, with this level of access and exposure. The pace of change has been faster than at any point in history.
Perhaps we need to evolve, as individuals and as a society, in order to cope or maybe we need to moderate our progress and slow the headlong rush we have been on.
But one thing is for certain: the current climate is unsustainable.
@colinwalker Have you looked into Reeder? I've been using it for years, it's excellent.
@mikehaynes I’ve looked at it on occasion but never really been able to justify the cost as most of my reading happens on the phone and I’ve been happy to use the website on the Mac.
I've been a happy user of Feedly since Google's decision to close Reader and just as happy with their mobile apps, both Android and iOS. That the Feedly app in the Mac App Store hasn't been updated since 2014 (and it shows) is disappointing but illustrates that they intend for PC users to utilise the web page. Using Fluid to "convert" the web page to an app is a good solution but I've been wondering about other apps for a while. Reeder has always come well recommended so I stumped up the £4.99 and installed it on my phone. Here are a few first impressions:
the article list feels a bit cluttered I wish there were more options to tweak the display, especially in the article list, like spacing and size of extract shown I'm probably too used to the Feedly app but I'm not sure about navigation between items - I'd like the option for swipe left/right rather than up/down that would mean an alternative to swiping left for sharing options - I'd be happy with a button for this I like the way you swipe left or right in the articles list to mark as (un)read or star an item
Why the turnaround? Why move away from Feedly if it's been fine until now? I think part of it is because I'm soon to close my Gmail account and am trying not to rely on Google at all. When I signed up with Feedly I used the option to bring my account settings straight over from Reader so it's still linked to my Gmail account and requires Google's 2FA whenever I log in. I'll probably export my feeds and set them back up under a non-linked account, although I have also been wondering about other solutions that correctly support the RSS spec, but am not sure about the extra expense. As things stand, switching to Reeder doesn't really change much except having to learn a new UI. What it does afford me, however, is the benefit of choice for the future.