Garth Rattray | Are you hooked on scrolling?

At first, I was not interested in smartphones. However, a colleague told me that, if he finds himself in dull conferences with subdued lighting, busy slides and monotonous, droning voices, he takes out his smartphone to entertain and distract himself.

This was many years ago. My initial reason for buying a smartphone was not for the utilitarian nature of the technology, it was for entertainment. But smartphones have proven themselves to be literally indispensable in many aspects of today’s society. However, their entertainment value remains and the people who design the various applications and programmes have taken advantage of our need to disconnect, enjoy ourselves, distract ourselves or inform ourselves regularly.

Scrolling, the action of moving text or graphics up, down or across a computer or smartphone screen can be very addictive. The designers of the algorithms keep viewers engaged with, what is called, ‘variable rewards’. Viewers are not able to predict what will show up on the next screen. Another factor for becoming addicted is ‘dopamine loops’. Scrolling can activate the brain’s reward system, which gives a feeling of pleasure. And, last, but not least, is the fear of missing out (FOMO) on stuff, the goings on, and important events/updates. By its very nature, FOMO never wanes, and this alone can cause people to scroll regularly and excessively.

Websites and apps have tricks in trade. Their algorithms facilitate infinite scrolling without hesitation or interruption. Browsers and websites use ‘cookies’ (small pieces of data to remember information about you). They individualise you and therefore personalise your experience. Some cookies are necessary for the function of the website; they are called ‘essential cookies’. Additionally, apps and websites may offer an opt-in choice for push notifications. These can [passively] trigger scrolling.

FACILITATE SCROLLING

Many social media platforms heavily encourage and facilitate scrolling. Some examples are YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Pinterest, and news sites like Reddit and BuzzFeed. They employ infinite scrolling and algorithms to keep users continuously engaged. Such behaviour can become deeply habit forming, just like recreational drugs. People tend to become hooked so badly that they find it very difficult to stop. And, again, just like recreational drugs, scrolling may be used as ‘self-medication’ to cope with stress, boredom, the need to escape psychologically, and to reduce anxiety and depression along with other negative emotions that may arise.

WhatsApp deserves special mention. It too can be habit-forming. The way that the app is engineered causes users to feel the need to check frequently for new or reciprocal messages from other participants. The interactive nature of posting and conversation subtly pressure people to see what is novel or to respond to others. They tend to mentally transport participants into a common cyberspace. And, much like a physically shared space, humans feel the need to respond quickly, almost compulsively. This sort of behaviour is akin to addiction. Many users feel obliged to maintain their social media presence – which also leads to excessive scrolling.

Just like recreational drugs, there are some possible negative consequences to scrolling. Ironically, the use of scrolling to escape stress, anxiety and depression may lead to increased stress, anxiety and depression! Scrolling can expose you to the thoughts, machinations, and actions of the innumerable criminals, perverts, and weirdos among us. Negative content posts can trigger negative emotions and affect your mood. Scrolling can lead to social comparison. It can swamp you with a tsunami of unnecessary information that may overwhelm you.

ILLS OF CYBER WORLD

In seeking to escape the ills of this physical world, scrolling may immerse you into the ills of the cyber world. Torrential, torrid, torturing, tumultuous information can have negative repercussions. The unending stream of negativity, coupled with disturbed sleep can impact your mental and physical health. The paradox of social media is that it can lead to social isolation.

Surveys have found that the average person spends around 2 hours and 23 minutes scrolling through social media daily. However, that number has been increasing steadily. Scrolling habits vary across the different age groups and genders. Generally, younger people scroll more than older people, and women scroll slightly more than men.

There are also social class differences in scrolling habits. The Pew Research Centre found that adults with lower incomes spend more time on social media and scroll more than those with higher incomes – a difference of 35 minutes each day. This adds up to almost nine days per year.

Tertiary-educated individuals scroll almost half as much as those with a high school education. Service industry workers and manual labourers tend to engage in social media during working hours. Obviously, those with less access to the Internet and those with lower levels of digital literacy interact less with social media and scroll less. Therefore, the frequency of scrolling is related to socio-economics, life’s stresses, urbanisation, the development of region, and cultural norms.

Interestingly, there are coping mechanisms for dealing with addictive scrolling, even though addictive scrolling is seen as a coping mechanism in many people. It is recommended that people establish screen-free zones and times, set social media and scrolling [time] limits. Not surprisingly, there are apps for blocking websites and setting time limits on social media.

Excessive scrolling has been linked to mental problems, so people should also pay attention to the amount of time that they are immersed in social media activities and in scrolling. Take breaks and perform alternative activities … like exercise and/or face-to-face [real] socialising.

Garth Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice, and author of ‘The Long and Short of Thick and Thin’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com