When Scrolling Becomes an Escape . Are We Using Social Media to Run Away From Our Lives? There is a woman sitting on the sofa. Her house is quiet for the first time all day. The children are finally asleep. The dishes are waiting in the kitchen. There is laundry that needs folding. Tomorrow's school bags aren't ready. There are messages she hasn't answered and things on her to-do list that she knows she will probably carry into tomorrow. She should get up. But instead, she picks up her phone. "Just five minutes." She opens Instagram. She watches a video. Then another. She checks Facebook. Then TikTok. She laughs at something. She watches someone else's holiday. Someone else's beautiful home. Someone else's perfect-looking family. Someone else's successful business. And suddenly, an hour has disappeared. She looks at the time and feels guilty. "What am I doing?" She puts the phone down. For a moment. Then she ...