I’m in the early stages of my career. Having graduated from college only a couple of years ago, the regular eight-to-five workday is still a relatively new concept to many of my peers and me. Even so, I can already understand the appeal of engaging in a “mindless” activity once I get home from work.
Lofty aspirations to clean, read, write, workout, etc., float around my brain throughout the day. After all, post 5 p.m., I’m a free man! The world is my oyster! I’ll have roughly six whole hours to visit friends, catch up on a buzzy TV series, master an instrument or even learn a foreign language.
In reality, those rare free nights quickly get filled up by … nothing?
Some days feel so taxing that continuing a novel or cleaning the kitchen after work feels too difficult a task to tackle. The temptation during those empty evenings is to relax instead—and many of us “unwind” by scrolling through social media posts or YouTube videos.
However, studies show that these short scroll sessions, intended to briefly dissociate us from the stresses of the world, are not the pocket-sized digital vacations that they’re advertised to be.
Recharged or Restless?
A study published in the PLOS One journal in July strongly suggests that a scroll sesh on any of the main social media platforms is, in fact, not a sufficient way to unwind. Many people enter these social media deep dives with the goal of leaving more informed on the lives of loved ones and interests, perhaps with a humorous video or two sprinkled in for good measure. But as we all know, having such a perfectly refined feed is not the reality.
An hour spent on TikTok, for instance, may include some fun videos posted by friends. Maybe two out the 200 videos you see will make you laugh out loud, and you might see an interview with an actor you like as well. But these apps capitalize on the allure of the unknown. You never know what short video might be waiting beyond that next scroll. If only one of 10 TikTok videos was worth your time, no matter: The next one could be the funniest or most informative content you’ve witnessed all day. Or it could be a heartbreaking, negative video that compounds on the anxiety-filled day you’ve already had.
Unsurprisingly, researchers on the study also found that those who scrolled for upwards of two to four hours a day had significantly worse moods. One could piece together that such sour attitudes would make it even harder to accomplish those tedious, necessary parts of adult life such as cleaning and cooking.
Stop the Scroll by Preventing the Scroll
While remedies to scrolling habits depend on the person and their individual needs, a healthy dose of intentionality with how we spend our time certainly helps.
Rather than slumping down on the couch after work and endlessly wandering through Netflix’s catalog to see if anything speaks to you, decide which movie or show you want to watch before you start scrolling—and stick to that. Perhaps commit to reading a chapter of a specific book before you allow yourself to even open a social media app. Call a friend, try out a new recipe, go on a walk: Any one of these options can help break the cycle of scrolling without purpose.
The enticing unknown of what might be waiting behind the next scroll lacks any sense of intentionality—or the ability to choose the tone of the content you’re consuming. Take back control over your scroll. And remember, time spent relaxing is most effective when it’s spent intentionally.
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