..it has no bottom, it's endless.
by Will Entwistle
Hello… It’s Will.1
I missed the window for posting last week, so boom! Monday post. Keeping you on your toes.
First off, thanks to infinite scroll, there is no bottom.
But who doesn’t love a bottom? Social media, apparently.
While you’re reading, your scroll bar is telling you how far through this post you are. That there’s going to be an end. And, that it’s not going to be very long (as long as I don’t get too ranty) 2.
It’s nice to know how long is left, and that there will be an end.
Which brings me to my point. I don’t think anyone actually asked for a feed of other people’s content that never ends.
And yet that’s what we’ve been given. An endless stream. With no stopping.
And it’s kind of a trap.
Thanks a lot Aza Raskin! 3
Why does doom scrolling feel like you’re eating a whole tube of Pringles? (you feel guilty, a bit sick and you’re still weirdly hungry).
You’re addicted to salt and vinegar (and to be fair, it is delicious).
Endless scroll gets you addicted to ‘consuming’ rather than creating, and the only decision there is to make whilst you’re scrolling, is when to stop (and you don’t want to).
I like messages. I mean actual, direct messages. Not necessarily DMs. Just something sent with intention.
You’ve thought about what you’re going to send someone, you’ve decided you want them (and specifically them) to see it.
There’s something nice about that.
I think I prefer my recommendations coming from other people rather than from my algorithm trying to guess what I’d like. Maybe that’s why Substack and blogging have become more popular again. Maybe people are still hoping to find something that feels genuinely authentic and not #authentic.
The thing I have with doom scrolling is that it’s actually really boring!
Don’t get me wrong, of course there are some awesome, interesting and creative ideas out there.
But sometimes it feels like there’s just too much of it. And it’s so easy to find, that it becomes almost impossible to properly appreciate.
I don’t want to be bored by it, I want to have my daily dose and feel energised and creative because of it.
And don’t worry guys, I’m not just ranting.
I have the solution.
Will’s amazing social media platform is similar to all other social media platforms except for a few key things:
First off, you have to post. You can’t see your feed or anyone else’s posts until you have posted something for that day yourself.
Your feed has an end. It’s only new content from people and accounts you’ve chosen to follow. No more “you might like this…”
You have to interact. When you are scrolling through your feed you can’t move on to the next post until you have interacted with the one you are currently viewing. No passive viewing.
You have a hard limit on time you can access the app per day. The absolute max is 2 hours per day, and you can’t bypass this setting. Ever.
This way when you log in to consume, it’s an actual choice.
You have to be active on the platform.
And from the very beginning, there’s an end in sight.
Welcome back, bottom. Nice to see you.
There. I fixed it (you’re welcome). 1 BILLION DOLLARS please.
And just like that, you’ve reached the bottom of this post 🕺
Back soon
Will
This is a reference to my voicemail, iykyk
Soz
The guy who invented infinite scroll… who knew?