What is Doomscrolling? Doomscrolling refers to the compulsive consumption of negative online content. It often happens through social media platforms or news websites and apps. Doomscrolling taps into our intense desire to stay informed, particularly during turbulent times and fastmoving events. Algorithms that prioritize engagement can amplify and foreground negative stories, trapping users in a cycle of bad news. You might, for instance, imagine yourself scrolling a news feed late at night. You hop from one alarming headline to the next. The behavior can feel automatic, driven by a mixture of curiosity and anxiety, sometimes even by outrage. While occasional scrolling is normal, this sort of prolonged doomscrolling can become a habit that is hard to break. Why is Doomscrolling Harmful? Doomscrolling isn’t simply a waste of time, though it can certainly be that. It can also negatively impact your productivity and mental and physical health. Exposure to a constant stream of negative news can increase anxiety, stress and even depression. Over time, this erodes your emotional resilience and can make you feel helpless or overwhelmed. Beyond these impacts on mental health, doomscrolling can also be detrimental to your physical health. Excessive screen time, particularly late at night, can disrupt sleep patterns, leading to fatigue and reduced focus. The sedentary nature of scrolling can contribute to poor posture, and prolonged scrolling itself can lead to eyestrain. Even before you encounter these adverse impacts on your health, you will have sunk a lot of time into doomscrolling. It is a huge productivity loss. Hours spent consuming content that is ultimately distressing could have been used for more positive and fulfilling activities, such as learning a new language or simply chatting with friends or family. How Do You Avoid Doomscrolling? Even if you recognize how bad doomscrolling can be, it is still difficult to avoid lapsing into it. Breaking the cycle means creating intentional habits and boundaries around your digital life. The boundaries you set might be time limits. You could restrict your use of social media or check news feeds at specific, scheduled times. This prevents you from scrolling idly throughout the day, which will then help limit the total amount of time you might spend doomscrolling. Some platforms allow you to set timers that will limit your access.
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