Beyond the Endless Scroll
Dopamine Detox is coming, and we're here for it.
“People want to escape the pocket-universe merry-go-round of doom we’ve collectively created, but actually doing it is difficult.”
Steve El-Sharawy.
Our mission at Get Lost is to get more people reading more. A common refrain we hear is that people are reading less and less. Is this a hopeless Sisyphean task we’re committed to? Perhaps not, for the backlash against micro-content being fed to us is happening. Digital Detox, or more simply, regaining agency over one’s own brain and free time, is nothing less than a macro trend cutting across travel, tech, wellness, and media.
People are looking for less stimulation, not more. Ironically, we hope the algorithm happens to favour this, because we intend to ride this trend indefinitely.
We think it’s real because the shift in behviour is happening quietly and without dramatic declarations. Just a subtle course correction, gaining momentum gradually.
Google trends reveals searches for terms like “dopamine detox”, “screen time addiction”, and “digital minimalism” have steadily increased over the last five years, especially in the UK and US. What started as a niche productivity hack now reflects a wider cultural mood.
A collective sense of being overstimulated. A desire to quieten things down. To go deeper, and get rewarded more.
In early 2024, UK searches for “digital detox” more than tripled compared to the previous year. Searches for feature phones have grown steadily. Younger users in particular are buying devices with limited features to reclaim attention and a lack of digital noise that is a novelty. Global travel trends show a marked rise in “tech-free” getaways, with 27 percent of travellers saying they want to stop doom-scrolling and be more present.
The rise and rise of Blinkist, other summary based apps and the slew of microlearning platforms are further evidence this trend isn’t confined to one segment. The popularity of podcasts that go long and deep into serious subjects is another sign that people are looking for a fire exit to retreat from their existing habits. In the short form era, the decision to slow down must be a conscious one.
This is where reading enters the picture.
At Get Lost, we are not in the business of telling people to unplug (yet). What we are building is a platform that can take you by the hand and lead you from the 7 second carousel of chaos, through the hall of short form written content and towards the rich pastures of traditional literature. We want to make screen time feel worthwhile, but we’re happy to bid you farewell when you’re ready to swap iPad for paper.
Books have always offered an emotionally rich, fulfilling, rewarding form of engagement. Yet we know that the barriers to finding the right ones at the right time is has never been harder. We know that building a habit doesn’t happen in a day.
That is what we are here to fix.
By using intelligent recommendations, by designing for real conversation between readers and authors, and by supporting small, habitual reading behaviours, we want to make books part of the new digital landscape. One that gives more than it takes.
This movement away from overconsumption and towards intentionality is not going away. Whether it is called digital minimalism, a dopamine reset, or something else entirely, the trend is real.
Mobile phones came with the promise of having everyone chatting to each other wherever they were. Eventually we realised that we didn’t need pointless conversation, but meaningful connections. The always on era is tiring, and as people, (you!) find yourself fatigued, we’ll be there to welcome you.
Get Lost
“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them”
Ray Bradbury