Larena Tannert is a journalism junior and opinion columnist for Mustang News. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.
It’s 2 a.m. and my eyes hurt. My brain feels like static. I’m exhausted and wired and bored all at once–which shouldn’t be possible, but here we are. I’ve been scrolling TikTok for three hours and couldn’t name a single video I watched. I close the app, feel a wave of relief yet immediately open it again.
Something is very wrong here.
If this sounds familiar, welcome to the club. You’re right there with me, doom-scrolling my way through another night. But I’ve been thinking about why this feels so uniquely terrible and why we’re all experiencing this weird combination of being mentally exhausted and completely unsatisfied at the same time.
Here’s what’s actually happening in our brains. Every swipe triggers a dopamine release: a brain chemical that makes you crave more of whatever you are doing. TikTok rewards us unpredictably, so we keep swiping to find the next hit.
Dopamine is less about enjoying things and more about wanting them. It’s the chemical of anticipation, not satisfaction. So each video makes us chase the feeling of pleasure without actually delivering any lasting fulfillment, creating a cycle where we’re always craving the next one but never really satisfied.
Some videos hit, others don’t, but we can never predict which ones will, so we keep swiping to find out. This is the same mechanism that makes slot machines so effective at maintaining compulsive behavior. Some videos deliver a hit, others don’t, but we can never predict which ones will, so we keep swiping.
Consider the cognitive load involved. In a single hour of scrolling, we might consume over a hundred different pieces of content, each requiring a complete context switch. Research on attention residue says that when we shift between tasks, part of our brains still stays stuck on what we just watched. In the same way, you’re never really focusing on just one video.
This creates the central paradox. We experience cognitive overload because our working memory (the part of our brain that holds and processes information in the moment) is extremely limited. The National Institute of Health says our brain can only handle about 3 to 5 meaningful items in young adults. Yet we’re bombarding it with vastly more information than it can manage because we’ve been trained to “hunt” for the next perfect video and hit of dopamine that follows.
Simultaneously, our brains adapt to whatever level of stimulation we’re getting and continuously need more to feel satisfied. Essentially, our brains get used to a certain level of excitement and need more to feel the same effect, like how coffee drinkers need more caffeine over time.
In other words, our threshold for what registers as engaging has been artificially elevated. A full-length movie feels way too slow. Reading anything long takes more effort than it seems worth.
The result is a state of being simultaneously overwhelmed and understimulated. We’re cognitively exhausted from excessive processing, but psychologically unsatisfied because nothing provides enough depth.
The way these apps are built makes it worse. Infinite scrolling removes any natural place to stop. Old media had built-in breaks, but algorithm-driven feeds are designed to literally never end.
Research on the paradox of choice shows that an overabundance of options correlates with decreased satisfaction and increased anxiety. When we can choose anything, we become paralyzed by the fear of choosing wrong. We’re trapped in perpetual FOMO, convinced that optimal content exists just one more swipe away.
The cognitive costs are substantial. Complex reasoning requires sustained attention. This becomes increasingly difficult when our attention systems have been conditioned for constant novelty.
At the same time, we are also eliminating cognitive downtime. Boredom serves essential functions for memory consolidation and creative insight. By filling every spare moment with content consumption, we’re depriving our brains of necessary processing time.
I don’t have this figured out. I wish I could say I’ve deleted all my apps and found enlightenment, but I haven’t. I’m writing this, and I’ll probably scroll TikTok later tonight. But I think it helps to understand what’s happening.
Next time you’re deep in a scroll hole, just notice how you feel. Are you actually enjoying it? Or do you feel kind of anxious and restless and unable to stop? I usually feel the latter, and recognizing that it is not a personal failing but a totally normal response to how these apps are built makes it a little easier to deal with.
There are small actions that can help you take control. Setting app limits on your phone won’t stop you completely, but the time limit notification helps break the trance for a second. Sometimes that’s all you need to actually close the app.
Designating certain times as phone-free (Sunday mornings, the first hour after waking up or whatever works for you) gives your brain a chance to reset. Or keep your phone in another room while you work or watch a movie to resist the temptation.
None of these are perfect solutions. But they create space and release, which is exactly what these apps are designed to eliminate. Adding even the smallest barriers gives your brain a fighting chance.
We’re all navigating this together, trying to figure out what it means to have infinite content at our fingertips while somehow feeling emptier than ever. The overwhelmed but understimulated thing isn’t just you. It’s all of us, and at least knowing why it’s happening is a start.
