Habit: Scrolling
I chose to track my scrolling habits over two days because it is the habit I feel I lose the most time out of. I want to reclaim this time to spend on other things like studying, exercising, and reading. Because I have noticed that my compulsive habit to scroll is not triggered by just one app, like TikTok or Instagram, I decided to track any and all time I spend using my thumb to consume short form information in sequence. This can include reels, but also include the news, my photos, or texts.
Observations:
I noticed that my scrolling was triggered in specific times of ambiguity or stress:
- Waiting for class to start
- Right before intending to study
- Whenever I felt confused on a problem set
- When I didn’t know what to do first (free time where many different tasks could get done)
- When I wake up
- In bed before sleep
Loop Connection Circle:
Drawing out my first model, the loop connection circle, I found some interesting common cycles I go through psychologically that reinforce my bad habit. The first loop I found was triggered by short amounts of time between events in my schedule where I am unsure what I should do while I’m waiting. In that time my instinct is to reach for my phone because my mind is bored and wants time to relax from the busy events of the day. So I start out waiting, then I get bored, then I start scrolling, then that distracts me from other work, and I scroll some more which just feeds that waiting time. The second loop was a procrastination loop. I found in my tracking logs that whenever I intended to work, I would sit down and start scrolling before getting into my assignments. This is triggered by a sense of not knowing what work to start with, so in that time thinking about what to do, I get stressed about how much is on my plate, I start procrastinating which leads to scrolling, which leads to me being distracted, which leads to time lost, which leads to feeling unsure about what to do now that I have even less time. Finally, the third loop I observed was a stress loop. This loop is triggered by studying and getting confused on what I’m working on. I start to feel friction with my learning and my mind immediately wants to relax from the frustration, so I start scrolling, which distracts me, which leads to less time, which leads to more stress and the cycle repeats.
Fishbone diagram:
The fishbone diagram helped me understand all the cues my mind is receiving from external forces enticing me to scroll more. There is a lot more to this compulsive habit than self-control. Factors like dopamine triggering haptic feedback and engaging content or even a sense of needing to keep up with the culture fostered on social media apps, make the habit more alluring. I noticed that I am more likely to scroll also when I am by myself or about to start something that might not be completely pleasant. Since I always have a pleasant option in the palm of my hand, it’s only natural that my instincts will tell me to follow the path of least resistance and relax by scrolling. I also came to realize that there are a lot of people fighting for my attention 24/7. It can be hard to not let the cool content that people make not distract me from work that I find less interesting.
What I learned:
In times of stress or boredom, I reach for my phone immediately and start scrolling short-form content which engages me, but distracts me from my responsibilities, and takes time away from that work, creating more stress, which leads me to want to relax and scroll some more. The instinct I have to receive my stress in the moment might feel effective, but long-term it only makes my stress worse which only reinforces the bad habit loop.
In the future, I want to find less distracting ways of dealing with stress or boredom. For example, instead of reaching for my phone when I encounter a hard problem on my problem set, I could go for a walk or draw a picture. These activities are less likely to distract me from my main goal, meaning they will take less time, and also get my blood flowing and stimulate my brain in productive ways. My stress could be reduced long-term rather than short-term and overall I will be less compulsive because I will have less stress.
