How social media feeds evolved to stop you from stopping

The feed that never ends

Do you remember when you could actually reach the end of your social media feed? 

Yes, that was a thing.

In the early days of the internet, things had a natural stopping point. Websites were split into pages, with a “Next” button at the bottom. Social media wasn’t so different — feeds on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were chronological and finite. You could scroll, catch up on what you missed, and log off.

That “Next” button wasn’t just a design element; it was a decision point. You had to pause and ask yourself: “Do I want to keep going?” These small obstacles gave us moments to reflect — and control over how much time we spent.

Think about it. Our brains are used to “stopping cues.” They help us limit overconsumption. The end of a chapter when you’re reading. Pre-Netflix, shows and movies had credits. Even our bodies, when we eat, get the natural stopping cue of feeling full. 

Then came infinite scrolling. Websites and social platforms started eliminating stopping cues entirely. Pagination was replaced with a bottomless well of content, and we lost the chance to make those intentional choices. The first major step toward turning social media into a time trap had been taken.

Infinite Scrolling: Hijacking Our Habits

In 2006, Aza Raskin invented infinite scrolling, a feature designed to streamline how we browse. Instead of clicking “Next,” new content would load automatically as you scrolled. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and countless websites quickly adopted it — not because users demanded it, but because it kept people glued to their screens longer.

Here’s the thing: Infinite scrolling hijacks your habits. As neuroscientist Faye Begeti explains, habits form when actions are small and easy to take. The 3-5 seconds you’d once spend deciding whether to click “Next” disappeared, making scrolling almost automatic. You don’t even notice you’re doing it.

And that’s the point. There’s an interesting study where people eating from self-refilling soup bowls consumed 73% more soup than those with normal bowls — and in their minds, they didn’t believe they had eaten more. 

Infinite scrolling applies the same principle: by removing stopping cues, platforms ensure users consume far more content than they intend.

It worked. Replacing “Next” buttons with infinite scrolling increased engagement by 50%. What began as a convenience became a tool to hold your attention hostage.

Algorithmic Feeds: The Personalization Trap

But infinite scrolling wasn’t enough. As platforms grew, chronological feeds became cluttered with spam, stale posts, and irrelevant updates. Users got bored, and engagement dipped.

Enter algorithmic feeds. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram replaced chronological timelines with curated ones, using algorithms to surface the content you were most likely to engage with. At first, it seemed like a fix: instead of scrolling through everything, you’d only see the “good stuff.”

But here’s the catch: social media’s true north star has always been how long it can hold your attention. These algorithms’ creators said (and perhaps even thought) that they were optimizing for your experience — but in truth they were maximizing your engagement.

And they were copying psychological tricks learned by casinos decades earlier. 

Algorithms became masters at delivering variable random rewards, a concept we’ve explored in detail in an earlier issue. Variable rewards are like gambling: you never know when you’ll hit the jackpot of an engaging post, a perfectly timed meme, or a viral video. This randomness keeps you scrolling longer than you intended.

One recent study found that when infinite algorithmic feeds were part of a phone session, the scrolling sessions were usually longer. Users often began with specific intentions, such as checking notifications, but the infinite scroll feature of apps pulled them into longer loops of scrolling. 

The rise of short-form video marked the peak iteration of this design. TikTok’s ‘For You page’ is a masterclass in combining infinite scrolling with algorithmic precision. Its addictive formula worked so well that platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook quickly adopted it. 

And that’s where we are now. But what comes next?

The Future of Feeds

At every step, feeds have been redesigned with one goal: to make stopping harder and scrolling easier.

Infinite scrolling made our bowls bottomless. The removal of chronological feeds eliminated stopping cues. Algorithmic feeds added addictive randomness. Short-form video perfected the formula. Each iteration promised a “better” user experience but came at the cost of our agency.

Even Aza Raskin, the inventor of infinite scroll, admits the mistake. “I got caught believing that making an interface easier to use meant it was better for humanity,” he said. “Instead, it was one of the first interfaces that got used not to help you, but to hold you.”

The question isn’t if they’ll innovate again—it’s how.

Will the next feature that promises to fix our feeds, to make them feel fun or useful again, really be better? Or will the formula remain the same? Redesign to make it harder to stop.

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TIPS & TRICKS

How to take control of your feed

You don’t have to accept the feed as it is. Here are two ways you can insert some choice back into scrolling.

1. Switch to a Chronological Feed

Tired of the algorithm deciding what you see? Take back control by switching to a chronological feed.

• How to Do It on Instagram: Tap the Instagram logo in the top left corner, then select “Following” to view posts in chronological order.

• What You’ll Notice: It’s less exciting. You’ll scroll through a few posts, realize nothing much is happening, and — surprise! — you’ll feel less tempted to keep scrolling.

• The Catch: Instagram doesn’t let you set this view as default. You’ll have to manually select it every time you log in. Weird, huh?

2. Add Your Own Stopping Cues

• One Way To Do It: Set a 10- or 15-minute alarm timer before opening a social media app. When the timer rings, take a moment to reflect: “Do I really want to keep going?”

• Why It Works: The alarm provides you atleast with the option of a stopping cue. It interrupts the endless flow of content and forces you to make an intentional choice instead of continuing on autopilot.

• Pro Tip: Some apps, like YouTube, let you set reminders to “Take a Break.” Use these built-in features to create artificial stopping points.

RESOURCE & RECOMMENDATIONS

• Ever wish YouTube didn’t feel so… endless? This browser extension removes the most addictive elements: Shorts, recommendations, even the home feed.

• This digital art piece takes infinite scrolling to its haunting conclusion. It’s a little depressing — but (not-so-fun fact) it was a spark for me in my early days of trying to change my phone habits

• What does the inventor of infinite scrolling think about what he created? He actually did a full episode with Joe Rogan, you can see a clip here about his biggest regrets.

• Instead of stopping you after you’ve started, this app asks you to pause before you dive in. Each time you try to open social media, it’ll ask you to take just a second to decide if you’re scrolling intentionally — or on autopilot.

• Want to try something different this Thanksgiving? Here’s a look back at my experiment with a no-phone Thanksgiving. Plus, some tips to try your own.