How To Stop Scrolling

How To Stop Scrolling

From Science Vs by Spotify Studios

April 2, 2026 · 37 min

About this episode

This episode explores the science behind phone addiction and discusses various strategies to reduce scrolling.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Wendy Zukerman

Guests: Dr. Jaejeung Kim, Dr. Lea-Christin Wickord

Topics covered

  • phone addiction
  • scrolling
  • digital wellbeing
  • technology
  • psychology

Keywords

  • phone addiction
  • scrolling
  • digital detox
  • psychology
  • technology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Spotify Studios

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