Mindless Scroll: An Infinite Scroll Abstract Colouring App for Mindfulness

Abstract

We design and evaluate Mindless Scroll, a mobile application for mindfulness that encourages a slow and deliberate approach to colouring. The app renders an infinite scroll of generated geometric tilings that reveal pseudorandom colour palettes and fill effects when coloured using a finger or pen. A five-day study (N=28) evaluated the efficacy of the app in reducing anxiety and enhancing mindfulness. The results indicate that the app is capable of promoting a greater sense of mindfulness over time and produced similar results across several measures compared to traditional structured colouring and existing mindfulness-based mobile applications. All participants expressed a desire to use the app again, with a majority stating they felt more mindful after the study.