Ingrid Nordberg
Measuring Me Take 2
The habit I tracked was picking up my phone for no particular reason other than to scroll. This scrolling impulse is not limited to any certain app – because I deleted Instagram as well as my Apple News widgets in the beginning of the year (two major scrolling temptations), I’ve found myself scrolling through Pinterest, my texts, my photos, or just swiping between screens of my home page. I tracked this habit from when I woke up to when I went to sleep on Friday, January 10, and Saturday, January 11. Data was logged every time I felt the urge to scroll and every time I actually picked up my phone to scroll. I felt it was important to include the times I felt the urge to scroll but didn’t actually scroll, in order to paint a fuller picture of my relationship with my scrolling habit. I also logged what I was doing during the urges and scrolls for the same reason as described in the previous sentence.
Day 1 (Friday, January 10)
- 7:33am, scrolling: just woke up
- 8:03am, scrolling: standing in the kitchen eating breakfast
- 8:47am, urge to scroll: sitting in class
- 9:20am, urge to scroll: sitting in class
- 11:01am, urge to scroll: sitting in class
- 11:10am, urge to scroll: sitting in class
- 12:17pm, urge to scroll: sitting in class
- 12:58pm, scrolling: just finished a Zoom office hours with my design professor and felt like I deserved a break
- 1:53pm, urge to scroll: eating lunch with my friend when I saw a notification pop up on my phone
- 2:29pm: scrolling: had been doing homework but wanted to take a break
- 3:12pm: scrolling: finished a set at the gym
- 3:24pm: scrolling: finished a set at the gym
- 3:30pm: scrolling: finished a set at the gym
- 3:46pm: scrolling: finished a set at the gym
- 4:03pm: scrolling: while walking up the stairs at the gym
- 4:07pm: scrolling: while walking up the stairs in my dorm
- 5:20pm: urge to scroll: while drawing in my room
- 7:23pm: scrolling: while hanging out with my friends in Munger
- 7:51pm: urge to scroll: while hanging out with my friends in Munger
- 8:20pm: scrolling: while watching a movie with my friends
- 10:23pm: urge to scroll: while walking into my dorm
- 11:03pm: scrolling: after texting my parents back, about to sleep
Day 2 (Saturday, January 11)
- 8:07am: scrolling: just woke up
- 9:03am: scrolling: while eating breakfast
- 10:26am: scrolling: taking a break in my painting session
- 11:13am: scrolling: taking a break in my painting session
- 12:07pm: scrolling: walking to the bathroom
- 1:14pm: scrolling: finished a set at the gym
- 1:20pm: urge to scroll: saw a notification on my phone during a set
- 1:31pm: scrolling: finished a set at the gym
- 1:42pm: scrolling: finished a set at the gym
- 1:57pm: scrolling: finished a set at the gym
- 2:18pm: urge to scroll: walking out of the gym
- 2:44pm: scrolling: waiting for my pasta water to boil
- 2:50pm: scrolling: waiting for my orzo to cook
- 3pm: scrolling: eating my orzo
- 3:42pm: scrolling: while working with my friend in her dorm
- 4:20pm: urge to scroll: while working with my friend in her dorm
- 4:23pm: scrolling: while working with my friend in her dorm
- 5:09pm: scrolling: while doing work in my room
- 7:00pm: urge to scroll: while talking to my friends in my room
- 7:29pm: scrolling: with my friends picking it up automatically
- 8:15pm: scrolling: with my friends
- 8:24pm: urge to scroll: with my friends
- 8:38pm: scrolling: with my friends
- 8:52pm: scrolling: with my friends
- 9:27pm: scrolling: with my friends
- 10:24pm: urge to scroll: on the walk back to my dorm
- 11:40: scrolling: about to sleep
My main takeaway from this experience is that I scroll on my phone or have the urge to scroll on my phone much more than I expected myself to. I did not include the times where I picked up my phone solely to answer a text, because I don’t count that as scrolling if I was texting with intention. Even so, I felt that my entire day was peppered by picking up my phone and wanting the easy dopamine release of scrolling. It was frustrating to experience the habitual urge of wanting to swipe around on my phone even during times where I had no reason to, such as when I was walking up the stairs of the gym after my workout or when I was actively socializing with my friends. This experience opened my eyes to how dependent I am on my phone. Even as I write this blog post, my phone sits face up a few scant inches from my right elbow on my desk, well within eyesight should I receive a notification. To think that I’ve operated with such dependency on my phone for years is frightening. I wonder how much more focused I would feel if I was less connected to my phone. I even sleep with my phone right next to my head, because it serves as my alarm as it vibrates me awake in the mornings. I was less successful at battling the urges to scroll than I had anticipated. Many times, I ended up picking up my phone and checking my email even though I was trying to use willpower to fight these urges.
This experience really reinforced what I had learned through listening to “The Science of Habit” podcast. I realized that the friction to scroll on my phone is always so low when it’s right next to me. To raise this friction, I could put my phone in my drawer when I’m doing homework so that I would have to do the physical action of opening the drawer in order to scroll on my phone. I could also increase the length of my phone password and turn off Face ID, so that the physical act of unlocking my phone has more friction associated. Ultimately, through this exercise, I really understood how my habit of scrolling on my phone is exacerbated by how readily available my phone is during the day, from when I wake up to when I go to sleep. To achieve my goal of not scrolling mindlessly on my phone during the day, I need to take intentional steps to raise the friction associated with picking up and unlocking my phone.
