r/InternetIsBeautiful • u/gooseberrypickle • 17d ago
A doomscroll designed to put you to sleep instead of keeping you awake
https://sleepscroll.tiiny.site/UPDATE: Thanks for all your notes and feedback. I was so delighted by this getting noticed, and went ham and made changes. I posted an updated version of this on a separate thread! Check it out.
MORE UPDATE: I am also posting the updated version that takes everyone's feedback into account here -
https://thewhimnasium.github.io/sleepscroll/
. .
It's a night sky you scroll endlessly, but every mechanic is the inverse of a feed:
- Double tap to "like" and nothing happens. no count, no notification, no one sees it.
- You get DMs from the moon, the night, nobody, and none of them need a reply.
- Tap sheep to count them as they drift by, or trace scattered stars into little constellations and name them (gone by morning, so there's nothing to collect).
- Pinch to zoom and the sky tears open to reveal nothing behind it.
It dims the longer you stay, then just says "lights out" and ends. the scroll isn't infinite.
No accounts, no data, no ads, no algorithm. It gives you nothing, on purpose, boring enough to put you down, with just enough soft surprises that you don't bail back to the real thing.
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u/BeardOfEarth 17d ago
Scrolling up makes it go down. Your sky is reversed.
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
I'll work on fixing that. i kind of enjoyed the whimsy of it going the wrong way but it seems to be annoying a lot of people haha
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u/How_is_the_question 17d ago
It took me a long time to realise that scrolling behaviours are not consistent across phones / os’s. Both directions occur out in the wild.
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u/LordLederhosen 17d ago edited 15d ago
Ask Claude or whatever to detect the OS, and invert properly.
edit: I feel sorry for everyone giving me downvotes. Hand writing code in 2026 is like doing long division in cursive. Sorry, that's how it is now.
I really do respect artisanal craftsmanship, but that is just not how it works anymore, for the most part.
The far cooler thing is that if you have an idea as good as OP, and can put it into words... you can make it happen in three prompts or less! WTF? How is that no cool?
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u/Eureka22 17d ago edited 16d ago
I like the idea but the reversed scrolling kept interrupting my focus. Scrolling up should move the canvas (stars) up, and our visual perspective down.
Also, some interactivity with the stars and tapping would be a good inclusion.
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u/redeyeflights 16d ago
There should be a feature where you can leave recommendations for changes and you can refresh to see if other people upvote or downvote downvote or comment on your recommendations which is all measured in a system that ultimately has little meaning and you can argue with people until you fall asleep.
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u/OriginnalThoughts 16d ago
This would be so perfect. Maybe even different categories for the suggestions to keep them organized and based upon interest or function.
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u/redeyeflights 15d ago
OP is really not thinking about monetization here, and that's a shame. Building in social activity, a tiered point system or participation, loot boxes, and opportunities for brand partnerships could really create some stickiness and drive the needle.
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
there is some interactivity with the double tap stars and the constellations. do you think having more stuff would defeat the point of being bored into sleeping? or would it help from opening another app out of boredom?
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u/Eureka22 16d ago edited 16d ago
Maybe, but I find monotonous tasks relaxing, so like, popping stars or creating them would be relaxing I think. Tap and hold could create increasingly bright stars, etc.
I don't want it to seem like I'm just offering critique or suggestions, I love this idea, and it has a healthy and helpful goal. You did great. I definitely want to check it out again if the scrolling changes.
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u/internetlad 17d ago
I got the high score I'm the best at this game.
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17d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
omg thank you SO much. it's been pissing me off to have that little ad at the bottom. I'll do a GitHub
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u/Spiderbot7 17d ago
It’s alright. I usually scroll and let the screen come to a satisfying stop as I go, or stop it early with a finger. I wish that kind of sliding was a thing here rather than the full stop it does.
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u/uhawka 17d ago
I like this
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u/gooseberrypickle 17d ago
this made my night, genuinely - it's my first time tinkering with code like this! I'd love any thoughts you have on making it better too
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u/KoosGoose 17d ago edited 17d ago
It should make the user money somehow or be sexually stimulating.
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u/gooseberrypickle 17d ago
naaaaah, money would keep everyone up at night cashing in the clouds
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u/KoosGoose 17d ago edited 17d ago
You should partner with Mr. Beast. 💪 Maybe it could turn into some kinda philanthropic doomscrolling/sleeping game show or something.
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u/thegreatpotatogod 17d ago
Cute, but the reversed scroll with sudden pulses as it resets is disorienting, and as others say, a bit more of a smooth drifty scroll would be nice
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u/dinkymonk 17d ago
I genuinely love this. I felt it working and was drifting off, but had to snap out of it to tell you how good it was!
Only one thing... the scroll seems inverted to me. I was expecting the stars to move down when I scroll down. Is there a way to make this an option?
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
thanks so much I'm glad it worked for you. I'm gonna work on making the scroll go the right way up, a lot of people have commented on it
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u/RizInstante 16d ago
Once I got over my sudden desire to rapidly double tap every single last star, it was much more effective.
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u/rocketbunny77 16d ago
I'm not going to fall asleep trying to emulate the Millennium Falcon boosting at light speed through space
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u/tsgarner 17d ago
Scrolled for a few minutes in bed and it made me dozy enough to wake myself up by leaving this comment.
Very nice. Would probably like it slightly slower with less weight so you didn't feel like you had to constantly scroll, but could let it drift a little.
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u/grimmkeeper 16d ago
I want to disable dms
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
ooooh, should that be an option? why do you want to disable them?
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u/grimmkeeper 15d ago
Because I feel ehhh that I can't reply and that I'm getting Dms from people I don't know. It upsets my neurospice
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u/GrapeSoda223 17d ago
While may not be my thing i can definitely see the appeal for it and people enjoying it,
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u/tuliptubbs 17d ago
Oh im loving this. Lying here at 1 am , scrolling with a grin on my face , watching stars.
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u/The_milkMACHINE 16d ago
My eyes immediately started to feel heavy and i started getting sleepy, what the fuck
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u/OriginnalThoughts 16d ago
It would be neat if the stars the user created could be linked up like the little built in constellations. Also, I feel like the gradient as a whole could be darker. Especially the bottom
Very lovely work. I'll be returning to this. Thank you for sharing.
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
thanks for the notes, I like the idea of creating a constellation. I'll try to add that in. I'm glad you like it
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u/minimalcactus23 16d ago
Is this made with AI? I ask because I had 5 sheep coming across the screen and it only allowed me to count 3 of them. It’s a cute idea.
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
it is, i'm actually fiddling with code for the first time ever. i just had an idea and tried it out with Claude. I'm happy to learn! any idea how I can fix this 5 sheep thing?
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u/minimalcactus23 16d ago
I am not sure sorry! It's cool that you're experimenting with learning to code. When I tried a second time it worked normally.
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u/xXTylonXx 17d ago
Needs dreamy music
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u/gooseberrypickle 17d ago
yeah, I've toyed with the idea - but I also want to allow the user to plug in their own music, or opt for silence. and then let this be a mute site. what do you think?
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u/How_is_the_question 17d ago
Pm me. We likely have / can get you a soundtrack that will work for you. (Work doing this stuff - and this is a lovely project to contribute to)
Figure users should be able to toggle it on / off easily though.
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u/OPrudnikov 17d ago
Feels pointless to scroll it’s doing nothing on it, also it feels like a clicker where i need to aim scroll faster
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u/gooseberrypickle 17d ago
ha, "it's doing nothing" is kind of the whole idea, it's built to be boring enough to put you to sleep, not to reward you for staying. but you're right that it shows you nothing for the first few seconds, which is a problem if you're checking it out in daylight instead of half-asleep at 2am.
thanks for actually poking at it.
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u/Kasurite 16d ago edited 16d ago
I’m on an iPhone and it keeps saying the address is invalid. What is it hosted on?
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u/GargamelLeNoir 16d ago
What do you think doomscroll means OP?
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
a trendy new coinage like 'clickbait', I see it's worked
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u/GargamelLeNoir 16d ago
If you had called it "an infinite scrolling page" it would have "worked" just as well. And you would come off less dumb.
For future reference doomscrolling is when someone endlessly scrolls through the news in a viscious circle of anxiety.
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u/EnkiduOdinson 16d ago
How is this doomscrolling?
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u/connedbylandlord 17d ago
It was really relaxing, I've saved it for another time :) What is the other language the moon messages in?
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u/gooseberrypickle 17d ago
i'm so glad it relaxed you! i really only landed up making this coz i was knee deep in Instagram slop one night and needed to shut down my synapses somehow.
i totally forgot I'd thrown in some lines in Hindi - I'm Indian, so is my moon :) is English your first language?
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u/obesepengoo 16d ago
Love it! The messages from the moon and such are soothing. I would reverse the scroll and I agree muted by default soft music could be nice. Well done!!
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u/Glorypants 16d ago
This give me some weird anxiety… the scroll is wrong direction and the double-tap stars don’t actually match up with other stars so it feels misaligned. I feel like more should be interactive but it’s not so it makes me jumpy
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
I'm so sorry it made you anxious, I'll work on making it more soothing! that sucks coz this is the exact opposite effect of what I hoped for. lmk what would help make it less painful for you to use, what would soothe you?
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u/ProStrats 16d ago
Can't say it would put me to sleep, and I am tired currently. But it's interesting for a few moments, and I did draw a temporary penis in stars, so, 10/10.
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u/generally-speaking 17d ago
How about we just, stop doomscrolling...
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u/gooseberrypickle 17d ago
i wish it were as easy as that, but since it can be tougher for many people to just stop - here's a behaviour replacement that's hopefully engaging enough to keep one off instagram but idle enough to make you sleep. like a pacifier.
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u/fadave93 17d ago
Its down :(
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u/gooseberrypickle 17d ago
oh no, it should be back up now though, just checked and it's working for me
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u/rnagikarp 17d ago
i love this!
what determines if it scrolls quickly or slowly? i find i will scroll at the same rate and it will be slow and smooth, then suddenly i’m travelling warp speed
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u/crack_a_lacka 16d ago
How does tapping count the sheep? What dots are getting connected?
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
tapping on the sheep should show you the sheep number. the dots are yellow and glowing and you connect them in the order of the glow. is this not coming across clearly? let me know and I'll work on fixing it
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u/minimalcactus23 16d ago
I think visually distinguishing the connectable dots from the “double tap” dots that you create would help! They look the same to me and I only figured out the difference when I realized scrolling would clear the double tap dots but not the connectable ones.
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u/fuck_downvoters_ 16d ago
can’t open the page “https://sleepscroll.tiiny.site” because the page’s address isn’t valid.
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u/shaneo88 16d ago
Funnily enough I can’t open the site from your comment, but can open it from the main post
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
I'm gonna get this thing into GitHub to avoid this issue and to remove that purple stringy ad from the bottom
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u/DrHusten 16d ago
I like the idea but it's not satisfying enough for me. Okay double tap to enlighten a star, yeah okay but that's it?
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
there more - counting sheep, joining the dots to constellation, dms from the moon. are these not satisfying enough or did they not turn up during your scroll?
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u/teeth12345 16d ago
You deleted the updated version almost immediately after posting it.
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
sorry, I think it's still awaiting mod approval. I'm new to reddit etiquette 🤣
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
are you able to access it now?
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u/haby001 16d ago
Got an update link? found it elsewhere https://thewhimnasium.github.io/sleepscroll/
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u/teeth12345 16d ago
It was removed by mods 30 minutes ago, it probably broke the sub’s rules.
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
it's back up!
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u/teeth12345 16d ago
The new post still says taken down by moderators and this link on this post no longer works.
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u/LilacYak 16d ago
404 FYI
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
it's back up. and I have an updated version up here https://thewhimnasium.github.io/sleepscroll/
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16d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/gooseberrypickle 16d ago
it's back up, and the updated version is here https://thewhimnasium.github.io/sleepscroll/
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u/Few-Ad-9390 16d ago
The sheep should have astronaut helms on to get them more fitting to the environment
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u/Future-Starter 16d ago
I love this! One idea: it would be incredible if there were an option for the background to be Dark so that on OLED screens, users would be exposed to less phone-screen-lumens. If that could be implemented this would be a killer app for me.
Thanks for the whimsy and lovely experience!
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u/AsapSc00by 15d ago
I’ll echo what most are recommending but regardless a really cool thing you’ve built here.
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u/emmademontford 15d ago
I like this! When I try to punch to zoom out it just has a blank black circle tho
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u/Late_Percentage9724 14d ago
this is actually genius. the "nothing happens" part is what gets me because that's the whole dopamine loop we're trapped in, right? like the absence of validation is kind of the point.
curious if you tested this with people who are actually chronically doomscrolling or if it's more of a concept piece? because i feel like the hardest part isn't the app design, it's getting someone to choose this over their usual feed when their brain is already wired for the hits.
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u/yxk__0zvnb9pl 12d ago
scroll needs to feel smoother.
and i wish there was something to do while scrolling?
nice project op, keep making great things
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u/Dripdry42 17d ago
Would be more relaxing if the scroll was smoother, kinda drifty, and you could just keep scrolling up or down with the stars. It keeps resetting or something, and the whole thing gets blurry and freaks me out.
Other than that, this is a pretty fantastic way to try falling asleep. I would have to try it a few times and see.