Intuitive Scrolling: 5 Ways to Use Your Phone with Intention

I first heard the term “intuitive eating” in my twenties.

The premise was this: Tune into how you feel during consumption. Then, use this interior feedback to guide your next choice. 

While this concept is food-related, it translates to other forms of consumption.

Namely, online scrolling.

Americans spend an average of 3 hours and 30 minutes a day engaged in online consumption on phones (over 2 of those hours are spent on social media).

I used to parallel—or surpass—those statistics. My iPhone was like a perpetually-in-sight, oversized bowl of candy that I couldn’t leave alone. I needed to reach in just one more time to see what I got or to check if anything new had been added. It was a pretty reliable dopamine hit. Soon, I was popping “candy” nonstop throughout the day—I even kept the “bowl” next to the bed to get my fix upon waking.

It wasn’t until I pursued minimalism and began questioning my consumption of physical possessions, that I also began questioning my online consumption. Soon, I realized, my phone habits were far from healthy. 

I thought about handing over my iPhone in a complete, fast-like sense. Carrying a flip-phone and cutting off my scrolling habits cold-turkey. But halting consumption completely would have also eliminated the healthier parts, like connection.

For most of us, phones that tempt us to scroll—like enticing candy bowls—aren’t going away. And, since neither are inherently bad, the question shifts from, “Is this good or bad for me?” to “How do I make this work in my life?”

“How do I interact with my phone/social media in a way that feels balanced and leaves me feeling elevated?”

Science can tell you sugary donuts and coffee for breakfast lead to a mid-morning sugar crash, but when you live it and feel it, you believe it and make changes.

Studies can report that the effects of online overconsumption can include depression, anxiety and brain fog. But, only once you’re viscerally tuned in to how you feel after scrolling will you have the awareness and power to experiment with changes. 

Personally, tapping into my intuition while scrolling has led to phone habits that enrich my life instead of distract me from it. 

And it can for you too:

Here are 5 ways to use intuitive scrolling to help you use your phone with intention:

1. Observe how you feel

An intuition-based approach to changing habits—food or phone related—begins with one question: “How do I feel after consumption?”

Miserable? Then stop consuming that. Or stop consuming that quantity of it. Uplifted? Then that’s worth keeping in your online intake.

Play the detective role. Make connections between your scrolling habits and your mental/emotional state through the day. Grab a piece of paper and make a simple T-chart. On the left record your scrolling choices (what you consumed and how much). On the right, record how that made you feel. Look for positive and negative trends.

Intuitive scrolling and self-experimentation with healthier phone habits begin with heightened self-awareness.

2. Trust what you feel

Once you know the scrolling parameters that make you feel your best, trust this awareness. Your intuition holds valuable information, but so often we’ve been de-conditioned from believing it. We listen more to society instead of our inner guidance.

Also, our phones are designed to be addictive; they light up our brain (in a way similar to sugar) so we crave more. They can influence our behavior just by being nearby.

Do you feel better in the morning if your phone isn’t involved in your morning routine? Is your mind more positive and focused when not interrupted by incessant dings and frequent social media checks?

Only you can know if your usage feels balanced or overindulgent. Trust this knowledge and act accordingly.

3. Remember you don’t have to consume it now just because it’s there—it will still be there later

A foundational idea of intuitive eating is this: there will always be more of what you want to consume. You don’t have to consume it all right now. Just consume until you’re full; it will always be there later. 

That social media feed? It will be there later. Those news headlines? They’re not going anywhere. 

Learn to realize when you’ve consumed enough (everyone’s threshold is different), and then trust you can enjoy it again another time. 

4. Identify why you’re consuming 

Begin to notice how often you grab your phone to distract yourself from a difficult or intense emotion. Online consumption, like food, has the power to numb negative feelings. Problem is, when you numb the bad, you also numb the good (the joy).

If you turn to scrolling when negative feelings pop up, pause and ask yourself this: “What is it that I really need right now?”

Maybe it’s rest, a break, or connection. Or maybe your brain is simply craving a dopamine hit. Find a way to get that boost without scrolling. Go for a walk in the sunshine, listen to uplifting music, meditate/pray, or practice mindfulness. 

Meet your actual need, and you’ll be much less likely to scroll mindlessly. 

5. Consider a break

Our systems can become desensitized if consistently barraged by overconsumption. For our intuition to re-emerge, a break may be needed. 

This could be a complete phone break or a social-media-only fast. It could be reducing your quantity of screen time (30 minutes instead of 3 hours) or a specific type of consumption (maybe you respond to texts but stop messaging on social media for a while).

Tune into how you feel during this break. More connected to loved ones? Less irritable? More focused? More creative? These are signs that less online consumption is healthy for you. 

Personally, a welcome reset is fasting from my phone from noon on Saturday to noon on Sunday. I realize how good unplugging feels, which motivates me to do more of it during the week.

Consider an online fast—24 hours, 3 days, a week, a month—you set the parameters. Then, let whatever you glean during that time guide your daily online consumption. 

Intuitive scrolling will look different for everyone because you are the expert on you. You know when your online consumption is making you happy. And you know when it’s not. 

An anonymous quote I love reads, “Your diet is not only what you eat. It’s what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, the people you hang around… Be mindful of the things you put into your body emotionally, spiritually, and physically.”

Our online consumption matters, and intuitive scrolling can help ensure it’s healthy.

If you’re unhappy with your relationship with your phone and social media, consider changing it.

Experiment with how you use your phone; evaluate how these changes feel.

Then, align your phone choices with what best supports a connected, present, and intentional life.

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Julia Ubbenga is a freelance journalist whose teachings on minimalism, simplicity, and intentional living have reached thousands of people worldwide through her blog. Julia also practices what she preaches in her Kansas City home. She resides with her husband, two extremely lively young daughters, three-year-old son, and baby girl. You can also find her on Instagram.

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