You’ve probably done it before: you pick up your phone to check the news or social media, and before you know it, you’ve spent an hour watching nothing but bad news. This habit that most people have is called doomscrolling and it could be hurting your health more than you think.
Doomscrolling is when you scroll through sad, scary, or upsetting news for a long time online. This became common during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were trying to stay informed. But even now, years later, many people still do it, and experts say it’s not good for our bodies or our minds. Constantly watching bad news can have a bad effect on your mind and the way you think. (Doomscrolling dangers – Harvard Health)
“It feels like every time I read about something going wrong I feel like I have to know more,” junior Anthony Simms. “It’s like I can’t look away.”
Many people find themselves trapped in the habit of doomscrolling constantly consuming distressing news that heightens anxiety and stress. Doctors at Harvard say that constantly reading bad news can actually make you feel sick. It can cause you to experience things like headaches, muscle tension, trouble sleeping, or even high blood pressure. On top of that, sitting for hours while scrolling can make your body stiff and tired. (Doomscrolling dangers – Harvard Health)
The main effect of doomscrolling comes from how it can affect your brain and influence the way you act. Recent studies show that doomscrolling is linked to anxiety, depression, and feeling less motivated at work or school. Doomscrolling can also take up much needed time for sleep. Looking at a screen right before you sleep can make doing so harder.
“I almost always scroll right before I go to bed making it harder to sleep,” junior Luke Miller said. “I probably should stop, since when I doomscroll I do it for hours.”
One of the most effective ways that you can combat this habit is by setting physical boundaries with your phone. Creating boundaries can lower the time that you spend on your phone allowing you to have time for other things. Sometimes you can get caught up in doomscrolling that you forget things that you have to do or even things that you wanted to do. It can distract you from the real world, and although that is what makes it fun it might not be as good as you think. (Doomscrolling dangers – Harvard Health)
Ways that you can set a physical boundary on your phone is by setting it in areas away from you, or places where you would likely not come back to. Putting it in your pocket is good, but when you are in your house, sometimes having it in your pocket can be a liability.
“I always felt like doomscrolling wasn’t really a waste of time,” Junior Alex Malaj said, “but after I stopped it left a lot more time in my day for other things that are more important.”
Changing the material that you consume and how much you consume can help a lot as well. Giving yourself a restriction on how much you intake can help as you allow yourself to satisfy your wants, but you also don’t over consume and become fully dived into your phone. Another thing, like focusing on positive news can help lift your spirit or give you motivation. In addition, watching videos about making money may give you inspiration or knowledge on how to do so.
Turning off notifications can make a huge impact on your use of your phone. The notifications and other audio cues are meant to attract you back to your phone. When you shut them off it will allow you not be bothered by your phone. You can change the settings to where only certain things give you notifications. So, if you still want to be notified when your parents or someone important texts you, then that is possible.
Doomscrolling may feel like you are staying informed, but in reality, it often fuels anxiety that you have, drains your energy, or just distracts you from the time on the clock. Sometimes it is better to put the phone down, because sometimes it is better that you don’t know what is happening all the time.
