{"id":561428,"date":"2026-07-21T21:47:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T21:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/561428\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T21:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T21:47:12","slug":"what-does-infinite-scrolling-on-phones-do-to-our-brains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/561428\/","title":{"rendered":"What does \u2018infinite scrolling\u2019 on phones do to our brains?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all know how easy it is to get hooked on scrolling, but what does this endless scrolling actually do to our brains? We asked experts to explain the psychology behind the habit\u2026<\/p>\n

Reward system<\/p>\n

\"HappyLikes on social media trigger a rush of dopamine (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cOur brain\u2019s prefrontal cortex is where the core of our inhibition control sits and infinite scrolling is particularly a problem with teenagers because the prefrontal cortex is not fully matured for most people until their mid 20s,\u201d says Matteo Parissi, registered and chartered forensic psychologist and head of psychology at Cygnet Hospital Harrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, teenagers and adolescents are a bit more vulnerable when it comes to their ability to stop infinite scrolling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interactions on social media also trigger a rush of dopamine.<\/p>\n

\u201cDopamine is a chemical messenger which is central in how our brain\u2019s reward system works. We get dopamine in order to get motivated and when we\u2019re feeling pleasure,\u201d explains Parissi.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeens often get triggered and hijacked by the social reward of likes that they get on social media, which is essentially a metaphor of peer feedback that keeps this dopamine circle going.\u201d<\/p>\n

The slot machine effect<\/p>\n

\"The format of social media means scrolling has no natural stopping points (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

Parissi highlights how the core mechanism of infinite scrolling is similar to slot machines.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur brain does not know when the next rewarding piece of content will appear, so each swipe while scrolling has the possibility of getting a reward,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor our brain this is quite detrimental because, from a dopamine perspective, the anticipation of getting rewarding content matters even more than the rewarding content itself, and this is the reason why this behaviour persists.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, when we\u2019re scrolling on Instagram and the content is only\u00a0 mediocre and we don\u2019t really see what we want to see, we continue scrolling because our brain and reward system is hijacked by this mechanism.\u201d<\/p>\n

He highlights how unlike books, there\u2019s no natural stopping points with social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn books there are natural stopping points where your brain will ask \u2018should I read another chapter?\u2019 However, the issue with scrolling is that we don\u2019t have any of that, unless we decide to self-initiate this inhibition or put limitations in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Creates entrenched neural pathways<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you stimulate certain thinking patterns, certain neural pathways, the brain will rewire accordingly,\u201d explains Sarah Warley, neurophysiological psychologist and founder of BeBright, a digital platform bringing biology-led methodology to families.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, if you are being fed an algorithm of negativity, your brain will begin to rewire according to the stimulation that it\u2019s given, so you will become much more negative in your outlook.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very simple mechanism. The nerves, the thinking patterns that get stimulated get entrenched, and the ones that don\u2019t begin to peter out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Impacts on focus<\/p>\n

\"FatherScrolling through lots of short-form content might have an impact on our focus (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s quite a lot of correlated evidence that suggests that younger generations are becoming less and less able to hold focus for a long period of time,\u201d says Warley.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think about the brain as a muscle, if you\u2019re only giving it quick hits of dopamine [through scrolling] it\u2019s not going to learn how to maintain that focus over the longer term because you just haven\u2019t practiced it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re not using that ability to focus longer, it won\u2019t develop that ability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Increases stress and anxiety<\/p>\n

\"ShockedResearch suggests that doomscrolling can have an effect on our mental health (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the key traits we\u2019ve evolved to have is to perpetually scan our environment for any potential threats and dangers, and when you\u2019re in the world of doomscrolling, you\u2019re being fed so many things to have to worry about, and your body can\u2019t differentiate between them,\u201d highlights Warley.<\/p>\n

Being alert puts your body into a fight-or-flight state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis triggers high cortisol stress levels, high adrenaline and makes you feel alert because you expect something negative to happen, and your body feels primed for that,\u201d says Warley.<\/p>\n

\u201cStress is fine when it comes in bursts, it has a functional purpose, but if it\u2019s there 24\/7 because of what you\u2019re consuming, then you will get absolutely worn out emotionally. You\u2019ll become much more anxious and are likely to have a much more negative outlook on the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are some tips on how to overcome this\u2026<\/p>\n

Recognise that progress won\u2019t happen overnight<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to understand that it\u2019s not just going to happen overnight. You\u2019re not going to go from a pattern of addictive scrolling to suddenly doing things that are healthier for you,\u201d says Warley.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, you can gradually get there if you just chip away at it little by little until it\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Start small<\/p>\n

\"WomanSet a timer to control your phone habits (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you spend hours doomscrolling every day, it might be helpful to reduce your scrolling time by 10 minutes everyday to start with and then gradually increase this to 15 minutes and then 30 minutes,\u201d suggests Warley.<\/p>\n

Avoid going on your phone as soon as you wake up<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing many people do when they wake up is check their notifications, open social media and start scrolling,\u201d says Parissi. \u201cInstead of hijacking and bypassing the fact that our body biologically is wired to have a gradual wake-up time, I would recommend waking up to natural light.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s better to gradually build up and reach the peak of our activity to midday, rather than immediately open a world of endless videos as soon as you wake up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carve out time for fun activities<\/p>\n

\u201cThink about all the fun things that you can do together as a family, such as a board game, to replace some of that scrolling time,\u201d advises Warley.<\/p>\n

Get outdoors<\/p>\n

\"Mother,Give your brain a break by going outside (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that you can do that\u2019s incredibly effective at reducing your stress levels and cortisol levels is going for a walk in nature,\u201d recommends Warley.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We all know how easy it is to get hooked on scrolling, but what does this endless scrolling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[61,60,80],"class_list":["post-561428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}