How many hours did you spend scrolling through Instagram last week!?
Conversations about screen time feel like a guilt trip wrapped in a lecture. That’s partly because of the analogies used to frame these discussions. While analogies help us understand complex issues, they also shape the solutions we consider.
These three analogies are some of the most familiar to our clients at Scroll by Choice:
1. Digital Addiction: Excessive, unmanaged technology use is frequently compared to addiction. This is because some tech companies design platforms to keep us engaged, leveraging our attention for profit. This analogy encourages solutions like digital detoxes, unplugging, or complete abstinence from technology.
2. Driver's Education: A pragmatic approach, acknowledging that extractive technology isn’t going away. Instead of avoidance, it focuses on teaching skills for safely navigating the Internet. Popular among parents, this approach leads to digital citizenship programs and parental control apps.
3. Food Diets: Just like food, some digital experiences nourish us, while others don’t. Solutions here include making tech "less appetizing" through tools like greyscaling screens, using friction-creating apps, or focusing on healthy, educational content over "empty-calorie" apps.
Each analogy explains part of the narrative. However, none fully captures how people truly want to feel.
The addiction analogy frames a story where something bad happens to you, which can trigger defensiveness and is ultimately disempowering.
Driver’s education focuses on older people telling youth what rules to follow, but what if adults don’t follow those same rules themselves?
Lastly, calorie counting diets focus on restrictions, which lead to the tiring yo-yo effect of overindulging after periods of constraint.
We needed a new analogy—one that focuses on empowering the person in the human-computer interaction, providing support without imposing limitations.
That’s when we landed on trampolines.
Think of a trampoline. You might fall, but you also bounce back up. With the right support beneath you to soften the fall and propel you upward, you can always bounce back—higher and stronger with practice.
When we tested this analogy, it resonated more than addiction. Falling on a trampoline feels less permanent. You can fall countless times and still bounce back up without shame. Unlike calorie counting, it’s something you might enjoy! And unlike driver’s education, which is often targeted at youth, trampolines are something the whole family can participate in.
Our Digital Wellness Trampoline is supported by three pillars, each representing core human traits: Smiles, Skills, and Surprises. Together, these pillars help people reclaim their digital agency.
1. Smiles: Humor and laughter have incredible benefits for our well-being. From TikTok videos to Netflix specials, millions now have access to high quality humorous content. However, we’ve been settling for chuckles instead of belly laughs – depriving us of the full benefit of humor that can heal our sense of agency.
2. Skills: The gap between knowing and doing is filled by hundreds of YouTube videos ready to show you the “top 3 ways to easily do everything”. The rabbit holes that open in the quest of knowledge are endless and deep. By focusing our innate desire to learn we can repair the fatigue and stress from our digital environment.
3. Surprise: Predictability is a friend of efficiency and productivity. Yet, grabbing our attention spans can provide a shortcut for algorithms. The fundamental aspect of human joy is often muted in favor of moderate experiences. But, when activated – serendipity – can boost creativity and productivity in completely unexpected ways.
The Digital Wellness Trampoline is a comprehensive approach to navigating our digital lives. Its strength lies in its adaptability.
Its simplicity—paired with measurable progress—makes it broadly accessible.
For parents, here’s a practical tip. Instead of asking your child, “How was your day?” when they come home from school, try asking them what they did for Smiles, Skills, and Surprises. This small shift can provide deeper insight into their day. If they struggle to describe their experience with a particular pillar, it might indicate they’re gravitating toward more screen time—whether it’s gaming, texting, or social media. Recognizing this early allows you to redirect their energy and avoid potential conflicts.
We empower people to reclaim control over their screentime and develop positive human computer interactions.
Scroll By Choice was founded to explore the emerging opportunity of helping people coexist and thrive alongside the rapidly evolving AI-based immersive technologies. Live, cohort-based workshops teach individuals how to apply Scroll By Choice’s Digital Wellness framework in combination with insights about their digital footprints to regain control over their digital choices.
We deliver solutions for:
- Organizations who are reimagining workplace productivity & creativity in hybrid & virtual settings,
- Schools & Educational institutions considering modern cellphone and AI-use policies,
- Parents & professionals interested in developing positive digital habits.
Riz Vazir has a deep background in tech and healthcare consulting. He founded Scroll By Choice to address a health crisis caused as collateral damage from the unrestricted monetization of human attention.
His mission is to equip youth and adults to thrive alongside technology. Without this, employers face diminished human capital, schools will continue seeing a decline in academic performance and loneliness levels will rise in society at large. Riz is a certified Change Management professional with an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern.
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