I can sit on my phone for hours. I stay up late into the night thinking, “I should turn this off,” but I’m laughing at 30-second videos and I feel addicted to my phone. I can’t turn it off. I don’t turn it off. Not until that girl on TikTok pops up on my screen, saying I’ve been scrolling for “way too long.” And even then, I sometimes scroll past her to stay on my phone longer. Eventually, I’ll finally swipe off my apps and click the power button on the side of my phone so my screen is black. Then my brain takes even longer to shut down, but I’m likely to do the same thing again tomorrow.
It’s called zombie scrolling. I stare at my phone like I’m not even a person anymore. I’m just a thing consuming an overload of content. And I have begun to wonder what effect that has had on my brain.
What is zombie scrolling?
Have you ever lost track of time scrolling through social media? Have you, like me, stayed up late into the night, not being able to turn your phone off because you were scrolling?
Zombie scrolling is the term used to describe how people passively scroll through social media or websites without a clear purpose or awareness of time.
Why are we addicted to scrolling?
There are many reasons why people zombie scroll, but one of the strongest explanations is its tie to the brain’s reward system. When we scroll, the constant possibility of something new keeps us engaged. When you see something exciting, whether it makes you laugh or reminds you of a friend, the brain releases dopamine.
Dopamine is a chemical messenger linked to pleasure, motivation, and learning. Normally, it’s released during everyday activities like eating or socializing, but certain behaviors (like scrolling on TikTok) can affect this system. Dopamine helps strengthen neural pathways connected to rewarding experiences, making us want to repeat them. Over time, the brain learns to associate scrolling with these bursts of reward, which fuels the urge to keep doing it.
How does zombie scrolling affect the brain?
According to a 2024 study from Harvard Law, zombie scrolling may be overstimulating the brain’s dopamine pathways, which can reduce sensitivity to everyday sources of pleasure. Because of the brain’s neuroplasticity, over-reliance on digital devices can condition it to crave frequent, fast-paced bursts of stimulation and struggle without them. This is related to the term “popcorn brain,” which describes a state where the brain adapts to rapid-fire information online, making it harder to focus and engage with the slower pace of real-world activities. Over time, this chronic overstimulation can contribute to cognitive fatigue, reduced mental clarity, difficulty concentrating, and emotional instability.
Further Research suggests that long-term exposure to rapid, short-form digital content may interfere with emotional regulation and information processing, increasing impulsivity, reducing sustained attention, and complicating decision-making. Excessive digital use may also displace more restorative activities such as deep thinking, reflection, or problem-solving, which are essential for maintaining cognitive resilience.
Although this information so far hasn’t stopped me from scrolling obsessively every once in a while, I am now more mindful of my behavior and attitude towards my phone.