✒️:. Showkat Ahmad
In today’s world, social media has become a big part of our daily lives. We scroll through posts, reels, and stories without even realizing how much time we are spending. What begins as a 5-minute break often turns into an hour or more. We tell ourselves, “Just one more reel,” and suddenly, hours have passed.
This is the new scrolling culture.
Let’s imagine a simple situation: you are studying for an important exam. After one hour of focus, you decide to take a short 10-minute break. You open Instagram or YouTube to relax for a while. The first reel makes you laugh, the second is interesting, the third grabs your attention. Before you know it, 10 minutes have become 2 hours. You didn’t plan for it, but it happened. This is the reality many students and young people face today.
The problem is not only about time. It’s also about focus and energy. Once we get into the habit of scrolling, it becomes difficult to stop. Our mind becomes lazy, and we start delaying important work. This is called procrastination—when we keep putting off tasks we need to do. As a result, our productivity and efficiency go down.
To fight this problem, a new idea has come forward—Digital Detox Day or Unplugging Day. On this day, people decide to stay away from social media completely. The goal is to break the habit, rest the mind, and take control of our time again. But even this is difficult. Many people start the day with good intentions, but after 30 minutes or 1 hour, they return to scrolling “just for a minute.” That one minute becomes one hour, once again.
Why is this happening?
Because social media is designed to keep us hooked. It gives our brain quick entertainment, and we enjoy it. But slowly, it becomes an addiction. The sad part is, we don’t even notice it happening.
This is a serious issue, especially for young people. Their precious time, energy, and creativity are being wasted in endless scrolling. They have dreams, goals, and talent—but social media is quietly eating away their focus.
It’s time to become aware.
We need to ask ourselves: Are we using social media, or is it using us?
Taking control starts with small steps:
Set time limits for social media.
Keep your phone away during study or work.
Take real breaks—go for a walk, stretch, talk to a friend.
Try one full day without social media every week.
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