Do you find yourself endlessly scrolling through social media or the news? It can feel like seeing a train wreck in progress—you know you’re scared and you don’t want to see it, but you can’t tear your eyes away.
“Doomscrolling,” or excessive consumption of negative news and media, can be bad for your mental health and should be minimized as much as possible. In the sections that follow, we’ll explore the negative psychological effects of doomscrolling and offer some tips for managing screen time and building healthier habits.
How Excessive Negative News Impacts Mental Health
All that constant negativity from the news and social media can really damage a person’s mental health over time. It’s particularly harmful because it reinforces negative thoughts and, in turn, a negative mindset. For those already struggling, mindless scrolling can worsen depression and anxiety, especially with the increased stress, fear, and other negative emotions that negative content tends to trigger. In fact, it’s not unheard of for doomscrolling to lead to panic attacks.
Beyond that, all the negativity can contribute to difficulty sleeping, which can have a domino effect and lead to other mental health symptoms like irritability, mental fatigue, or poor productivity.
Unfortunately, doomscrolling is a vicious cycle that’s easy to get stuck in. You might start by reading a handful of news articles or interacting with posts on social media. The platforms use algorithms to show you content relevant to your interests. Once an algorithm picks up on your consumption of these negative news articles, it continues providing more and more to you, reinforcing the cycle.
Psychological Effects of Doomscrolling
The adverse psychological effects of doomscrolling can be pervasive, impacting multiple aspects of life. In particular, research has shown that increased news consumption can, in part, contribute to higher levels of anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms.
Additionally, doomscrolling is associated with other negative effects, including:
- Insomnia: Anxiety can make it difficult to sleep. One study found that nearly 70% of participants used social media in bed, contributing to insomnia and mood dysfunction. Insomnia can be exacerbated by consuming negative media due to the increase in anxiety.
- Worsening Mental Illness: The onslaught of negativity consumed during doomscrolling can worsen anxiety and depression disorders.
- Higher Stress Levels: Exposure to negative news stories leads to increased levels of cortisol and adrenaline, two hormones released in response to stress. The more time you spend online doomscrolling, the more of these hormones you introduce to your body. This kind of scrolling can make you tired as the stress hormones contribute to physical and mental exhaustion.
- Increased Panic and Worry: You might find yourself unable to avoid ruminating on the negative stories, which can worsen depression symptoms. Some stories may also contribute to anxiety and panic attacks
- Unease From Conflicting Posts: Virtually anything can be posted online. When stories start to conflict with each other, each presenting evidence that the other is wrong, you can be left confused or uneasy as you try to figure out which source is correct.
Tips For Managing Screen Time and Avoiding Doom Spirals
There’s no doubt about it—doomscrolling is an unhealthy habit that all too many people fall into. There’s a silver lining here, though. Once you’re aware of the problem, you can start taking steps to correct it. If you’re having trouble keeping your tendency to doomscroll under control, try implementing these tips to break the habit:
- Set a Daily Limit: Try setting a strict time limit for how long you can scroll through the news or social media. Schedule in set times for using these sites during the day and set timers to keep you in check. Once your timer goes off, set the phone down and move on to something else.
- Leave Your Phone Out of Your Bedroom: Leave your phone out of the bedroom. It can be too tempting to reach for the phone when you first wake up or while you’re trying to fall asleep, which can contribute to more doomscrolling. Have a charging station set up outside of your bedroom, or if you need to keep your phone in your room for safety or work reasons, have it charge across the room from you instead of within reach of the bed.
- Take a Technology Break: Unplugging your life for a few days or weeks can be a great way to work on your mental health. If you can’t take an extended technology break, consider scheduling a few hours each day where you don’t touch your device unless absolutely necessary.
- Practice Mindfulness: Most people associate mindfulness with meditation, but it’s also a way of life. Being mindful means being fully focused on the present moment instead of worrying about the past or future. While you scroll through the news or your social media feed, be mindful of how the stories make you feel and take note. Also, consider why you may be scrolling through the news in the first place. If you’re looking for an update about a significant event, find that update, then step away instead of being pulled in by the next negative headline about something completely different.
- Find a New Activity to Fill the Time: If you’ve been a chronic doomscroller at set times in the day, find a way to replace the bad habit. For example, if you’ve read the news in bed at night, reach for a book instead.
- Think About Why You Picked Up Your Phone: A lot of people pick up their phones without thinking much about it. Start asking yourself why you picked up your phone when you do. Do you have a reason to scroll or are you just trying to fill in the time? If you just need something to do, redirect your energy to something more positive and productive.
Building Healthier News Consumption Habits
Now, there’s nothing wrong with scrolling through the news or using social media if it’s kept in check. In fact, it can help keep you informed and connected. However, you should take steps to ensure that your news consumption doesn’t become overwhelming or unhealthy. Consider building these habits into your life:
- Unfollowing, Unfriending, or Muting Sources of Negative Content: It’s only natural that you’ll come across negative news articles when bad things happen in the world. However, if you notice that mostly negative content is coming from a specific source, consider limiting your exposure to it. Unfollow, unfriend, or mute the sources of negative content to limit how much of it appears in your own feed. These kinds of boundaries can feel difficult to enforce, especially if the source of negativity comes from someone you’re close to. It’s okay, and even recommended, to act in your own best interest in this case.
- Limit News Sources: Not all news sources are created equally. Consider limiting your exposure to current events by only using trusted news sources that you’ve vetted and determined reliable.
- Turn Off Notifications: Many social media and news platforms push notifications to your phone or email if they think the content is something you’d be likely to click on. Eliminate this by turning off notifications when you don’t need them. You don’t need to see every breaking news story about every negative event the second that it’s published to remain well-informed.
- Tailor Your Feed: Make sure you engage with positive content more frequently than negative content. Because algorithms tailor themselves to show you content similar to what you’ve interacted with, you’ll get more positive, uplifting stories in your newsfeed to remind you of all the good in the world.
Don’t Let Doomscrolling Consume Your Life
Doomscrolling is a major problem, especially when you’re constantly connected to the internet. By understanding how dangerous it can be and how much it can erode your mental health, you can take steps to cut this nasty habit out of your life and consume news and social media content more healthily. Focus on the present and positive, find more productive ways to spend your time, and emphasize self-care. It’s okay to mute or delete accounts that constantly post negative content, even if they belong to close friends or family.
If your mental health is suffering because of doomscrolling or another cause, reach out today at (855) 968-0231. Our compassionate counselors are available 24/7 and glad to be of assistance.
