Has science finally found the antidote to endless scrolling on social media?

To break free from endless scrolling, there’s no point in imposing overly strict restrictions on yourself. The solution lies instead in social media and how it works: why not turn it against itself by exploring our natural curiosity?

Instead of passively scrolling—which soothes a craving without ever truly satisfying it—it’s better to channel that energy and direct it toward exploring topics that spark genuine passions within us.

This way of approaching social media is based on specific psychological mechanisms. As psychology professor Celeste Kidd (University of California, Berkeley) explains, curiosity is akin to a kind of itch—a sensation that isn’t particularly pleasant. “When we really want to obtain information, the answer provides a genuine sense of pleasure.” Scrolling merely provides superficial relief from this itch, without addressing it at a deeper level.

To illustrate this approach, writer John Paul Brammer recounts how he got back into reading by starting with a subject that piqued his curiosity: the author David Foster Wallace. He thus rediscovered reading by “ picking out” bits of information from books, following his own interests. “Curiosity is like a child: when it really wants something, it’s almost impossible to stop it.”

Sustaining interest

Curiosity, however, remains fleeting. Once the information is obtained, interest can suddenly fade. To make this momentum last, Kou Murayama, a psychology professor at the University of Tübingen, recommends transforming this fleeting curiosity into an interest that stands the test of time: "Curiosity is fleeting by nature, but if it’s linked to the accumulation of knowledge—or if you can connect it to your identity or your sense of self-worth—then you can reinforce your own interest." He advises starting with a subject you already have some grasp of to stimulate surprise and wonder without getting lost in the process. This behavior, incidentally, can be observed as early as infancy.

In practice, no “extraordinary” or overly ambitious project is necessary. All you need to do is identify a question that resonates with you and inspires you—no matter how vague it may be—seize that thread, and let one question lead to another.