GOBLIN HOUSE
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GOBLIN HOUSE
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A virtual slot machine: variable reward, no stopping cue.
Infinite scroll replaces the explicit "next page" decision with a feed that loads forever as the user scrolls. Researchers liken it to a virtual slot machine — variable reward delivered at variable intervals, the same intermittent-reinforcement schedule that produces compulsive behaviour in gambling research. A 2024 design-frictions study directly linked infinite scroll to a state of normative dissociation: absorption that diminishes self-awareness and disrupts memory. NIMHANS researchers in India have documented "scrolling syndrome" — disturbed cognitive processing, reduced productivity and impaired attention.
Infinite scroll erases the natural stopping cue that lets users notice they are still in the app. Without that cue, the decision to keep scrolling is never made — it just continues, by default, until something external intervenes.
Participants using a frictionless infinite-scroll interface had significantly worse memory recognition of viewed content versus participants using an interface with built-in pauses.
Infinite scroll directly linked to a dissociative absorption state that disrupts memory and self-awareness.
NIMHANS researchers documented "scrolling syndrome" — disturbed quality of cognitive processing, reduced productivity and impaired attention.
Infinite scroll functions as a virtual slot machine, delivering dopamine-inducing variable rewards engineered to be hyper-addictive.