How To Stop Scrolling

Science Vs

Spotify Studios

Education, Science, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 12.4K Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2026

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The apps on our phones do an amazing job of sucking us in. In fact, a big court case just found that some of these companies should be held responsible for basically designing products to be addictive. And that might not be shocking for lots of us, who feel the pull of these algorithms every day. So, is there anything we can do to help us put down our phones?? Tons of solutions are bandied about: Buy this special device to stay off your phone! What we really need to do is up the friction! Or go hardcore — just get a flip phone! But what actually works to stop scrolling? We dive into the science to find out, with help from computer science and engineering researcher Dr. Jaejeung Kim and psychologist Dr. Lea-Christin Wickord. Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/ScienceVsStopScrolling In this episode, we cover: (00:00) The Apps Got Us Trapped (04:21) Yes, it’s the scrolling that’s to blame (06:18) The Hardcore Approach (11:45) The Gentle Nudge (14:09) What if we up the friction? (19:59) Is greyscale the solution? (28:50) If we stop scrolling, do we feel better? (30:37) Final tips to stop scrolling This episode was produced by Meryl Horn, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Michelle Dang, and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. Wendy Zukerman is our executive producer. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko-Howard. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord, Bumi Hidaka, So Wylie, Emma Munger and Peter Leonard. Thanks so much to the researchers we spoke to, including Dr. Kai Lukoff, Hyunsung Cho, Dr. Alex Holte, Dr. Jan Ole Rixen, Dr. Jay Olson, and Dr. Noah Castelo. A big thanks to Joseph Lavelle Wilson and the Zukerman family. Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Wendy Zuckerman and you're listening to Science Fersers.
0:05.2	This is the show that pits facts against phones.
0:13.1	Today on the show, how do we stop scrolling?
0:18.4	Just last week in a landmark case, Meta, which owns Instagram and Google, owner of YouTube,
0:25.2	were found negligent for basically creating addictive products that harmed a young woman's mental health.
0:31.6	A huge slap to big tech today.
0:34.1	A landmark verdict that could change the face of social media.
0:37.3	Deliberately and negligently designed their products to get young users hooked on the apps.
0:42.4	They kept her endless scrolling, constant notifications, algorithms that learn exactly what
0:48.1	keeps you watching.
0:50.3	The tech giants have been ordered to pay her $6 million.
0:55.0	They're appealing. But this case has reignited a huge conversation over how these apps can just suck us in.
1:03.0	The young woman's lawyer said during closing arguments that these apps are, quote,
1:08.0	Trojan horses.
1:09.0	They look wonderful and great, but you invite them in and they take
1:13.3	over, which, away from this case, is exactly the way that a lot of our listeners have been feeling
1:20.9	about these apps. I want to use my phoneless, obviously, like everyone else. I've been trying to quit for the last two years.
1:29.6	It has gotten worse.
1:30.9	I want to stop news scrolling.
1:32.9	It just feels like I'm constantly consuming something off of a screen.
1:37.8	Surveys find that over half of adults in the US want to spend less time on their phones.
1:43.0	My mental health is just better when I'm off social media, and it's hard to get out
	...

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