Is infinite scrolling a dark pattern? What’s the most effective intervention for screen addiction?
Ever drink more than you meant to? Have you ever drank even though you know it’s negative consequences? Have you been unsuccessful in quitting drinking?
Now replace drink/drank/drinking with scroll/scrolled/scrolling. It’s little wonder that excessive social media use is often spoken about in terms of “addiction,” even if screen addiction is not an officially recognized behavioral disorder.
Earlier this month, I wrote about how an emphasis on the design of habit-forming experiences, most prominently through infinite scrolling on social media, has created a feeling of “addiction” in smartphone users.
The short of it is that the average person is spending approximately 5 hours on their phone per day, leading to many believing that their minds and social lives would significantly improve if they could only put down the phone.
In order to battle the perceived “brain rot” resultant from mindless scrolling, users reported using various strategies to pull their focus away from their phones. But should this responsibility of the users, or perhaps should the designers of the experience shoulder the burden of creating…