BRUSSELS — Doom scrolling is doomed, if the EU gets its way.

The European Commission is for the first time tackling the addictiveness of social media in a fight against TikTok that may set new design standards for the world’s most popular apps.

  • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz
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    4 hours ago

    It provides a natural stopping point, which as another user explained requires a conscious effort to continue rather than infinite scrolling which requires a conscious effort to stop.

    It doesn’t sound like much, but it can be those little things that make the difference. A little bit less on one side of the scale, and a little bit more on another.

    I know I find myself scrolling for way longer than I intended, and when I look back and realize how much I scrolled it always seems to surprise me. Sometimes I tell myself I’m about to stop, but I just keep going. I see another headline at the bottom of the screen and have to click on it. After that I see another one below it, etc. Sometimes I have to scroll so the screen ends on one post, and I won’t let it show the one below it, cause otherwise I might never stop.

    People whose minds are already wired for addiction can struggle with this. Just like with beer. “One felt good, so twelve must feel twelve times as good.” It’s a subconscious process, but it can feel like a vortex and be really hard to escape.

    Pagination would take away that “mindless” aspect, and for instance I could see when I reach page 10 or whatever and decide that’s far enough. Or I could hop on and just scroll one page. Or I could scroll a few pages and then say “Okay at the bottom of this page I’m stopping.” It’s much easier that way for people who struggle with it.