Cluster article · 7 min read

Infinite scroll: the feature designed to have no end

One designer built infinite scroll in an afternoon, and quietly removed the moment you used to stop. Here is how it works, and how to put the brakes back yourself.

Compiled and edited by Hanzala Nadeem Reviewed against current research
Built in an afternoon

Designer Aza Raskin created infinite scroll around 2006 as a convenience, and has publicly regretted it ever since.

No stopping cue

Books and episodes end. A feed does not, so the decision to stop has to come from you every single time.

On almost everything

Most major platforms now use some version of it, which is part of why so many feeds feel impossible to leave.

01What infinite scroll is

Infinite scroll is the design that keeps loading more content as you near the bottom of a feed. There is no page two, no end of the list, no moment where the screen says you have reached the end. You can scroll, in principle, forever.

It sounds like a small convenience, and that is exactly how it started. But removing the bottom of the page turned out to change behavior in a big way, because of what it quietly took away: the natural moment to stop.

02The afternoon it was born

Infinite scroll was created around 2006 by designer Aza Raskin, who built it as a simple fix for the annoyance of clicking next page over and over. It worked, and it spread, until nearly every major platform used some version of it.

Raskin has spent years since speaking publicly about regretting it. His point is not that he did something evil, but that a convenience optimized for engagement had consequences nobody designed on purpose. As he has put it, in technology, incentives tend to eat intentions.

03Why it holds you

Older media came with built-in stopping cues. A book has chapters and a last page. A TV episode ends. A newspaper runs out. These small endpoints gave you a natural moment to ask, do I want to keep going? A feed erases that moment. The content just keeps coming, so the decision to stop has to be generated entirely by you, again and again, which is far harder than it sounds at 11pm when you are tired.

The honest truth: Infinite scroll is not dangerous on its own, and plenty of scrolling is harmless. The issue is subtler: by removing the stopping cue, it makes overuse the path of least resistance. Combined with unpredictable rewards in the same feed, it adds up to something that is genuinely hard to walk away from, which is not the same as a personal failing.

04How to put the brakes back

The fix follows directly from the problem: if the design removed your stopping cue, add your own.

  • Set an app time limit, so the phone supplies the endpoint the feed will not.
  • Decide before you open: "ten minutes, then done," a stopping cue you create in advance.
  • Use any setting that breaks the endless feed, and turn off the notifications that pull you back in.

This is one of the four main hooks covered in why apps are so hard to put down. The reward side of the same feed is explained in variable reward.

05Common questions

What is infinite scroll?
It is a feed design that keeps loading new content as you reach the bottom, so the page never ends and there is no natural place to stop.
Who invented infinite scroll?
Designer Aza Raskin built it around 2006 as a convenience. He has since publicly regretted it, because of how effective it is at keeping people scrolling.
Why is infinite scroll so hard to stop?
Older media had built-in stopping cues, like the end of a chapter or an episode. A feed removes that cue, so the decision to stop has to come entirely from you, every time.
Is infinite scroll actually harmful?
It is not dangerous by itself, but by removing stopping points it makes overuse easier, which can crowd out sleep, focus, and time you meant to spend elsewhere.
How do I stop endless scrolling?
Add your own stopping cues: app time limits, a set number of minutes, or switching to versions of apps without the endless feed. External limits replace the cue the design removed.

06References

  1. Raskin, A. Interviews and public statements on inventing infinite scroll and later regretting it. Center for Humane Technology. humanetech.com
  2. Raskin, A. Interview on infinite scroll's design and consequences. NPR, The Indicator from Planet Money, 2026. npr.org

This article is for education only and isn't a substitute for professional care.

Where to go next

Why apps are so hard to put down The pillar this feature belongs to. Variable reward: why likes feel like a slot machine The other half of why feeds are so hard to leave. What screens are doing to your ability to think How endless feeds connect to focus and attention.