The scroll is getting suspicious
This week’s dispatch asks whether apps should have limits built in.
Hi friends,
This week, the internet is once again making me ask:
At what point did our phones stop being tools and start becoming tiny pocket gremlins with notifications?
Because I came across an article from Sky News about UK teenagers possibly facing a social media curfew and limits on infinite scrolling.
And yes, my first thought was:
Wait.
You can just… stop the scroll?
Somewhere, my tired thumb just whispered, “Thank you.”
So grab your coffee, tea, or emotional support bookmark.
It’s time for another Brave Bookshelf Dispatch.
📁 THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF CASE FILE
Case: Can you protect teens from social media if they can switch the protections off?
According to the Sky News article, teenagers in the UK may face new social media limits, including a curfew and restrictions on infinite scrolling.
Here’s the part that caught my attention:
They may be able to switch those limits off.
Which feels very teen.
And also very internet.
Because if you tell a teenager, “This setting is here to protect you,” at least one of them is immediately going to say, “Interesting. Where is the off button?”
And honestly?
That’s the real conversation.
Not just whether teens should have limits.
But whether the apps should be built to keep them scrolling in the first place.
Because infinite scrolling is not exactly an accident.
It’s not there because someone gently thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice if people could read forever?”
No.
It’s there because stopping is bad for business.
And teens are growing up with platforms that know how to keep their attention, feed their curiosity, poke their insecurities, and hand them one more video.
Then one more.
Then one more.
Until suddenly it’s midnight, their homework is judging them from across the room, and their brain feels like it has been run through a blender with Wi-Fi.
You can read the article here:
💻 KIM VS. THE INTERNET
This week’s question:
Should teens have social media curfews?
Part of me says yes.
Because sleep matters.
Mental health matters.
And no one needs to be watching drama, doom, beauty trends, conspiracy theories, dance videos, and someone’s seven-part storytime at 1:13 in the morning.
Nothing good happens in the comment section after midnight.
Probably.
But another part of me wonders if curfews alone are enough.
Because this puts the responsibility back on teens and parents, instead of asking harder questions about the platforms themselves.
Why is endless scrolling the default?
Why are apps built to be so hard to leave?
Why does everything have to be a feed?
Why does every quiet moment need to be filled?
And why do kids have to be more disciplined than the companies making money from their attention?
That’s the part that bugs me.
We keep telling teens to make better choices in digital spaces that were built to make better choices harder.
That does not mean teens should have no responsibility.
Of course they should.
But maybe the adults, companies, and lawmakers need to stop acting surprised when an app built to be addictive is… addictive.
Shocking, I know.
Next we’ll discover dragons are flammable.
📚 BOOKS THAT START THE CONVERSATION
This is why I love YA books that deal with technology, pressure, identity, and control.
Because social media is not just “online stuff” anymore.
It affects sleep.
Friendships.
Body image.
Mental health.
Self-worth.
Safety.
And the way teens understand themselves.
A good book can make those conversations feel less like a lecture and more like a question:
Who gets your attention?
Who profits from your time?
What do you lose when you can’t stop scrolling?
And what would happen if an app knew exactly how to keep you hooked?
That last one is probably why I write thrillers.
Because once you start asking what an app wants from you, the answer gets creepy fast.
📚 WHAT I’M READING
This week, I’m reading The Revenge Playbook by Rimma Onoset, a YA contemporary novel published on July 21, 2026.
And let me tell you — boarding school drama? Enemies forced to work together? A popular boy who absolutely needs to be taken down?
Yes, please.
The story follows Uyai and Fiyin, two roommates at Blue Waters Secondary School who are definitely not friends.
Uyai is popular, fierce, and impossible to ignore.
Fiyin is quiet, nerdy, and used to being overlooked.
On the surface, they seem like total opposites. But they have one painful thing in common: they’ve both been hurt and humiliated by the same boy.
And when they realize he’s the real villain of the story, they stop turning their anger on each other and start building a plan.
That’s the part I’m loving so far.
I’m always drawn to stories where girls realize they don’t have to be enemies just because the world keeps trying to pit them against each other. Sometimes the real power shift happens when they look at each other and say, “Wait… why are we fighting when he’s the problem?”
Content notes: sexual assault and oppression.
I’m still reading this one because I didn’t get the book in time for my blog stop date with Toppling Stacks Tours, which was July 26, 2026. I will post my rating on Goodreads, so be sure to follow me to find out what I thought of this twisty academia revenge plot.
Find the book here:
🎤 NEW ON THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF
In case you missed it, here’s what’s new:
📚 Latest Review:
✍️ Coming Soon: More book reviews, brave conversations, and probably more evidence that my TBR pile is now legally a dependent.
You can catch up here:
👉 The Brave Bookshelf with Kim Bartosch
📅 AUTHOR EVENTS & BOOKISH NEWS
Date: Saturday, September 26
Time: 12:00–9:00 p.m. ET
Location: 200 West Nine Mile, Ferndale, Michigan
Event type: Art fair / author signing
More information: Funky Ferndale Art Fair
I’ll be attending Funky Ferndale Art Fair with other SCBWI members, where I’ll be selling and signing copies of Ask the Girl.
Funky Ferndale is known for its creative, lively art fair atmosphere, and I’m excited to be part of the bookish side of the fun. Come browse, shop, discover new artists and authors, and say hello.
Behind the scenes, I’m reading, reviewing, writing, podcasting, and trying not to let my inbox become a crime scene.
So far?
Mixed results.
💬 YOUR TURN
Reply and tell me:
Would a social media curfew help teens?
You can reply with just one word:
Yes, No, or Maybe.
Bonus points if you tell me what time your phone should legally be forced to go sit in a corner.
I’m nosy, but in a bookish way.
Until next time,
Kim
Author | Book Reviewer | Host of The Brave Bookshelf
P.S. If your phone had a built-in curfew, what time would it shut itself off—and would you actually listen?