Endlessly Scrolling

How our relationship to technology has changed through the integration of scrollable feeds.

Today’s Substack is written by Arca team member Maya, who you may be familiar with from the Arca TikTok account.

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The current digital experience can be defined by one action: scrolling. When we shifted from websites to apps a lot changed, mainly the way we interact with content. Like most people in my generation, I got my first iPhone at age 13, I’ve essentially grown up on the internet. But, I often catch myself sitting with my phone in hand, scrolling aimlessly, wishing for something more.

As algorithm-driven “for you” pages have taken the forefront, it’s almost impossible to escape the act that is scrolling endlessly. Scrolling itself has become a physical reaction that feels almost automatic. The constant and repetitive motion of swiping up and flicking with your thumb gets you into a steady rhythm. The act has become so instinctual that we don’t even think about it, yet it leaves our body in a cycle of anticipation, always waiting for the next piece of content to appear. One of the few remaining sources of genuine enjoyment for me online is Wikipedia. There was a time not so long ago when the internet made deep exploration easy. I could start with one idea and click my way into entirely new subjects, feeding my curiosity along the way. Now, it feels like most platforms have stripped away that type of discovery. I open them only to be served content—quick bursts of information or entertainment with little to no depth. By the time I finish one video, I’m already being pulled into the next, without any room for reflection or internalizing the information. This physical interaction has become synonymous with how we consume media. Instead of pausing to engage with what we’re seeing, we’re already preparing for what’s next. Our thumbs move faster than our minds can process, leaving us in a perpetual state of passive consumption.

The evolution of our digital landscape has shifted the way we interact with technology and each other. What was once an exciting tool for discovery and connection has, for most, become a cycle of mindless scrolling and passive consumption. As the internet continues to evolve, it’s important to ask ourselves what we want from these experiences. Do we want to continue being fed content without reflection, or should we begin to reclaim the intentionality and curiosity that used to define our time online? While leading platforms continue to prioritize engagement and algorithms, it’s up to us to make a choice. We can choose to break free from the endless scrolling and rediscover spaces that elevate our curiosity. The internet has the potential to be more than a distraction—it can be a place of meaningful exploration, but we need to actively choose to make it so.

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