A couple of weeks in the past, I deleted Twitter from my telephone and pill. This was a very long time coming, and the explanations I selected to do it are apparent, so I’m not right here to put in writing an essay about why I did. Instead, I’m right here to supply some ideas if you happen to, like me, used to depend on Twitter for staying on high of stories and occasions and don’t wish to use Twitter to take action anymore.

I used a number of the instruments right here earlier than I deleted Twitter, however they’ve turn out to be extra helpful and distinguished in my display screen time calculations with out Twitter round. (And no, deleting Twitter didn’t scale back my display screen time, sadly.) Some of them could also be apparent and a few of them could also be new to you, however right here’s what I’m doing to maintain up with each normal information and subjects I’m excited by particularly.

Apple’s News app has been round for years on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac however hasn’t actually gotten a lot credit score for the way good it’s for these of us who devour a number of longform articles. It’s removed from good, and sure, even if you happen to pay $9.99 / month (or get it bundled with an Apple One plan) for a News Plus subscription, there are nonetheless advertisements in articles (although, I’m undecided how that is totally different from shopping for {a magazine} off of a newsstand? I digress), and it’s important to have an Apple system to entry it.

Still, Apple News supplies me with high headlines of occasions around the globe each time I open it plus curated alternatives primarily based on my studying historical past and subjects I’ve chosen. It additionally supplies push notifications from publications I comply with and integrates sports activities scores and reporting from groups I care about.

But the very best a part of Apple News is that it supplies me entry to longform articles from The Atlantic, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, and lots of others for a flat price via my News Plus subscription. There’s no different service I’ve been capable of finding that gives a lot longform content material to me for such a comparatively low value. I used to depend on my Twitter feed to stuff my Pocket queue filled with issues to learn later, however Apple News supplies a lot of that for me now.

Along with Apple News, Google News supplies a curated listing of stories articles primarily based on my pursuits each time I open it. Compared to Apple’s providing, Google News leans extra on shorter items and is best at offering me with native updates, whether or not that’s upcoming climate, native politics, or restaurant happenings. It’s obtainable on each iOS and Android and is free, so it’s a straightforward one to select up and begin utilizing.

Google News isn’t good — it depends on Google’s AMP format of web site an excessive amount of and doesn’t do a terrific job of remembering my logins to paywalled websites — but it surely, too, has offered a wealth of choices for my read-later queue now that Twitter is gone.

Google supplies an analogous feed of articles in its Discover product, which is accessible simply to the left of your homescreen on Android telephones and within the Google app on an iPhone. But Discover sort of sucks and supplies horrible suggestions extra usually than good ones in my expertise, so I usually simply go proper to Google News.

Believe it or not, RSS remains to be round and nonetheless works nice for holding on high of updates from varied web sites. I’ve used an RSS reader for longer than I used Twitter, and it’s nonetheless one of many first apps I open each morning to get a bead on what’s occurring on the websites I care about.

Setting up an RSS reader takes extra work than utilizing one thing like Apple News or Google News, however the reward is that you’re particularly inputting the sources your self, so you’ve much more management. I exploit Feedly for syncing (the free model, I’ve by no means been compelled to pay for it) that I plug into the Reeder app on iOS / Mac and FocusReader on Android. It’s arrange with dozens of sources of principally tech information websites but in addition some smaller blogs I’ve been following for years that replace sometimes.

Look, if you happen to’re studying this text on The Verge, you most likely care considerably about what’s occurring on this planet of tech. Techmeme has been aggregating headlines and dialogue of know-how information for longer than I’ve been running a blog, and it’s a go-to place to get a fast overview of every little thing that’s occurred within the house every day. I simply go to the positioning within the browser on my telephone.

No wait, hear me out — if you happen to don’t wish to undergo the work of establishing these different sources and simply wish to scroll via a feed such as you used to do on Twitter, our web site is sort of good for that. We redesigned it earlier this fall to include shorter posts with hyperlinks to issues we discover fascinating from throughout the web, together with different blogs and articles and social media posts. Our crew has been utilizing it a ton, and we’re actually excited for plans we have now to make it even higher within the coming 12 months. And in fact, we have now plenty of authentic reporting and longform items, plus video and different stuff to learn and watch as an alternative of taking a look at Twitter.

Yes, I’m biased. Yes, this can be a shameless plug. But hell, you’re already right here studying this text. You may as properly click on round.

The final piece of this puzzle is an efficient read-later app, which I exploit to retailer and save articles from all of those sources whereas I’m checking them. I exploit Pocket, however Matter, Instagram, and others are tremendous choices. The Reeder app on iOS and Mac even has its personal read-later perform, as do Safari and different browsers.

Overall, this means of utilizing a number of sources is extra work than simply doomscrolling via a Twitter feed each idle second. But the rewards are price it — you’re getting full tales as an alternative of questionably sourced snippets, and also you don’t need to cope with the noise that’s inherent in Twitter. And whenever you’re finished checking the information and catching up along with your read-later queue, you may go contact grass.