It’s hard to stop scrolling. Social media feeds are built to keep us hooked—they were designed that way! You know that feeling when you open Instagram, plan to check one thing, and suddenly 30 minutes have gone by? Blame infinite scroll. The way content loads endlessly, always something new, was made to be irresistible—and honestly, it works a little too well.
Turns out, that’s no accident. In 2006, Aza Raskin invented infinite scroll. Years later, he admitted it’s kind of like “behavioral cocaine.” Scroll, refresh, scroll again—you’re stuck in the loop. Social media companies love it. The more time we spend online, the more ads they can show us, and the more data they collect. Jonathan Haidt and Jean Twenge have looked closely at what this does to us, and the news isn’t great. They found that the rise of infinite scroll, especially on cell phones, is connected to significant increases in anxiety, loneliness, and even depression, especially among young people.
But—here’s the hopeful bit—you’re not doomed to scroll forever. Saving your attention (and your joy!) means taking charge and building some solid offline habits.