A big part of the problem: brain plasticity. (Which, ironically, I read about on the internet....)
But the idea is if you're doing a lot of one thing, your brain adapts. So if that one thing is "quickly scrolling headlines" or "consuming bursts of updates," over time your brain just atunes itself to that form of stimulation.
If that's true, who knows how far it will lead? I was on jury duty, and spoke to the prosecuting attorney afterwards. And his complaint was that over the years, "juries have gotten dumber" -- that he'd consistently seen the attention span of a typical juror getting shorter and shorter....
The positive side of plasticity is that your brain can also re-adapt fairly quickly to a lower (healthier) level of stimulation if you can get over the initial hump.
My understanding is that most of this is regulated by dopamine, and your dopamine system needs time to reset in order to adapt to new patterns. In the meantime, it's normal to feel bored or lacking in motivation; that's part of the reset process and you just need to wait it out.
Personally, I've found it's easiest to change habits and patterns via some sort of healthy distraction that takes my mind off whatever I'm trying to change. Travel, getting into a new hobby/project, or starting a really good book are all great for this.
But the idea is if you're doing a lot of one thing, your brain adapts. So if that one thing is "quickly scrolling headlines" or "consuming bursts of updates," over time your brain just atunes itself to that form of stimulation.
If that's true, who knows how far it will lead? I was on jury duty, and spoke to the prosecuting attorney afterwards. And his complaint was that over the years, "juries have gotten dumber" -- that he'd consistently seen the attention span of a typical juror getting shorter and shorter....