I sorta used to do the same thing, until I realized that not only was it not accomplishing anything, I wasnt REALLY learning much. Unfortunately, everything has become about getting those clicks, to the point where "news" isnt even reliable. Doesnt matter if they get something outright backwards as long as it gets them clicks!
But also, I just found better places. Memes, for instance. Boy do I love memes and cat photos and for some reason pics of creepy dolls (no seriously I have an entire folder dedicated to that). But I found a non-irritating place to go to. I just use Imgur for that stuff. Havent ever seen a better place to do it. Do I want a collection of 50 memes to look at and maybe save into my archive? It's 2 clicks away and there's only funny comments instead of idiotic ones. Seriously, getting to the bottom of a meme dump and seeing hilarious responses is one of the highlights. I dont know how the site manages THAT part, but it does. Other than Youtube, it's my most used site by far. Fast, efficient, hilarious. And you can even post your own content, too. I did that once. Made a big post about twisty puzzles, with loads of photos I took. It made the front page, even. So that was cool.
Hell, even the advertising on that site isnt annoying. Let me repeat that: THE ADVERTISING ISNT ANNOYING. Granted I still use ad-block, but that doesnt work on my phone, when I browse it that way.
It's the same with other stuff. I follow game-industry news... not because I actually buy from the big hideous publishers, but mostly because I find it constantly hilarious. I *could* read IGN or something, but... they're terrible. So I get most of that news from Jim Sterling and YongYea on Youtube. Sterling is hilarious and Yea is thorough and doesnt hold back. MUCH better than using the major sites.
In other words... there are better alternatives. It's just that you have to seek them out. Avoid the "big ones", find the better ones. I guarantee you, somewhere out there, there ARE info-sites/channels/whatever that can give you stuff about your favorite subjects, except with dramatically less of the stupid.
That's what I learned, by forcing myself to stay away from Facebook and the like.