Scrolling Addiction

Tuesday, February 1, 2022 (18:40)

You’ve just settled into your workday and pulled up that big report you need to finish, when a friend sends you a link on Instagram. You figure you’ll just take a moment to mark it as read – and then the next thing you know, an hour has gone by. You’ve been sucked down the rabbit hole, watching video after video, while that big report sits, neglected, on your desk. (Adapted from The Psychology of Your Scrolling Addiction, which by the way gives useful insight for getting out of the rabbit hole or avoiding it).

Scrolling is highly addictive, we’re wired for it. The same brain pathways get stimulated as they do in a chemical addiction. Our habit of endless scrolling results in information overload – a kind of paralysis that impacts the motivational system of the brain. The sheer quantity of information at our fingertips is processed at a deep level as a threat. (Adapted from Is scrolling an addiction?)

Reminds me Alcohol and Native Americans