An alternative to controversial recommendation algorithms is timeline-filtering algorithms. Feeling pressured to scroll through too much is unhealthy and lends itself to addiction; filtering things down once a user scrolls down far enough should be a welcome opt-in feature.
For example, a mutuals-only filter combined with a minimum-interaction-count filter could be a good way to “catch up” quickly after a long absence. Only showing posts common across a set of timelines is another; for example, I would like to see a filtered view of Akkoma’s bubble timeline restricted to what’s on my home timeline.
Conditionally showing reblogs is another way to filter. Unread reblogs from mutuals should be the only visible reblogs I have scrolled down far enough.