WHAT If You Could Quit scrolling Today?
If you want to quit scrolling, I have a few resources that could help you.
A few months ago, I realized that I, along with many people around me, felt a disturbing lack of freedom of the way we use our time when it came to social media. It no longer seemed like it was our decision whether to spend time on Instagram or not. These platforms are built on systems designed to generate massive amounts of money, and they do so by stealing as much of your attention as possible.(Giraldo-Luque et al., 2020)
By “stealing,” I mean that they use everything we know about human biology and psychology to exploit every weakness in our biological design to push us to open the app and scroll even though we know it didn’t make us feel good yesterday and it will not do so today.
Can you not relate? Let’s hear some facts. Social media has contributed to worsening mental and physical health, and it undermines free will in how we vote, dress, talk, eat, and even sleep (L. Mujica, 2022). While not all of its influence is negative, the benefits don’t outweigh the harm in the slightest.
Three Key Facts Making a Convincing Case That Something Needs to Be Done
Social media is directly linked to insomnia, with excessive use disrupting sleep through emotional strain and over-stimulation (Che et al., 2025; Dahal and Fiala, 2018).
Heavy social media use worsens mental health, increasing risks of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, especially in young people (Fassi et al., 2025; Mougharbel et al., 2023)
Social media algorithms influence purchasing and voting behaviour by targeting ads, shaping preferences, and amplifying political messaging (Guess, 2023; Kothari et al., 2025).
The list could go on…
Why don’t we act on this as a society?
The answer is simple: Big Tech is now the richest and most powerful industry in the world, and its interests don’t align with the public’s in this case (High, 2025). Looking at the list of negative side effects of social media use I think it is safe to say that the situation with the lack of regulation of social media mirrors what we saw with Big Tobacco decades ago.
What Can You Do About It? A Few Resources That Helped Me
These are a few resources that helped me reclaim my attention, at least for a few months before slipping back into old habits. It’s not perfect, and staying off your phone requires constant awareness and effort, but these resources can help you understand the situation and do something about it within a few minutes.
Matt D’Avella explains why this is a problem and why so many of us feel trapped.
Yuval Noah Harari challenges Mark Zuckerberg in a deep discussion about free will and the impact of social media algorithms.
My top recommendation: A guide to removing the most addictive features from your phone so you can use it intentionally. When I implemented this, my screen time dropped by 78%.
IF YOU HAVE MORE RESOURCES ON THIS TOPIC, PLEASE SHARE THEM IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. I’D LOVE TO COLLECT EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE TO HELP THOSE IN NEED INCLUDING MYSELF TO STOP SCROLLING;).
