Scrolling without purpose is not good

I recently noticed that I had created a terrible habit: whenever I wanted to distract myself, I would pick up my phone and start scrolling social media.

I suddenly realized that I was picking the phone not because I wanted to see something specific. I wanted simply to find a new distraction, somehow. It was not purposeful action, but was a passive one. So I would pick up the phone, look to what others were sharing, commenting on them, and sharing them along. Without specific goals. I was just using signifficant portions of time randomly scrolling, commenting, and sharing.

In social media, most people share things they find interesting and usually they aim to draw attention to what they consider important. Others scroll endlessly just to find the next thing that might interest them. I realized I was doing both things, without much gain for myself.

I was spending hours scrolling, looking for the next thing to be concerned or interested about. Whenever I found something concerning or interesting, I would share it with others, hoping they would agree, so I could feel I had company.

Then it became clear that this habit wasn’t contributing to my well‑being. Instead, it was consuming a significant portion of my life, and for no particularly productive reason. Distraction started to be increasingly be my way of life, and this is not good. This was when I started thinking that I needed to do something.

To some extent, I had already reached a similar realization during the COVID pandemic years. I was extremely upset with the whole pandemic context and with policies I vehemently disagreed with, and I was shouting into the void only to discover that not many people cared about my venting. So I decided to reduce my social media contacts to a very small group—only those who shared my values and could potentially be willing to exchange points of view on things I considered important. It was a great step forward: I significantly reduced the noise and frustration with others because my sócia media timeline consisted mostly of people with similar interests. My frustration while scrolling dropped considerably after the move. I was now circling myself with more interesting people. I started reading more, developing myself, meeting great people, and even forming friendships I could later bring on into real life. I used social media mainly to improve relationships, discuss ideas, and learn more about myself and others. I think it was way more productive than what I was doing prior to this change.

Today, I feel that the harm of social media now again outweighing the benefits, so I’m giving it a break. I uninstalled Facebook and Instagram from my phone: I’ve gone three days without scrolling. People talk about “FOMO”—the fear of missing out—which describes the anxiety of not knowing what others are sharing at any given moment.

I think I’ve reached a different condition: I’ve developed “JOMO”—the joy of missing out. It’s the joy of not picking up the phone so often, and enjoying things around me outside social media distraction.

So far, the experience has been positive. Those apps are temporarily off my phone, without knowing when they will be back. I kept Substack because here the engagement seems more purposeful. When I log in, I know exactly what I want to do—either publish something, or learn something new.

I also bought some new books I wanted to read. If I want some distraction, I will pick them instead of the phone. Now, whenever I want distraction, I first decide what I actually want to do, and then I do it. I’m no longer scrolling social media hoping to stumble upon something exciting or to share a momentary thought I came up with to somehow have company.

By doing this, I’m trying to bring more control over my time. So far, it’s working. I’m not an alcoholic, but I am three days “scrolling sober”—refusing to let myself automatically pick up the phone to scroll and instead, finding something better to do. I am also developing some sort of pride of being more productive, closer to my kids and wife, and achieving more things that are truly meaningful, rather than pure distraction.

As any change of habit, some degree of effort and action are required. I hope I succeed.