Mindless scrolling is something we’ve all fell victim to. whether we pick up our phones to tkae a break, or to procrastinate doing important tasks, the short time we intended to spend on it often ends up turning into hours as we sift through addictive apps and platforms, negatively impacting our brains.

Today, we will explore:

-Why this happens

-The negative impacts of doing such

-what we can do to stop it

Why does this happen?

Well, if it helps, it’s not entirely our fault. Social media and other apps are made to be addictive with the intent of keeping you on the platforms for as long as possible. When you look through social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or Twitter, to name a few, they monitor the posts in which you frequently comment on and like, pushing more content of the same variety onto your ‘for you’ page, effectively keeping you entertained and on their forums for prolonged periods of time. These apps can also provide a sense of reward when we make posts that other users on the forums like and engage with, bringing us back every time we get a notification.

That being said, notifications are also used as a tactic to draw users back onto these apps. With gaming apps, you can get pop-ups to let you know of any in-game rewards you can get by logging in, or, depending on how long you’ve been playing, let you know to keep up your in-game streak by signing in to play. For social apps, they use notifications to tell you when an account you like often/follow has posted, and tell you about topics that are currently trending. Appealing to the sense of curiosity we have, wanting to be in on what others around us are talking about. Extremely predatory in keeping us on these apps in almost any way that they can.

The negative effects

Scrolling in excess for hours can cause many problems, such as:

• Decreased attention span: Mindless scrolling can cause people to experience a decline in their attention span as they become used to short-form content. Most TikTok videos, Instagram stories, and YouTube shorts tend to be anywhere from 10-30 seconds in length, making the content easily digestible for those who view it. This can end up training our brains to seek immediate gratification, expecting quick rewards, which ultimately can cause it to be more difficult to engage and focus on content that requires our undivided attention for longer than a minute to understand
• Poor sleep schedule: Mindless scrolling can also impact a person’s sleep schedule as they fall into the cycle of ‘just one more video before I go to bed’, often ending up on their phone until the sun starts to rise again. The blue light emitted from our phone at night interferes with our bodies’ production of melatonin, making it harder to fall asleep.
• Increase in anxiety: Social media often has a lot of negative content being pushed on it. Constant consumption of bad news and negative posts can amplify feelings of anxiety, fear, and even depression, doubly so for those of us who are already susceptible to these problems
• Damaging personal relationships: By spending tons of time on our phones, we often tend to neglect the world and the people around us. Families and romantic partners giving recurring complaints about their children and dates not paying talking and interacting with them at the dinner table/on a date, instead giving their attention to their phone. (This can go for friendships as well!) This leads their relationships to feel strained, as if there’s a barrier between them which keeps them from properly connecting
• Fear of missing out: The irrational fear of missing out, also known as F.O.M.O., can arise when we go without our devices for a long period of time. We become worried over not having access to the internet and the ability to check out what the latest new trend is or be a part of the moment if anything interesting. We get this fear of being left out, unable to understand what our friends and other people around us are talking about, causing unnecessary amounts of stress on our minds and bodies.

How do we fix this?

Now that we’ve expounded on the why and why not, let’s talk about some things we can do fix this problem.

• Turning notifications off: If you turn your notifications off, you become less tempted to pick it up and check it because there’s no buzz or sound to capture your attention. This can also help prevent the anxiety that getting a notification would typically cause, compelling you to see what it was for
• Delete social media: Yes, it will be hard, but by deleting social media, you lose the constant, easy access to the platform that would otherwise strengthen the habit of scrolling. When you make it more tedious to get on these forums, you become more likely to actually stop and consider if you really want to use social media, if it’s really worth it to go through the trouble of logging in through Google on another device.
• Move your phone away from you, preferably where you can’t see it: Putting your phone somewhere away from you and out of your field of vision, it becomes easier to focus on other things you are possibly neglecting to do, and likely to forget about it altogether as the day goes on

Don’t be ashamed of struggling to combat the addiction of scrolling through gaming apps and social forums. Almost everyone in today’s time also faces this same problem. Seriously, walk through any public space a count the number of people you see on their phone. By being here, you’ve taken the first steps toward reclaiming your life, acknowledging the problem and seeking a way to fix it, and hopefully this article has helped to provide you with that way.

Thanks for reading!