How to Stop It…

We are all guilty of trying to multitask in today's fast-paced world, whether it's scrolling through Instagram while walking or sending a WhatsApp message while cooking. We check our Facebook during meetings and spend hours watching Instagram and Tik-Tok videos, putting off important tasks that contribute to our well-being.

The constant stream of notifications on our devices is hard to resist, and we often find ourselves addressing every single one of them. We mindlessly scroll to give our brains a break and avoid the tasks that require our attention.

We have become so uncomfortable with being alone with our thoughts that we immediately reach for our phones to engage in our favorite ritual of mindless scrolling. We respond to every distraction or notification to avoid doing something that requires effort or attention.

The reason why we find it so hard to resist the lure of notifications is that our brains release dopamine, a "feel-good" chemical, when we expect a reward. Over time, this release of dopamine becomes addictive, making it difficult for us to pull ourselves out of the rabbit hole of mindless scrolling.

To break this addictive cycle, we need to become more aware of our digital habits and set boundaries for ourselves. We can limit the number of notifications we receive, schedule specific times for social media use, and engage in activities that promote our well-being, such as meditation, journaling, or exercise. By taking control of our digital habits, we can regain our focus and live a more fulfilling life.

Dopamine, a "feel-good" chemical, is released in our brain every time we engage in behaviors that we find pleasurable, such as mindless browsing, attending to notifications, eating junk food, using drugs, watching pornography, smoking, shopping, and having sex.

This release of dopamine creates a sense of pleasure and satisfaction, motivating us to repeat these behaviors even if they are harmful to our health and well-being. We become addicted to this feeling of pleasure, and our brain craves more of it, leading us to engage in these behaviors repeatedly.

However, with repeated engagement, the effects of dopamine decrease, making it necessary to engage in the behavior more often or for longer durations to achieve the same level of pleasure. This leads to a cycle of addiction that can be difficult to break.

To overcome this cycle of addiction, we need to identify the behaviors that trigger the release of dopamine in our brain and replace them with healthier alternatives that promote our well-being. For example, instead of mindlessly browsing social media, we can engage in activities that challenge our mind, such as reading or learning a new skill.

It's important to understand that breaking an addiction is a process that requires time, effort, and persistence. However, with the right mindset and support, we can overcome our addiction and lead a healthier and more fulfilling life.

Mindless scrolling is not only addictive, but it is also affecting our cognitive abilities. Most of the time, we are not actively choosing the content we consume online. Rather, we are presented with a newsfeed of recommended content generated by algorithms. As a result, we form opinions, worldviews, and perspectives based on content that we did not actively seek out or choose.

This can be problematic because the content we are exposed to may not be accurate, reliable, or representative of diverse perspectives. Moreover, we may not have the critical thinking skills or knowledge to evaluate the information we consume online. As a result, we may become susceptible to misinformation, propaganda, and echo chambers that reinforce our existing beliefs and biases.

To counteract the negative effects of mindless scrolling, it is essential to actively seek out and consume diverse perspectives, engage in critical thinking, and develop digital literacy skills. This can involve reading a range of news sources, fact-checking information, participating in online discussions, and seeking out diverse voices and opinions.

By actively engaging with online content and developing critical thinking skills, we can avoid being passive consumers of information and instead become active participants in shaping our own perspectives and worldviews.

“When we forget our ability to choose, we learn to be helpless. Drip by drip, we allow our power to be taken away until we end up becoming a function of other people’s choices.” — Greg McKeown.

According to Cal Newport, the best-selling author of 8 books on attention, focus, and ill effects of social media.

If you spend large portions of your day in a state of fragmented attention — large portions of your day breaking up your attention to take a quick glance, to just check — “Let me quickly look at Instagram”; then this behavior can permanently reduce your capacity for concentration.

In other words, you could permanently reduce your capacity to do exactly the type of deep effort that we’re finding to be more and more necessary in an increasingly competitive economy.

How to Eliminate Mindless Scrolling?

1. Remind Yourself of the Harmful Effects:

We must keep reminding ourselves of the ill effects that mindless scrolling has on our mental health and overall well-being. It hampers the abilities that help us thrive in our personal & professional lives. Such as our ability to focus and concentrate on a single task.

If we are mindful of its exceedingly harmful effects, then slowly & steadily we’ll be able to rewire our minds.

2. Say it Out Loud:

Every time you try to pick up your smartphone or find yourself in the middle of a scrolling marathon, say out loud, “Gosh!! I’m scrolling for 1 hour” Hearing our bad habits spoken aloud makes the consequences seem more real. It adds weight to the action rather than letting yourself mindlessly slip into the old routine.

You’re getting yourself to acknowledge the need for action and that can make all the difference.

3. Motivation is Overrated; Environment Often Matters More.

Reinventing our environment that motivates us to spend time away from the screen can do wonders. Pick one thing or activity that you are interested in: it might be reading, writing, gardening, working out, or anything that interests you. Keep something closely related to that activity at an arm’s distance.

Surround yourself with books if you want to read more, keep a journal nearby if you like to write, and put your dumbbells where you can see them every day. Reinvent the environment that encourages you to repeat healthy behaviors.

4. Make Your Apps Invisible:

When you sit out to work on your important tasks of the day, uninstall the apps that keep distracting you from your actual work. And when you are done with your work, reinstall them if you like.

You won’t miss anything by not checking your email, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Twitter for a few hours. As a matter of fact, there is nothing noteworthy going on on these platforms. Aside from a bunch of stuff that doesn’t add any value to your life.

5. Find An Accountability Partner

This is extremely important. We perform better when we feel we are accountable to someone. So eliminating the habit of mindless scrolling. Bring in someone who is also looking to eliminate it. They can be your colleagues, friends, spouse, or anyone who shares the same goals as you.

Adding accountability to the whole equation will keep you motivated during the time when you are more likely to falter. And you can also discuss your struggles with your partner and together you can find ways to overcome them and share the benefits you are receiving after reducing screen time.

There is no better feeling than doing things that you are meant to do, taking care of your mental and physical health, and respecting your most valuable asset, which is your time and attention. Mindless scrolling not only harms our productivity. It absolutely kills it.