The Scrolling Addiction

When Pinterest first came out, I was amazed by the programming trick they used to display an endless scroll of imagery stacked in columns in a kind of irregular brick-work display.

It was mesmerizing. One was drawn to keep scrolling just to see what would appear next. Yet, you could never get to the bottom of the page. It was impossible. So, that 'sense of completion' that we have come to seek as humans, just would never arrive. Pinterest was on to something, and they were not alone.

The same trick was appearing on all social media platforms. Facebook? Scroll to the bottom - I dare you to try! You'll just never get there. In a world where posts are being added faster than you can view them, the ultimate winners are platforms who can just keep appending to your feed endlessly. On top of that, the feed can sense when you have paused to look closer at something, or 'LIKE' it, or watch the video, or gasp, comment on something. These actions are like lubricant for the social media machinery. Lubrication and fuel all in one. One's behaviour triggers analysis at some data center far away that reveals to the machinery what interests you have. What gets you to keep scrolling? They know. What type of imagery or article gets your LIKE? The machine stores that information and never forgets it.

It recently reminded me of a parallel: buffet dining. The invitation is for you overpay for an over-sized plate in order to heap excessive mounds of garbage food that sates more than just your appetite - it also triggers all of the happy chemistry that gluttony relies on. At first, it feels like high-value - and it begs the question: how can the restaurant AFFORD to do this? But, the answer is readily available before your very eyes. The lineups. The repeat customers. The cheap food, prepared cheaply. Loaded with salt and sugar and grease. It just keeps people coming back... and paying again and again.

The best remedy against the gluttony of over-eating is to reduce the plate size, choose quality over quantity and recognize gluttony traps when you see them.

Similarly, the only remedy to scrolling excess, is to place a constraint - one that over-rides your dopamine. Source higher quality sites. Detach from the nipple of social media. Limit your time. Find alternate ways to stimulate your brain when you're waiting in a line somewhere or bored on the couch. A good book helps. OR, a curated website that actually has a footer you can get to, also helps. Lately, I have been enjoying the New York Times for its high-quality content that does not abuse the dopamine urges of its readers. The New York Times simply 'assumes' that their readership are more sophisticated. In Canada, The Logic is an excellent resource for business news. Displace bad choices with good ones so that you find yourself asking "how do I have time for garbage when there is so much better to do."

If you wouldn't do this to your body...

Why would you do this to your mind...?

The war in the attention economy is yours to win - if you want it.