BilaTera / scroll test

    The public record

    What happens when you ask people to stop scrolling for five minutes?

    Live results from first attempts at the BilaTera 5-Minute Scroll Test.

    Take the test
    3first attempts started
    3completed
    0%stayed five minutes without scrolling, checking the timer or switching away

    Data collection began October 1, 2026.

    How many people were still here?

    First-attempt sessions with a confirmed heartbeat at each point.

    100%at 0:00 · 3 of 3
    0:001:002:003:004:005:00

    How often did people check the time?

    Timer reveals recorded across all first attempts. Median: 4.

    00 0%
    10 0%
    21 33.3%
    3–52 66.7%
    6–100 0%
    11+0 0%

    When did people first check the timer?

    Elapsed time to the first deliberate reveal across all first attempts.

    0–30s133.3%
    30–60s00%
    1–2m133.3%
    2–3m133.3%
    3–4m00%
    4–5m00%
    Never00%

    How many times did people try to scroll?

    Median: 5 scroll attempts.

    00 0%
    1–21 33.3%
    3–51 33.3%
    6–101 33.3%
    11–200 0%
    20+0 0%

    Did people return after switching away?

    Confirmed leave-and-return cycles. Median time away: 66 sec.

    3attempts
    Never266.7%
    Once00%
    2–3133.3%
    4+00%

    Did the urge to switch change?

    Before includes every started attempt; after and within-person change include submitted final answers. Median before: 7 · after: 3 · within-person change: -5.

    Before · 3After · 3

    Urge rating

    How often did people notice their mind wandering?

    Self-reported after the test. Percentages use submitted answers only. Earlier combined “20+ / honestly, no idea” responses are preserved under “No idea”.

    0%00
    0%01–2
    0%03–5
    66.7%26–10
    0%011–20
    33.3%120+
    0%0No idea

    What colors did people get?

    Five one-minute groups, each containing six ten-second shades. Counts and percentages use all attempts with an assigned color; open a group for the individual colors.

    Minute 10:00–0:591 results33.3% of assigned
    0:00–0:09Scarlet00.0%
    0:10–0:19Carmine00.0%
    0:20–0:29Burgundy133.3%
    0:30–0:39Dusty Rose00.0%
    0:40–0:49Petal00.0%
    0:50–0:59Zephyr00.0%
    Minute 21:00–1:591 results33.3% of assigned
    1:00–1:09Citrus00.0%
    1:10–1:19Amber133.3%
    1:20–1:29Blush00.0%
    1:30–1:39Honey00.0%
    1:40–1:49Apricot00.0%
    1:50–1:59Sand00.0%
    Minute 32:00–2:591 results33.3% of assigned
    2:00–2:09Olive00.0%
    2:10–2:19Fern133.3%
    2:20–2:29Moss00.0%
    2:30–2:39Laurel00.0%
    2:40–2:49Sage00.0%
    2:50–2:59Mint00.0%
    Minute 43:00–3:590 results0.0% of assigned
    3:00–3:09Twilight00.0%
    3:10–3:19Iris00.0%
    3:20–3:29Aster00.0%
    3:30–3:39Lagoon00.0%
    3:40–3:49Abyss00.0%
    3:50–3:59Haze00.0%
    Minute 54:00–4:590 results0.0% of assigned
    4:00–4:09Noir00.0%
    4:10–4:19Graphite00.0%
    4:20–4:29Fog00.0%
    4:30–4:39Mono00.0%
    4:40–4:49Smoke00.0%
    4:50–4:59Ash00.0%

    Assigned colors: 3

    Your first attempt

    Take the test to see your own first attempt here. Population comparisons begin after 100 first attempts.

    Methodology & privacy

    These results come from people who voluntarily took the BilaTera Scroll Test. They do not represent the general population. Only each participant’s first attempt is included; retakes stay in personal history and never change these charts.

    We record page scroll attempts, timer reveals, page visibility, approximate time hidden, elapsed test time, voluntary responses, and a coarse device category. A scroll attempt means one vertical mouse-wheel or trackpad gesture, or one vertical touch swipe; continuous wheel events are grouped into one gesture. Keyboard scroll commands are not currently counted. Leaving the tab, browser, or mobile foreground is stored as a pending interruption; it becomes one switch-away only when the participant returns. If they do not return, the attempt is closed as unfinished without inventing a completed switch. We do not record the thought participants choose, notification content, activity inside other apps, or keystrokes elsewhere. The test is an internet experiment, not a clinical test or scientific measure of attention span.

    Completion requires reaching five minutes and answering the post-test questions. The survival curve uses the last confirmed heartbeat for abandoned sessions. Missing post-test answers stay missing. Color records the first external interruption: the earliest scroll attempt, timer reveal, or confirmed switch away. The five minutes are divided into 30 ten-second bands, one for every BilaTera theme. No external interruption maps to Noir. Earlier stored attempts are recalculated under this same timing rule. For pre-v2 records that counted a switch but did not save its timestamp, the known switch is conservatively treated as immediate. The result is not an attention score or personality type.