I do this with books that I want to read. There are probably days where I spend more time consuming book-recommending content than actually reading those books and my to-read list is solidly 15 years long at my current pace. Whoops.
Yes! I'm like that with blog posts—I've lost count of how many "this person's all-time best posts" lists I've saved blog posts from, and then proceeded to not read.
I think if you find the one single focus or purpose in your life you would hoard less and pass up on more. But if your interests are still varied, then every interesting little thing about relationships, sports, fashion, movies, books, philosophy, history, politics, conspiracy theories, aliens etc will attract you. Hoard scrolling is probably just part of a process of figuring out what you really want to do while life happens. Probably, meditation with its singular focus on self even for a short time, gives you a glimpse of what it would be like if you only cared about one subject
I do this too! I think for me, I bookmark interesting-looking articles I encounter out of a fear that the article will have some profound insight that I will miss out on if I don’t read it. It’s driven by a sort of craving for the capital T truth. Upon reflection, I know that no single article could deliver the truth to me, and there’s no reason to expect the next article I encounter that looks interesting will be any more profound than the millions I’ve already read. And if it were so profound, why wouldn’t I just stop and read it? Because I’m scrolling of course, and would rather just stash the article than interrupt the dopamine that comes from the scrolling.
Exactly! And even more than that, I think there’s a little hit of dopamine we get on the act of bookmarking itself. For me at least, for some reason it feels like I’m being smart or frugal or making a good decision to save instead of consume right away. It’s all very strange—I don’t think we were designed to live with such advanced technology, and I think it’ll take a while for us to figure out how to use it properly.
Great article (and illustration), thank you! I can relate to the dopamine hypothesis. It feels satisfying to scroll, stash, scroll, stash... And then reading anything from my saved Substack posts or book list feels effortful instead. I've learned it's definitely about me and not the tech, because I used to do this with bookmarks first, and then del.icio.us, and then Pocket, and now here. (And maybe, also, it's because saving matches a self image of someone who will improve himself, but actually I'm only going to put in the effort to properly engage with 5% of All Saved Things.) Glad to not be alone in this!
“The scrolling gesture, a single thumb swipe, is eerily similar to the pull of a slot machine—just with the direction reversed. And every bad reel or short or note or post that you slog through just makes it THAT much more satisfying when you finally find a good one.”
Awesome way to put this. Never heard the slot machine idea before but it’s perfect
I'm not sure if you've heard of variable reward scheduling from addiction psychology, but that's basically where this concept comes from—if you don't get a reward every time, your expectancy builds up during the slog, and the behavior is also more likely to persist even when you're not getting any reward from it (i.e. it takes longer for it to hit extinction). Food for thought!
Snap! I have a Google Keep page full of interesting websites, blog posts, tools, and tips. The only time I use it is to save more items there! Looking at it now, I might make some time to do some of that long-intended discovery.
My name is Jason, and I’m a hoarding-type scroller. ☺️
I’ll see an interesting Substack, read the first handful of lines and Save it for later. Same with YouTube. But I never get around to actually reading or watching any of them later.
I did finish this article though because just saving it for later and scrolling on would’ve been a most ignorant and unaware act. 😆
Your hoarding-type scrolling reminds me of the never ending Netflix watch list I’ve read about in the past, before streaming became so ubiquitous. We’re forever scrolling through streaming app catalogs saving things to watch instead of actually streaming anything to watch.
We’re forever window shopping in the marketplace of ideas, but never actually going in the stores and trying things in on to see how they might fit.
I think it’s partly related to the paradox of choice and the analysis paralysis it engenders. We tell ourselves we’re being productive and thoughtful, but we’re really just deferring the uncomfortable work of actually engaging with ideas that might challenge or change us.
I absolutely agree with the paradox of choice and analysis paralysis—I really wasn't expecting so many people to resonate with the idea of Hoarding-type Scrolling, especially because I wrote this post in a single stream of consciousness, but it seems like this experience is far more ubiquitous than I thought. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Something I’ve been thinking about doing and allegedly really want to (even as I procrastinate it) is keeping a consumption journal. Just a record of all the content I consume, and whatever valence it evoked in me.
Let me know how it goes if you try! I feel like something like that wouldn’t work for me, because it would require more energy than I’d have—if I’m in a state of mindless scrolling, I likely am not thinking very hard or being very present anyway.
Nothing against curation or selection—the reason I feel it to be a problem is that it’s so mindless. It ends up being a replacement activity for other things I’d rather be doing, and it *feels* worth doing because it feels like I’m gaining value by doing it, but it’s truly not an activity I’d ever pursue if I took the time to think about it. Thanks for commenting!
Actually upon further reflection, I do wonder if there’s a thread that persists across each scrolling session, or if some of the scrolling sessions correspond to certain thoughts or anxieties that I have. I’ll be thinking about it!
Funny, that I was going to say something very similar, but didn't want to project! My hoarding-scrolling feels like a kind of "spiritual bypassing" where I'm feeling like "I'm doing creative work" when the big, scary, beautiful calling is waiting --
I also got a ping for SLOW writing yesterday, which also might mean that the icky feeling might be a cue away from "fragmented and fast" reading -- a calling for slower reading and writing.
but then, for sure, quick dopamine curation pings might fit beautifully into a slow work of a lifetime!!!! Yay!
As the child of a hoarder with a tendency to hoard, I really appreciate the exchange.
I'm also going to think about polishing my current "intake" processes so I'll have a way of anchoring my reading into the bigger, slower, more collaborative work. :)
I just hoarded that Marie Kondo meme (I’m not sure where on my phone it is yet)! But as I know a friend who will love it too, I think I’ll un-hoard it after sharing. Another friend is an actual hoarder and her ‘practice’ includes collecting resources on decluttering.
I know some people click the shopping cart button (but stop there) for an intentional dopamine hit while avoiding buying more clothes.
I hoard thousands of images on Pinterest and Instagram. I’m regularly tempted to delete them all, realising (while they take up little space in a phone) they can symbolise never-realised dreams and excess…
That all sounds so relatable. I have thousands of memes hoarded somewhere on my phone, and it’s all just clutter.
I think to me, it’s truly hoarding if you don’t even really enjoy having those things, and don’t even notice once you delete them or get rid of them—hence Marie Kondo. Thanks for leaving a comment!
Oh, I do this with articles as well, but I’m much more addicted to doing this with podcasts. I have thousands—and I mean literally thousands—of podcast episodes downloaded. It is the single largest memory usage on my 256 GB iPhone. The addiction is so bad that periodically I go through all the episodes I downloaded, say, four years ago, and delete all the ones that no longer spark joy. And yet then I continue downloading new ones nearly every day that I don’t have time to listen to. It is one of the most bizarre things about myself.
That’s exactly how I feel about YouTube videos! I have a ton of podcasts still downloaded too, and occasionally download some more despite never listening to them—it’s like a vestigial organ or something.
What are you avoiding by scrolling? Does the alternative feel like some form of suffering or perhaps just niggley resistance? I like to take a breath and ask why am I here (at this feed/digital hose). For example I came to your post via @oliverburkeman (I follow as he has interesting take on goals and productivity). Your note interested me because digital hauling (hoarding scrolling 😁) is a symptom of now thanks for writing about it. I worry about my son getting stuck in a similar scrolling loop of mediocrity.
I do this with books that I want to read. There are probably days where I spend more time consuming book-recommending content than actually reading those books and my to-read list is solidly 15 years long at my current pace. Whoops.
Yes! I'm like that with blog posts—I've lost count of how many "this person's all-time best posts" lists I've saved blog posts from, and then proceeded to not read.
I think if you find the one single focus or purpose in your life you would hoard less and pass up on more. But if your interests are still varied, then every interesting little thing about relationships, sports, fashion, movies, books, philosophy, history, politics, conspiracy theories, aliens etc will attract you. Hoard scrolling is probably just part of a process of figuring out what you really want to do while life happens. Probably, meditation with its singular focus on self even for a short time, gives you a glimpse of what it would be like if you only cared about one subject
I have reading-type scrolled this article and found that I agree.
I do this too! I think for me, I bookmark interesting-looking articles I encounter out of a fear that the article will have some profound insight that I will miss out on if I don’t read it. It’s driven by a sort of craving for the capital T truth. Upon reflection, I know that no single article could deliver the truth to me, and there’s no reason to expect the next article I encounter that looks interesting will be any more profound than the millions I’ve already read. And if it were so profound, why wouldn’t I just stop and read it? Because I’m scrolling of course, and would rather just stash the article than interrupt the dopamine that comes from the scrolling.
Exactly! And even more than that, I think there’s a little hit of dopamine we get on the act of bookmarking itself. For me at least, for some reason it feels like I’m being smart or frugal or making a good decision to save instead of consume right away. It’s all very strange—I don’t think we were designed to live with such advanced technology, and I think it’ll take a while for us to figure out how to use it properly.
Great article (and illustration), thank you! I can relate to the dopamine hypothesis. It feels satisfying to scroll, stash, scroll, stash... And then reading anything from my saved Substack posts or book list feels effortful instead. I've learned it's definitely about me and not the tech, because I used to do this with bookmarks first, and then del.icio.us, and then Pocket, and now here. (And maybe, also, it's because saving matches a self image of someone who will improve himself, but actually I'm only going to put in the effort to properly engage with 5% of All Saved Things.) Glad to not be alone in this!
“The scrolling gesture, a single thumb swipe, is eerily similar to the pull of a slot machine—just with the direction reversed. And every bad reel or short or note or post that you slog through just makes it THAT much more satisfying when you finally find a good one.”
Awesome way to put this. Never heard the slot machine idea before but it’s perfect
I'm not sure if you've heard of variable reward scheduling from addiction psychology, but that's basically where this concept comes from—if you don't get a reward every time, your expectancy builds up during the slog, and the behavior is also more likely to persist even when you're not getting any reward from it (i.e. it takes longer for it to hit extinction). Food for thought!
Yeah I’ve trained a few dogs and it’s a very real thing!
Snap! I have a Google Keep page full of interesting websites, blog posts, tools, and tips. The only time I use it is to save more items there! Looking at it now, I might make some time to do some of that long-intended discovery.
Yes! The joy isn’t going to discover itself!
My name is Jason, and I’m a hoarding-type scroller. ☺️
I’ll see an interesting Substack, read the first handful of lines and Save it for later. Same with YouTube. But I never get around to actually reading or watching any of them later.
I did finish this article though because just saving it for later and scrolling on would’ve been a most ignorant and unaware act. 😆
Your hoarding-type scrolling reminds me of the never ending Netflix watch list I’ve read about in the past, before streaming became so ubiquitous. We’re forever scrolling through streaming app catalogs saving things to watch instead of actually streaming anything to watch.
We’re forever window shopping in the marketplace of ideas, but never actually going in the stores and trying things in on to see how they might fit.
I think it’s partly related to the paradox of choice and the analysis paralysis it engenders. We tell ourselves we’re being productive and thoughtful, but we’re really just deferring the uncomfortable work of actually engaging with ideas that might challenge or change us.
I absolutely agree with the paradox of choice and analysis paralysis—I really wasn't expecting so many people to resonate with the idea of Hoarding-type Scrolling, especially because I wrote this post in a single stream of consciousness, but it seems like this experience is far more ubiquitous than I thought. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Something I’ve been thinking about doing and allegedly really want to (even as I procrastinate it) is keeping a consumption journal. Just a record of all the content I consume, and whatever valence it evoked in me.
Let me know how it goes if you try! I feel like something like that wouldn’t work for me, because it would require more energy than I’d have—if I’m in a state of mindless scrolling, I likely am not thinking very hard or being very present anyway.
Love this so much!!! And I wonder if diagnosing the behavior is a problem is a bit premature.
Perhaps there’s a thread through the titles of what you’ve been saving that speak to something you wouldn’t see otherwise.
Or perhaps the selection, the very act of curation is curative.
Nothing against curation or selection—the reason I feel it to be a problem is that it’s so mindless. It ends up being a replacement activity for other things I’d rather be doing, and it *feels* worth doing because it feels like I’m gaining value by doing it, but it’s truly not an activity I’d ever pursue if I took the time to think about it. Thanks for commenting!
Actually upon further reflection, I do wonder if there’s a thread that persists across each scrolling session, or if some of the scrolling sessions correspond to certain thoughts or anxieties that I have. I’ll be thinking about it!
Funny, that I was going to say something very similar, but didn't want to project! My hoarding-scrolling feels like a kind of "spiritual bypassing" where I'm feeling like "I'm doing creative work" when the big, scary, beautiful calling is waiting --
I also got a ping for SLOW writing yesterday, which also might mean that the icky feeling might be a cue away from "fragmented and fast" reading -- a calling for slower reading and writing.
but then, for sure, quick dopamine curation pings might fit beautifully into a slow work of a lifetime!!!! Yay!
As the child of a hoarder with a tendency to hoard, I really appreciate the exchange.
I'm also going to think about polishing my current "intake" processes so I'll have a way of anchoring my reading into the bigger, slower, more collaborative work. :)
I just hoarded that Marie Kondo meme (I’m not sure where on my phone it is yet)! But as I know a friend who will love it too, I think I’ll un-hoard it after sharing. Another friend is an actual hoarder and her ‘practice’ includes collecting resources on decluttering.
I know some people click the shopping cart button (but stop there) for an intentional dopamine hit while avoiding buying more clothes.
I hoard thousands of images on Pinterest and Instagram. I’m regularly tempted to delete them all, realising (while they take up little space in a phone) they can symbolise never-realised dreams and excess…
That all sounds so relatable. I have thousands of memes hoarded somewhere on my phone, and it’s all just clutter.
I think to me, it’s truly hoarding if you don’t even really enjoy having those things, and don’t even notice once you delete them or get rid of them—hence Marie Kondo. Thanks for leaving a comment!
‘To my children, I leave my meme collection’. But I do think the purpose of memes is sharing (and deleting).
Really enjoyed your piece, thank you
Oh, I do this with articles as well, but I’m much more addicted to doing this with podcasts. I have thousands—and I mean literally thousands—of podcast episodes downloaded. It is the single largest memory usage on my 256 GB iPhone. The addiction is so bad that periodically I go through all the episodes I downloaded, say, four years ago, and delete all the ones that no longer spark joy. And yet then I continue downloading new ones nearly every day that I don’t have time to listen to. It is one of the most bizarre things about myself.
That’s exactly how I feel about YouTube videos! I have a ton of podcasts still downloaded too, and occasionally download some more despite never listening to them—it’s like a vestigial organ or something.
What are you avoiding by scrolling? Does the alternative feel like some form of suffering or perhaps just niggley resistance? I like to take a breath and ask why am I here (at this feed/digital hose). For example I came to your post via @oliverburkeman (I follow as he has interesting take on goals and productivity). Your note interested me because digital hauling (hoarding scrolling 😁) is a symptom of now thanks for writing about it. I worry about my son getting stuck in a similar scrolling loop of mediocrity.