Reclaim Your Peace and Replace Infinite Scrolling
It’s no secret that TikTok’s algorithm keeps users scrolling. It provides an endless stream of content specially curated for each of us, formed by our previous viewing habits. Hours are spent consuming pictures and videos that are seconds long. The algorithm feeds us more of what we like and what we agree with, and yet, it never seems to satisfy us. It is like being in our own echo chamber as we consume videos and messages in a hyperpersonalized environment, streaming into our hands. French theologian François Fénelon of the 17th-18th centuries wrote, “You can always tell when self is speaking. Self always wants to entertain itself and never feels sufficiently well attended to.” He might have written this yesterday, as so many are drowning in entertainment that draws us further into ourselves, while our souls remain dry.
I asked a few college students about their relationships with silence in contrast to their relationships with scrolling on their phones. I asked what it would be like if they didn’t scroll, stream music, or watch any videos from the time they got up until they had finished breakfast. I watched their eyes widen as they considered how uncomfortable it would be to exist in such a reality. Even if they are able to talk to others in their home, the absence of noise from their smartphones seems foreign, even uncomfortable. I went a step further and asked them what it would be like if, at dinner time, they put their phones away for the rest of the evening. One young woman’s jaw dropped as she sat in shock. I had to know more about this reaction.
When I followed up on these scenarios to find out why these young adults were so uncomfortable with the idea of starting and ending their days with no smartphone, I was surprised by the answer. The feedback I heard was this: if I sit in silence, I will have to think about all the things I don't want to think about, and I have to feel all the things I don’t want to feel. So, I just distract myself by going onto my phone. Scrolling was the avoidance of what could be a painful reality.
I thought about all the quiet times I have squirmed in, as I was uncomfortable with the stillness and silence. I thought about the times of extended solitude I entered into, anxious and restless with my own feelings, worries, and scattered thoughts. I thought about the times I have woken up in the middle of the night with my mind racing from stress, fear, or sadness. For many years of my life, there was no distraction except for maybe reading a book or sneaking into the living room to watch some reruns on the television with the volume turned down low so as not to wake anyone. There is a reason silence and solitude are spiritual disciplines. It takes work and energy to sit with our thoughts and feelings in the presence of the Lord. And yet, it typically yields peace and joy.
From what I gather, through conversation and reading studies, scrolling social media does not yield peace and joy. It offers a counterfeit feeling of such things in the temporary form of dopamine. Dopamine hits from viewing content on TikTok do not come in a predictable pattern, but work in a variable reward schedule. We never know when the next hit will come, so we keep on scrolling. Mental health experts say the app’s design triggers dopamine spikes that mimic addiction. It is no wonder many talk about the “addictive” nature of social media, and why it can be so difficult to resist or put down.
How is this avoidance of silence and constant scrolling impacting us? An article on brain rot was published this spring, examining the impact of behaviors such as “doomscrolling” and “zombie scrolling,” among others. “Brain rot” from scrolling is associated with “emotional desensitization, cognitive overload, and a negative self-concept.” The brain is actually processing differently, which impacts how one experiences the world and views oneself. We are less in touch with our emotions, and yet our brains are more overloaded as a result of scrolling through social media. These scrolling behaviors are linked to “psychological distress, anxiety, and depression,” and can impair memory, planning, or decision making. This is not yielding a crop of joy and peace. Constant scrolling is stealing and destroying joy, peace, and health from our brains.
We can experience healing. We can recapture our silence and freedom from addiction to scrolling. Wisdom comes from Justin Whitmel Earley as he suggests a couple of simple habits:
Bible before phone
When your day begins, consider picking up your Bible before you pick up your phone. This begins our day by putting the first thing first. It allows our hearts, minds, and bodies to engage with the work of our souls. We begin connecting with God before connecting to anyone or anything else.
Phone-free times
Technology is so much a part of our lives that it now takes energy to find space from technology. Earley suggests habits like turning off the phone for an hour or creating a phone-free zone. Others suggest having a charging station for phones in places other than the bedroom so that phones are not brought into a space meant for resting and sleeping. In each of these cases, it is an intentional separation from technology. And separation from technology is separation from scrolling.
I was at a breakout session at the Gospel Coalition Conference, when a panel member up front shared this thought: We are all being discipled by our technology. Meaning, the content we consume is forming us, leaving its imprint on our minds, bodies, and hearts. We are not immune to how it feeds into our thoughts and our souls. It is good for us to pause and reflect on what we are allowing to disciple us. What if we took fifteen minutes to scroll, pausing with each post to write down what values are being shared with us in that post?
This is also a good reminder that not all content is bad. Some content reminds us of the promises of Scripture or draws us into worship. Daily devotions and prayers are shared on social media. Even in these cases, we are not meant to scroll endlessly, but perhaps to take a single nugget and meditate on it in silence and stillness before the Lord.
Social media platforms want to capture our attention and keep it as long as possible. It is not a neutral territory; it is hunting for our attention. We cannot be two places at the same time, and we cannot give our full attention to more than one thing at a time. We are fighting against a tide that is coming for us. Start small. Know that silence and stillness are learned skills over time. Be intentional in what is forming and discipling you.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Marjan Grabowski
Originally published October 16, 2025.
