How to Stop Scrolling Exactly When You Mean To

Big Tech borrowed Big Food's recipe to keep you hooked. Here's how to reverse it.

You sit down on the couch. You start scrolling. Just like that, an hour goes by. You think, “I should stop and get up.” Instead, you keep scrolling.

Sahar Yousef is a cognitive neuroscientist and lecturer at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. During her PhD, tech companies started reaching out. They wanted her help making their products "more sticky." All she could think was, "I cannot think of a more politically correct way to say addictive."

So, she said no. Instead, she studied what they were doing. What she found was that Big Tech followed the exact same playbook Big Food uses to keep you eating. That means more stimulation, less friction, and less satiation. Three sneaky little moves, but each one is reversible.

Sahar’s Genius Talk is live. Check it out.

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1) Your feed is digital dessert.

"What percentage of the posts on your feed are from people you actually know?" Most of it is just digital dessert. "It's a processed version of something that we all actually need, but it can never replace a full meal." The first step to freedom is to recognize what you're actually consuming.

2) Turn off notifications that can wait.

Keep the ones more important or urgent than what you're doing right now, and delete the rest. Check them when you choose to, not when your phone chooses for you. Sahar calls this the most impactful change you can make.

3) Make your phone boring.

Switch your screen to grayscale. "Folks in my class who change their phones to grayscale win back one hour on average a day." The bright colors are part of the recipe for endless scrolling. Remove them, and you cut out a huge part of that desire.

4) Give your phone a parking spot.

When you need full focus, put your phone somewhere else. It could be a drawer or another room, but it has to be out of reach. "Your phone is out of sight and out of mind”, and that’s the key. Dedicate a spot for it when you're working, eating, or with people you care about.

5) Fill up on real life first.

After a full day with friends or a big win at work, the feed loses its grip. "That's because the real actually satisfies us." Always opt for real connection before digital dessert. The order matters.

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