wan show reply on how we could help fix infinite scroll that plages us

[NadiaMayer]

heads up im just getting over sickness so my formatting may be a tad off
 

I was watching the Wan show on particularly the infinite scrolling system. I was wondering if any software developers or Flow plane would be interested in an idea for a prototype of an app concept that may be possible to co-opt this mechanism for the betterment and good for a person.

the following is a simplified tl;dr gemmi break down but i have raw one in the spoilers

this is an app that has the sameness of all infinite scroll apps but is used to push the user into productive mind set little steps at a time
 

Core Idea:

• Co-opt the infinite scrolling mechanism, common in attention-grabbing apps, for positive change.

• Populate the feed with productive, socially acceptable, and beneficial content instead of typical social media.

• Aim to "trick" the user's dopamine pattern towards increased productivity and well-being, leveraging short attention spans common in Gen Z.

Potential Feed Content Categories:

• Tickets or Emails:

  • Present important emails or project management items needing replies.

  • Encourage tackling slow-burn conversations requiring thoughtful responses.

• DMs and Groups:

  • Prompt interaction with friends or groups (Discord, Telegram, etc.).

  • Inject prompts based on received messages to encourage person-to-person connection.

  • Goal: Encourage leaving the app for real social interaction.

• Log Booking:

  • Encourage users to "dump information from your brain" into an external log.

  • Frame it as "making a post about myself, my own needs."

  • Prompt users to log activities from the past hour, etc.

• To-Do Lists:

  • Surface items from the user's existing to-do list.

  • Offer the "satisfaction of ticking a box" for simple tasks (e.g., "feed the cat," "water the garden").

  • Prompt action when the user is likely in the right place/context to complete the task.

• Reminders, Events, and Calendar:

  • Remind users about upcoming events (online or IRL), appointments, etc.

  • Provide necessary preparatory steps or tutorials.

  • Offer timely prompts (e.g., several hours prior) to help users prepare and attend.

• New Media Available:

  • Notify users about new content from favourited sources (YouTubers, TV shows, fan fiction updates).

  • Encourage jumping off the scroll to engage with desired (preferably long-form) content.

  • Limit short-form content suggestions to avoid algorithmic traps.

• Forced Breaks:

  • Implement a "reach the end of the line" mechanic based on productivity vs. scrolling time.

  • Limit the negative effects of doomscrolling.

  • Encourage task switching or dedicating focus to items already in the feed.

  • Could involve dimming repetitive data or more direct prompts about pending tasks.

UX Philosophy:

• Carefully and intricately design the UX to co-opt existing engagement patterns for positive change.

• "Use the stones to destroy the stones" - leverage addictive mechanics for beneficial outcomes.
  
  
  my non gpt digested version read if you bigger ideas

  Spoiler

   

   

   

  Currently, Gen Z has a very short attention span, but will respond to sights of things and whatever draws their attention. Probably factoring to the increase of ADHD, but that's a side topic.

   

  If you have an infinite scrolling set but you have what's in the scroll something that is more socially acceptable and productive for a user. You might be able to quote unquote trick the dopamine pattern of. Person to increase productivity for example.

   

   

  I have a small list of particularly useful things that might be great to put into an infinite feed that would teach people and educate people to do things that need to be done.

   

  Tickets or emails. Slow-burn conversations that require a little more than a paragraph to be written. Mostly for replying to important stuff like emails, for example, or project management items.

   

  DMs and groups. Encouraging a user to contribute or interact to a Discord channel, Telegram group, or just a DM to a friend in general. The goal is to encourage person-to-person interaction. These messages could be injected based on any situation where a human or person might have sent a message to a user. Encouraging a person to leave the app and go.

  Off to do other social things.

   

  Log booking. Sometimes it's best to dump information from your brain into an external log If you have a note that says you should logbook what you did for the last hour it may encourage people to talk about it, maybe if you encourage it as a I am making a post but it's a post about myself, my own needs i think it will be great, so you can log what you're doing.

   

   

  To do lists, people love filling in boxes, completing them, locking them in. So, if you have a to-do list item to pop up that you've added to your to-do list many. Message from before. You can tell the person of, hey, if you do this simple thing right now, With the satisfaction of ticking a box. If, if they're in the right place to complete it, they will do it. Could be as simple as have you fed the cat or... or... Have you remembered to turn us the water For the garden

   

   

  Reminders, and events, and calendar. Remember, if there was an event you wanted to go to today, well, you might want to be remembering that you know it's there, so you can prepare yourself. And here's the tutorial items that you need to do to be able to fulfil it. Luckily, we pre-warn you at least several hours prior to seeing this, so if you want to do it, this is what you need to do. Same effect for online events, IRL events, calendar entries, medical appointments, and so forth and so on. A decent way to prompt a user to go to the right place in the right time.

   

   

  New media. Available. Your favourite Youtuber has posted your best new long form video. Or it has now proceed to upload. Or maybe the next episode of XYZ TV Show is now available. Or your next fan fiction update. You wanted to be able to be seen. It's an idea to try and push a person to jump off the infinite scroll to watch. New fun media. Preparably to encourage long form content, but it might occasionally have short form content that will be limited in a method to avoid algorithmic control and regulation.

   

  Forced breaks. ...occasionally, you'll reach the quote-unquote end of the line. The end of the line is based on how much productivity you have done versus how much you've done infinitely scrolling and doom scrolling. In effect it's meant to limit this negative effect. And encourage people to completely change tasks or dedicate themselves to something that's already in the list. It could be something as the data is cycling in dymphly before it becomes too repetitive for the user to deal with, or it might become a bit more aggressive saying that you should probably do these things here because you're running out of time. There would be a couple of social things that you might be able to push to tweak and adjust this, but I would not know the full details of implementation.

   

   

  Bye. The fun thing about UX design is if you work carefully and intricately, you can co-opt existing. Be able to force positive change, or use the stones to destroy the stones.