Khaberni -Do you open your phone for "just two minutes", only to find after 45 minutes that you are still browsing videos or following the streaming images on the accounts you follow? This phenomenon, called “continuous browsing,” is not simple: it activates specific neural mechanisms that can affect your focus, mood, and stress levels.
Every time we encounter new and entertaining content such as a funny picture or a beautiful video or an interesting message, the brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward.
The problem is that these rewards come to us randomly. And the result - according to a report published by the medical site passportsante - is that we want to continue watching and scrolling, what is called “scrolling” again and again, waiting for the next pleasure.
◄ Gradual loss of control
Constantly moving from one video to another or “scrolling” is designed to be endless, with no natural browsing limit, and this absence of visual boundaries confuses our vision. According to a study conducted by the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), users spend on average 30% to 50% more time on apps with infinite scrolling compared to traditional apps. This negative engagement increases the risk of compulsive use, sometimes leading to digital addiction.
◄ Invisible mental fatigue
When browsing the internet, our brain processes a huge amount of information in a very short time, such as sounds, images, texts, and emotions. This continuous flow causes mental fatigue, draining our attention resources without us realizing it.
A study from the University of California has shown that this constant exhaustion can increase stress and irritation levels, even after a short browsing session.
◄ Impact on attention and sleep
Getting used to this fast and instantaneous content, the brain develops a type of intolerance to boredom and increasingly struggles to focus on longer tasks such as reading an article, watching a movie, or even following a conversation. Moreover, browsing the internet in the evening delays the natural secretion of melatonin (the sleep hormone), leading to disruptions in sleep-wake rhythms in many regular users.
Therefore, infinite scrolling is not just a pastime, but a strong neural stimulus. Understanding it enables you to better protect yourself against it, as setting a fixed time, disabling notifications, or turning off autoplay, are all effective measures to reduce digital addiction.
