People who always scroll their phones while watching TV usually share these 8 subtle personality traits

You sit down to unwind. The show starts. Ten minutes later, you’ve barely followed the plot, your phone’s at 5%, and somehow you’re deep in a rabbit hole about Icelandic hot springs and your ex’s dog’s new owner.

Sound familiar?

If you’re someone who can’t just watch TV without your phone in hand, you’re not alone — and you’re not broken.

You’re actually broadcasting subtle personality traits that psychology finds surprisingly consistent.

As someone who’s tried (and failed) to watch Succession without checking my notifications every five minutes, I’ve looked into the science behind this.

Turns out, people who double-screen aren't just distracted. They often share a predictable mix of tendencies — some helpful, some exhausting — that shape how they consume media, relationships, and even downtime.

Here are eight of them.

1. You’re high in cognitive curiosity

If you’ve ever paused a documentary to Google an unfamiliar term or looked up the actress mid-episode to confirm she was in that shampoo commercial, congrats — you’re cognitively curious.

This trait reflects how much you enjoy acquiring new information. Psychologists refer to this as Need for Cognition, a trait characterized by an individual's tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activities.

Research indicates that individuals with high Need for Cognition are more likely to engage in media multitasking, seeking additional information to satisfy their cognitive curiosity.

So while your friend zones out during the show, you’re fact-checking, cross-referencing, or comparing plotlines from IMDb.

You’re not ignoring the show — you’re enhancing it, even if it fries your attention span in the process.

2. You crave layered stimulation

Some people are wired for simplicity. Others—maybe you—crave complexity even in downtime. Scrolling while streaming satisfies your brain’s craving for multiple inputs.

This behavior aligns with sensation seeking, a personality trait defined by psychologist Marvin Zuckerman as the pursuit of varied, novel, complex, and intense experiences, even if they involve risks.

Watching TV might relax you, but your brain’s reward system is still looking for micro-hits of novelty — and social feeds are full of it.

I’ve noticed I do this most when I’m kind of enjoying a show, but not totally hooked. The show holds me halfway, and the phone fills the rest.

It’s a multi-layered dopamine sandwich — media grazing instead of a full-course meal.

3. You’re low on mental energy (but still need a dopamine drip)

Scrolling during shows doesn’t always mean you're craving more stimulation. Sometimes it means you’re too mentally fried to do just one thing. I know that sounds backwards, but here's what I mean:

When we’re cognitively depleted — from work, stress, decision fatigue — our brains resist “leaning in” to a narrative. TV demands more attention than we think.

So we compensate by layering in passive scrolling. It gives us a controllable, low-effort dopamine drip while something more complex plays in the background.

Psychologist Dr. Gloria Mark, in her book Attention Span, discusses how cognitive fatigue leads individuals to prefer quick, fragmented tasks, as our attention spans have decreased significantly in the digital age.

You scroll not because you're interested, but because you're empty.

That’s not a flaw — it’s a sign your brain’s on low battery and grabbing whatever juice it can find.

4. You have a pattern of low tolerance for boredom

Let’s be real — modern boredom tolerance is almost extinct. If there’s a 10-second lull in a show, the urge to scroll kicks in. That’s not accidental.

A study conducted by psychologists at the University of Virginia and Harvard University found that many participants preferred administering mild electric shocks to themselves rather than sitting alone with their thoughts for 6 to 15 minutes.

That study says a lot about how we process idle moments. People who double-screen typically score lower on boredom resistance. They’ll fill gaps immediately — with Reddit, email, Candy Crush — anything. But this also means you’re often ahead of the curve on what’s new, what’s trending, and what’s being talked about.

You fill dead space with discovery.

The trade-off?

It becomes harder to sit still without stimulation. But if managed right, this low boredom tolerance can make you more resourceful and quick-thinking in dynamic environments.

5. You’re emotionally avoidant (in micro-doses)

This one surprised me, but it tracks. When I looked at when I reach for my phone the most during shows, it was always during slow or emotional scenes. The quiet monologue. The breakup. The vulnerable character moment.

Turns out, this could point to subtle emotional avoidance.

Some people — especially those high in anxiety or who’ve had messy emotional experiences — use distractions to buffer discomfort. The phone becomes a digital shield.

Psychiatrist Dr. Judson Brewer discusses how individuals often turn to screens not merely to alleviate boredom but to avoid confronting uncomfortable emotions, reinforcing anxiety-driven habits.

It means your self-regulation strategy involves diversions — and knowing that helps you replace avoidance with mindfulness when you’re ready.

6. You struggle with present-moment focus—but it’s not all bad

If you’ve ever rewound a show three times because you missed key lines while scrolling, you’ve probably told yourself, I have no attention span.

But here's the catch: people who scroll while watching TV often have contextual focus instead of sustained focus.

What that means is you shift attention quickly between inputs, rather than locking into one. According to resources from the University of Wisconsin, adopting a flexible focus style can enhance creative problem-solving by allowing individuals to approach challenges from multiple perspectives. 

Yes, it’s terrible for following a 12-episode HBO drama. But it’s great if your work or hobbies involve juggling variables or making connections between ideas.

You’re like a mental DJ, sampling from multiple channels at once — even if that means you have no idea who just died on The Last of Us.

7. You associate tech use with relaxation

This one’s more learned than innate, but it still says something.

If you grew up—or came of age—with smartphones, scrolling became paired with the concept of “me time.”

It’s not that you’re trying to tune out the show. It’s that your brain associates the flick of your thumb with a moment of autonomy. You’re choosing your own adventure while the scripted one plays in the background.

Studies from the Pew Research Center indicate that younger adults are more engaged with their devices and more permissive in their attitudes about mobile phone use, often integrating them into their relaxation routines.

Scrolling becomes ritualized—like tea before bed or brushing your hair while you talk on the phone.

It’s not that you’re disengaged. You’re just reclaiming a layer of control inside someone else’s narrative.

8. You’re a chronic optimizer—even in leisure

Last but not least: if you scroll during TV time, there’s a chance you’re someone who hates “wasted time.” So you squeeze content consumption into every corner.

Watch a show and check email. Queue up background noise and clear your Pinterest saves.

This shows up in people high in achievement orientation — the personality trait that values productivity, even during rest. Scrolling becomes a form of “catching up,” even if you’re supposedly unplugging.

It’s me. I’m this person.

Even while “relaxing,” I’m thinking, Might as well chip away at my bookmarks or scroll through ideas for tomorrow’s project. Of course, this backfires.

If this sounds like you, try letting one hour just be one thing. No split screens. No half-attention. Full immersion is rare now — and more healing than you think.

The bottom line

Double-screening isn’t a failure of discipline. It’s a mirror—showing off traits like curiosity, stimulation-seeking, emotional buffering, and even ambition.

Your phone habits during TV time aren’t random. They reveal how you manage attention, regulate emotion, and satisfy your brain’s need for input.

You don’t need to stop multitasking completely (I haven’t). But noticing why you do it is a start.

Are you bored? Drained? Avoiding something? Seeking novelty?

Those answers can help you decide when to scroll — and when to let your attention settle like dust in a still room.

Because sometimes, the thing you’re trying to escape on your phone? It’s the moment you actually need to sit with.