People On Twitter Discuss The Harmful Effects Of “Infinite Scroll”

Ironically, Twitter uses it a lot...

Damjan

• Published in Interesting
• August 17, 2022

There's no denying that we're all somewhat dependent on our phones, the internet, and social networks. They all started out as something that was supposed to make our lives easier and more enjoyable.

They were supposed to obey our commands. And, along the way, something happened.

We are no longer in control, and we find ourselves under immense influence from these things. We can live without WIFI and social networks.

We are slowly becoming their servants. Oh, how the tables have turned.

Social networks, apps, and tools have people running them. And they are in it for profit, not to make the world a better place.

And they get their profits by making us think that we are in control. They have many tricks up their sleeve, and one of them is the endless scroll.

Have you ever observed that scrolling never ends? It appears to go on forever, whether you're doom scrolling or merely down the Instagram rabbit hole.

It's not a coincidence because it was planned that way. The history of the "infinite scroll" is revealed in a recent thread on Twitter by @proetrie.

Even now, there are claims that scrolling has replaced smoking. Given the dopamine response to the infinite scroll, it might even do us more harm.

One Twitter user shared:

The endless scroll is actually psychologically destructive for people.

Doomscrolling is one of the worst things you could do to your body and mind.

People have responded:

There is a reason for vertically oriented infinite scroll

Buttoned pagination now feels cumbersome

Ah, that push-to-refresh rush

Just a preview.

Now you see me, now you don't...

A JavaScript plugin called Infinite Scroll saves visitors from having to wait for the entire page to load by adding the following page immediately. It is being used all over the internet.

Paul Irish initially released the first iteration of Infinite Scroll in 2008. It was a ground-breaking piece of front-end programming, giving web designers access to cutting-edge knowledge through a user-friendly yet potent plugin

Something like that...

Dopamine is released into the brain every time we swiftly switch between information as we scroll through our feeds, giving us a kind of neurological "high." You keep scrolling through the content because of that rush.

It is the same as any addiction, whether it involves alcohol, drugs, or gambling.

Some people believe infinite scroll doesn't improve user experience.

Okay?

Footer content is important

They are all doing it now...

Digital marketers hate it:

Social networks are making sure we don't think about it...

It never ends...

Just keep going...

Well, as you can see, we don’t use the infinite scroll. You are welcome.

Even though the infinite scroll has some advantages (at least some people believe so), it brings on many dangers. You can become a Zombie Scroller.

Zombie Scrolling Syndrome is a term coined by the McAfee security company in 2016 to describe the effects of cell phone addiction. It's defined as “mindless scrolling out of habit, with no real destination or benefit.”

Doesn’t sound nice, does it?

Damjan