Psychology says people who spend hours scrolling social media aren’t bored or weak-willed

By Lachlan Brown – The Expert Editor

Here’s something I noticed about myself a few years ago that I didn’t want to admit. I’d spend an hour scrolling through Instagram and Facebook at the end of the day, and when I put the phone down, I’d feel like I’d just been social. Like I’d checked in with people. Like I’d had some version of human contact.

But I hadn’t. I’d watched other people’s lives. I’d read their captions. I’d maybe dropped a like or two. And then I’d set the phone on my nightstand and felt something I couldn’t quite name: a strange combination of social satiation and genuine emptiness, as though I’d eaten a full meal that had no calories.