It is not news to anyone reading this: working in a library is hard. Doing any kind of public-facing customer service work is always hard, and right now a lot of things are coming together to make it more complicated.

We can’t fix that for you. Sorry.

But this semester, we are going to provide small weekly stress-management/happiness builder ideas. They aren’t going to make all your issues magically solve themselves. But, everyone can use a reminder to take a step back and breathe.

You know how toxic social media can be, but still most of us can’t give it up entirely. I wrote an article CMLE about quitting Facebook – and I stand by it all. We do still have a Twitter account, and I take care in how we are using it. (Not arguing this is better; just that it’s easier to curate, and seems less objectively evil in the organization. I may not be right about that.)

I also take care in my Google news feed, and my YouTube videos. Sure, it’s exciting to click on a link that says “HORRIBLE THINGS HAPPENED! DON’T YOU WANT TO KNOW????” Of course I want to know, and I was quick to click those links. And the news that entered my information bubble got worse and worse and more upsetting.

But taking a step back: did the world actually get worse and more upsetting? No. It really didn’t. Yes, bad and upsetting and even downright evil things happened. That has always been true, and probably always will be true.

But most of the things that happened yesterday were good, positive, or at least neutral. Most things that happened in my day, in my organization, in my community, in my state, and in my country were good, positive, or at least neutral. It was the same for you.

The information you saw online was not the same as the information I saw online. And neither of us saw an objective, full picture of reality. I know this, you know this – we all know about the algorithms.

So this week, take the next logical step. The algorithm will show you what you tell it you want to see. It takes a little while to shake out all the garbage, but be patient. Today, don’t click on anything that says “OMG! BAD! UPSETTING!” Instead, click on stories about puppies. Kittens playing. Kids with lemonade stands. New books. National parks. Pictures from space. Videos of dolphins. Gardening instructions. Travel. Tiny kids doing adorable things. Whatever speaks to you and the things you genuinely enjoy.

You see the pattern. The algorithm will think to itself “Hey, they want to see happy things. Let me toss this other stuff, and start putting out happy puppy adoption stories.” And now, that’s what you see.

The algorithm is that lonely person who will say and do anything to get your attention. It’s easier to get your attention with bad scary things; but if you make it clear that your attention is on affirming, positive information – the algorithm will absolutely do that for you.

A couple of weeks from now, when you hear people moaning that the internet is a cesspool or you see news stories that are just horrible – know that you have transcended it. You have achieved a better sense of perspective on the internet and the world. There are bad things, but there are so many more good things. We all just have to discipline ourselves to see them!

Train your algorithms to bring more happiness into your life. Don’t dump your online world – make it better!