You don't need to scan stations to play the game. If you want to learn how well a station is stocked with someone, look at what they consume and what they produce. If they are selling things for cheap it means they have a large surplus, if they are buying high it means they need something badly.

Also if you check what they are producing, and they aren't asking for something they need to produce a good with, it means they are totally stocked up on something, the reverse is true, if they are supposed to sell something and aren't... it means they don't have it.

The only time I scan stations is when a specific mission asks me to, and it only takes a few seconds flying around the station to complete the mission, I don't even need to actively do anything. Just turn on scan mod, sit near a module for a second or two and then move on.