“Scrolling is the ideal way to remain disconnected from any given activity.” That was my perspective approaching this activity.

And that appears to be perfect for what they want. They; the corporations, businessmen, the government–people outside of my reach who are never content. So, they construct algorithms that are perfect for capitalizing on shortening attention spans, increasing acceptability for and access to creating debt, and worsening social skills/environments.

However, sometimes it’s perfect for what we want too. We; the consumers, the lower and middle-class workforce, the people. We get to receive the dopamine our brains crave in the comfort of our own solitude, while still receiving all of the groceries/food, entertainment, and material goods we want or need. We love the ease, simplicity, and mindlessness of it.

It appears as though there must be a middle ground where the world can become more accessible, efficient, effective, practical, and “easy” while also allowing for sustainability, social connection, and mindfulness to thrive.

This comes from conscientious consumer decisions, which can only occur when corporations stop preying upon consumers, which only comes from conscientious consumer political decisions, which can only occur when corporations stop preying upon politicians, and the cycle persists.

It can feel extremely discouraging to be stuck in this cycle, one we had no decision in starting, and that mentality plagues every second I spend and spent scrolling.

Scrolling with the idea that the alternative was browsing in mind, it felt as though I was doing something wrong. Which, I suppose I kind of was. The sites that I know of to make online purchases are built upon foundations of inhumane labor practices and utilize systems of shipment and packaging that are destroying the environment. But, it seems like nowadays this is the default and socially acceptable, and the alternative is no longer accessible.

Is the alternative even that much better?

Going to the mall and shop seems to be fading in popularity as it does not fit into the narrative as well as it used to–it is no longer the most convenient. And, as a consumer and materialist culture, we are constantly aware of the easiest options.

I found that rather than having an eye-opening and awakening experience shopping at the mall, it was more revealing in this experiment that scrolling was an activity that is not always done with intentionality. I have conflicting feelings about this. On one hand, I feel as though I should be more aware of the time I spend scrolling, how I use it, and being aware of the systems at play. However, on the other hand, I found that it was not always something I was actively thinking about, but something I was aware of (the algorithms at play) and feel that scrolling is almost closer to browsing when you aren’t thinking about all the terrible things behind it.

My favorite part of browsing is the disconnection from work and the regular work week to get together and bond with friends. I dislike browsing in a mall for similar reasons that I dislike scrolling: flashy dishonest advertisements vying for my attention and money for greedy and destructive corporations.

I think that the “solution” (if there is one) is not to just stop scrolling. We can’t “go back to how it used to be” because it used to have its own flaws too. Malls represent, to me, the culmination of a consumer culture without access to our every second. I don’t think they deserve the glorification they have received in our culture. They served the purpose of making life easier (condensing where stores are located) but their existence beyond that feels to me like just a predecessor to the problem we have now. I think that positive change must be enacted through legislation and socially cognisant corporations that make scrolling less harmful, addictive, destructive, etc., because then we could use scrolling for all of the accessibility and efficiency that it allows for without guilt and without reliance. With that, we could be disconnected in the same positive way that browsing allows, while having time for being connected through other activities.

Both scrolling and browsing disconnect and connect us, we just have to be better about keeping these impacts positive. Or maybe the urge to make these as efficiently positive as possible is just another byproduct of the system that is not intrinsically natural to humanity–maybe the end goal is really just the process.