Do you often find yourself just scrolling on your phone with a blank mind for absolutely no reason? How about looking at your Instagram and Facebook feeds and WhatsApp messages for hours at an end? Even worse, do you often mindlessly look at the ‘Gram when someone is talking to you? If you nodded yes, don’t fret–you ain’t the only one. We are all victims of smartphone addiction. We got in touch with Dr Niharika Mehta, a psychologist at Hiranandani Hospital Vashi, Mumbai to help you break out of the habit.
Why does it happen in the first place?
Before we try to stop mindless scrolling, let us understand why we indulge in it in the first place. “Our brain is such that it constantly needs to do something. It cannot be idle. Before the internet became easily accessible, we engaged in mobile games. Before mobiles became common, we engaged ourselves with a variety of hobbies such as drawing, writing, dancing, learning something new or simply talking to people. Doing all of these activities gave our brain something to do. But it is important to remember that our brain will always pick something that is easy and does not require extra efforts. Mindless scrolling offers the best deal to fill those “idle” minutes as it does not require much effort from the brain,” explains Dr Niharika.
But what about the effects of constantly looking at your phone?
Dr Niharika says: “Mindless scrolling can become an issue when it gets difficult to stop, it takes priority over other tasks, and you find yourself scrolling through your phone leaving important things unattended. The solution, in absolutely simple words, is giving your brain something else to do. Giving it something else to work on will reduce the urge to scroll through your phone.”
However, sometimes, in spite of this, it can get difficult to not reach out and check your phone for notifications. The brain will always choose something that is easy and does not require extra work. Applying this logic to curb mindless scrolling, you should try making the task at hand difficult.
So how can you end this cycle of mindless scrolling?
Dr Niharika suggests three super-easy ways in which mindless scrolling can be avoided:
1. For starters, keep the phone in another room, far away from you. Alternatively, you can keep it deep in your bag or desk drawer. If that also doesn’t stop you from reaching for it, purposely keep the battery low. This will make you hesitant in using it for unnecessary tasks because you don’t want to drain the battery before you book your Uber now, do you?
2. Maintain a schedule, where, you have allotted a specific time to scroll through social media. Look at scrolling as a reward for completing other important work. Tell your mind that you will enjoy your free time (to scroll through your phone) better when there are no pending tasks.
3. Forming, breaking, or even managing a habit takes time and conscious effort. You are basically training yourself to do something. A constant reminder of what is actually important and offering a substitute to mindless scrolling will condition your mind to not reach out for your phone the second you have nothing to do.
