I was doing so well. I’m 3 months into the year, and only just last week did I slip back into the infinite scroll of Instagram. I don’t even know what caused it. It might have been trying to check in on a flash tattoo sale I wanted to attend, and I was only able to see the options if I was logged into Instagram or Facebook. I think that’s where it started. Then, I slid into, “Well, why don’t I check in on what people are doing while I’m here?” Which then slid into “Wait, it’s been half an hour…what have I even seen?!”
On a podcast the other day (Dear Hank and John), I heard one of the hosts talk about how one of their acquaintances does not allow themselves to go onto any platform with an “infinite scroll” feature because it’s just too addictive for her. I think this is also what is snagging me as well. Substack and Pinterest are great, but they both have infinite scrolls. I am still scrolling endlessly during my day, even though it’s not on the Meta apps. The content never stops showing up and my attention span is only slightly healed because of it.
Here’s the thing…that’s all of the apps.
These apps make their money by keeping our attention on them. We can curate our content as much as we want, but at the end of the day, we are just as addicted as we would be if the content were garbage—maybe even more so because we’re getting a more satisfying dopamine hit from content we enjoy. Trust me, I understand the irony of writing about this ON ONE OF THOSE SITES. Scrolling is just as much of a problem for me as it was before, maybe even more so, because I feel good about the content I’m seeing.
Listen, I’m in Marketing. I understand how powerful a tool social media is. Building a community around a brand is a major strategy — a good one, too. I understand that most of us who want our art to reach certain audiences will probably need to utilize these tools. But I’m talking about personal use here.
I have a ridiculous imagination, which means I’m rarely fully bored. I can stare at a wall and make up a movie in my head to keep me entertained. Being in silence isn’t uncomfortable for me. Usually, I prefer silence to the constant barrage of information/noise being fed to my system (i.e. music, radio ads, loud HVAC systems, co-workers who prefer to have phone calls on speaker phone, etc.). There are days when I need a little background noise to help me stay in the here-and-now, but usually, I focus best when there’s nothing else going on around me.
The problem I have recently is that I’ve switched the scrolling of quick-hit images and videos for the scrolling of archives of longer reads. Although I start reading them with interest, I tend to just start skimming, and then eventually, I just leave the article unfinished. I have no attention span for long-form content that isn’t purely entertainment value. And I hate it.
I am getting better at catching myself during a scrolling session. I think that is really the first step here. I am fully acknowledging when it happens, and looking at why.
- Am I bored?
- Am I avoiding something?
- Is the task I’m avoiding too challenging or too boring?
- Why have I chosen the platform I’m on to scroll? Is it anxiety of missing important news (scrolling my news feed)? Is it a wish to find something joyful and inspiring (scrolling Pinterest)? Am I purely looking for entertainment (Instagram)? Am I looking for something to make me feel seen/heard/creatively inspired (Substack)?
Steps I use when I get into an infinite scroll trap, especially during the workday:
- Acknowledge when I’ve started to scroll mindlessly instead of mindfully.
- Investigate why I started scrolling at that time and if I’m possibly avoiding something.
- Refocus back on the task at hand. Maybe I’ll throw on a short Pomodoro timer to work through the problem I’m dealing with, fill the need for entertainment with some lyric-less music, or take a short break away from my desk to physically move on from the issue.
- If all else fails, remove the temptation completely by logging out of the apps or removing them from your phone. (This only sometimes works for me because I’m really good at finding sneaky ways to avoid things.)
It’s certainly hard when your job is Marketing and you need to keep these apps to continue your work. But, it so often infiltrates my mind and derails my work. At work, I can usually stick to using it as a tool since it’s not my personal feed, and it actually does help me do my job. It’s too easy to simply click a button and switch over to my personal Instagram or Facebook.
Other ways I’m fighting to keep my attention span:
- Read books before bed instead of sitting on my phone.
- Intersperse my fluffy rom-coms with more literary books to keep up my literary skills.
- Not use my phone when hanging out with friends and family or when out and about.
- Remove Facebook and Instagram from my phone (it sucks that a lot of my friends use sending reels and such as a form of pebbling, but we’re making it work).
- Not scroll when waiting for something or someone, during shorter car rides, or while eating my meals.
Leave a comment if you’re on your own attention span healing journey, whether that’s an anti-social media journey or simply lessening your time with attention-grabbing media. I’d love to hear how others are dealing.
Subtle Stories 