Mindless scrolling is almost always set off by a trigger you haven't named yet: wanting a reward, boredom, wanting to numb a feeling, the wrong environment, or FOMO. I know because in 2024 I journaled my binges and wrote down every trigger I could find.
Here are real extracts from my journal, written on different days, and the two “muscles” that helped me stop.
Day 1: The triggers behind a random midday binge
I binged for 3 hours today, from 1 PM to 4 PM, right in the middle of the day, despite having work to do. Just a random midday binge.
Why? Here are the triggers I identified:
1. Reward
I wanted to celebrate and have fun because of a recent event in my family.
2. Boredom
I felt bored.
But instead of channeling my energy into health, focus or success, I wasted it on useless, unproductive series.
I wanted something exciting? I could have done rope-jumping beside my desk to let out all that energy and feel alive.
3. Numbing
I wanted to STOP thinking about my brother's reaction to a message I sent earlier this morning, a message that came across a bit rough.
So I wanted to NUMB my brain and the background thoughts asking me “what if.”
I wanted to ignore it. So I drowned my brain in the scroll. I didn't ask myself, “Is this the next best action of integrity? Is this the wisest action to take?”
4. A mismatch between environment and tasks
I wasn't working from the office today because I felt sick (flu, sore throat, runny nose), but working from home was a bad idea. I've recently noticed I can't focus on my job at home anymore. My mind drifts to the family event and to social media updates. Working from my usual scrolling spot, my desk at home, made focusing impossible. I should have changed my location.
Observation (made hours after binging):
Now that I've already messed up, I can honestly tell you: Instagram and YouTube literally FRY my emotions. They leave me hooked, with thoughts spinning about what I just watched, feeling powerless, not knowing what to do with the flood of wild and conflicting emotions.
Day 2: Why do I want to scroll again the next day?
This morning, I intended to write the moment I woke up. But what did I do instead? I opened Instagram and scrolled for 30 minutes. Crazy! I did the exact OPPOSITE of my intention.
Why? I suspect it's a carryover from yesterday's scrolling.
It makes me think of a line Warren Buffett likes to quote (it goes back to Samuel Johnson): “The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”
I notice that every time I spend hours scrolling or binge-watching, I feel an urge to do the same thing the next day.
It's like an invisible chain from yesterday's actions, limiting my choices today.
When I wanted to snap out of it after 30 minutes of this trance-like state, I felt this emptiness, this urge to go back in and keep scrolling.
The truth is, it's hard not to fall back, especially right after you get out.
But I kept reminding myself: “Maria, just don't open it. Give it 15 minutes. Don't beat yourself up. What you're feeling is completely normal. This urge will pass shortly. Don't go back in.”
And it did.
How to stop scrolling: train these 2 muscles
1. The muscle of snapping out of it quickly
The moment your brain tells you “What are you doing?” while scrolling, act immediately! Hold on to that tiny flash of consciousness that's trying to pull you out of the trance, and take action right away:
- Throw your phone dramatically onto the bed.
- Close the app.
- Turn off the phone.
- Jump out of your seat.
Do a quick move that takes energy and snaps you out of your state.
2. The muscle of resisting the pull to go back in
Right after logging off, you're going to feel a pull to get back in. The urge is strongest in the first few minutes after you close the app, and it gets weaker minutes later.
This “pull” is a strong desire to dive back in very shortly after you've closed it. You feel a sense of emptiness, a bit lost about what to do next in your day. The easiest thing for your brain is to turn the phone back on and click on that damn app.
But don't.
Today's total: Instagram 32 minutes. YouTube 29 minutes. Over an hour of my day, gone!
Another day: FOMO and the illusion of “learning something”
I scrolled in bed until 12:15 AM: 2 hours and 55 minutes on Instagram and 25 minutes on YouTube. That's 3 hours 20 minutes of my day, gone!
What was the trigger? FOMO! (Fear Of Missing Out.)
It's incredible how new triggers show up every day!
This constant battle with bad digital habits feels like a war. With these platforms, there are plenty of triggers that can suck us back in, and they come out of nowhere!
Why FOMO this time? Because during yesterday's scrolling session, the algorithm pushed me short documentaries I found interesting. I saved them, took notes, reflected on them. What happened next? The algorithm understood my behavior and started pushing more and more content my brain considers “useful” and “important to know” about health, society and other topics I'm interested in.
So what do you think happened today?
I felt an extreme sense of “missing out” if I didn't go back in, a fear that I might miss some useful video that would teach me something “important,” something I might never come across unless I took my chances with the random scroll. That FOMO is what sucked me back in today for 3 freaking hours!
Are you really learning anything from scrolling?
My honest opinion: it's an illusion. One that these apps were designed to create on purpose.
And I'll explain why.
A lot of people spend somewhere between 2 and 4 hours a day scrolling. That's 2 to 4 hours of their day GONE.
Let's do the math. You have 24 hours in your day. Subtract:
- 8 hours for sleep
- 2 hours for breakfast, lunch and dinner
- 2 hours for getting dressed, showering and commuting
- 8 hours for your day job
- 2 hours for a family, a partner, a friend or a neighbour who needs your attention
- 1 hour for housekeeping, groceries, cooking and getting your things in order
That leaves you somewhere around 1 hour, maybe 2 on a good day.
If you scroll for 2 to 3 hours a day under the pretext that you're “learning valuable information,” do you really think you'll have time left to take action on anything you've learned?
That's why I believe it's an ILLUSION of learning.
These platforms give you the impression that you're picking up hacks, tricks and pieces of information that will transform your life. But your life never does.
If what you learn on Instagram or TikTok is so useful, how come you never have the time to implement it?
I keep hearing “I learned this and I learned that on TikTok or IG,” but the people telling me this rarely seem any closer to what they want in life. And the price they're paying for this illusion of knowledge is TOO HIGH. Two hours a day, even four hours a day, is an immense cost to pay EVERY DAY for information (disguised as knowledge) that doesn't massively change the quality of your life.
The FOMO I feel, the thought that I'm “missing out” on learning something important, is an illusion.
We barely have time left in our day to act on anything we've learned online. And without implementation and action, nothing sticks.
Information is useless without action.
As Tony Robbins would say: “Knowledge isn't power. Execution trumps knowledge every day of the week.”
If you see yourself in these pages and want help spotting and breaking your own triggers, that's what we do together in our 1-on-1 program.
Frequently asked questions
What triggers mindless scrolling?
Usually a specific need you have in that moment: wanting a reward, boredom, a feeling you'd rather not feel, the place you're sitting, or fear of missing out. The scroll quietly meets that need for a moment. Once you name the trigger, you can meet the need another way.
Why do I feel the urge to go back right after I stop scrolling?
Right after you close the app there's often a feeling of emptiness and a strong pull to dive back in. In my experience, that urge is strongest in the first few minutes and fades if you don't feed it. Hold out for 15 minutes and it usually passes.
Am I really learning anything by scrolling?
Mostly, it's an illusion of learning. If you spend 2 to 4 hours a day taking in tips and never have time to act on them, nothing sticks. Information without action doesn't change your life.
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