Deleting visual consumption

I recently flipped a switch in the ways I consume digital content. I found that those of us who can consume visual content are often tempted / persuaded more easily by graphics than any other form of media that is prevalent. While well-intentioned in many cases, it is also the easiest way the wrong actors can try to influence you (Ads being a prime example, and fake thumbnails).

I decided that I wanted to switch off and block images by default. I know Gifs can make past the ban but they are not widely used outside conversations or social platforms, and for videos, their thumbnail is an image which will get barred from being downloaded.

The result?

• Judging whether something is worth reading, watching or even exploring based on the provided description rewires your interests
• Exceptions for things that you definitely need to see such as shopping. Easy to enable on a site by site basis

As a developer, I wasn’t expecting to land in default accessibility testing mode. I began to see my commonly visited sites in a different light and even my own development. Here are my lessons:

1. When images get banned, it exposes whether you intentionally left out block space for your image or not
2. It also exposes whether you embed images accessibly or not
3. You’ll learn that some websites, inexplicably, stop functioning once you ban images. Example: LinkedIn
4. Some sites go the extra mile to make sure alternative text are as close to the image as possible. Example: Pinecast