Infinite Scroll
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
Infinite Scroll loads more content as you scroll down, like a bottomless pit of data. Social media feeds use it to keep you scrolling forever. It's either the best UX pattern ever or a dark pattern depending on who you ask. Your scroll thumb keeps shrinking.
Real Talk
Infinite Scroll is a UX pattern that loads additional content dynamically as the user scrolls near the bottom of a list. Typically implemented using Intersection Observer to detect when a sentinel element becomes visible, triggering the next data fetch.
When You'll Hear This
"Infinite scroll for feeds, pagination for search results" / "Combine infinite scroll with virtual scrolling for the best performance"
Related Terms
Intersection Observer
Intersection Observer watches elements and tells you when they enter or leave the viewport. It's the bouncer checking if components are visible.
React Query
React Query takes all that messy useEffect-fetch-loading-error-state code and replaces it with one beautiful hook.
Virtual Scrolling
Virtual Scrolling is the magician's trick for long lists. You have 10,000 items but only render the 20 visible ones.