What Is Doomscrolling and How to Stop It: A Complete Guide
Introduction
With more connectivity than ever before, information is literally never further away than your thumb. But suppose that constant stream of information turns dark? You might be familiar with the scenario: it's late evening, the world outside is quiet, but you're up, phone in hand, scrolling hour after hour through a series of bad news stories, sorrowful tales, and dire predictions. This habitual stream of negative online content has a name: doomscrolling.
First a niche word, doomscrolling burst into the public mind during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been a hot topic of conversation ever since. The intersection of global health emergencies, political upheaval, social unrest, and the omnipresent nature of social media have created a perfect storm for this activity. It's a habit that feels compulsive—a means of staying up to date—but one that tends to leave us feeling more anxious, more helpless, and more drained afterward.
This book provides a thorough explanation of the doomscrolling phenomenon. We will explore the very definition of doomscrolling, touch upon the psychological reasons why we might be doing it, and explore its profound effect on our mind. Most importantly, we will provide a straightforward step-by-step guide on how to stop doomscrolling and share useful advice to lead you out of the loop and reclaim your mind.
What Is Doomscrolling?
Worst-case doomscrolling is the act of continuously scrolling and reading bad, upsetting, or scary news and information on social media platforms and elsewhere, typically for hours at a time and to the detriment of one's own mental health. A portmanteau of "doom" and "scrolling," the term concisely explains the activity of navigating an endless feed of despair.
The term itself gained traction on social media in 2018 but was a household name in 2020. It grew in popularity in direct relation to the world events that had everyone glued to their screens, searching for news about the pandemic, political elections, and social justice movements.
So what is doomscrolling psychologically? It is viewed with serious concern by mental health professionals as it forms a powerful and negative feedback cycle. The anxiety you start with makes you seek information so that you may feel more in control. Yet the relentlessly negative tone of the material you're scrolling through is only making the anxiety worse, feeding an ever more desperate compulsion to keep scrolling in hopes of finding that one magical piece of news that will make it all finally stop. Not only is this practice a bad habit; it's a symptom that can have profound implications for mental toughness. The definition of doomscrolling is the first step toward recognizing it in your own life.
Why Do People Doomscroll?
The urge to doomscroll isn't a personal failing; it's a complex interplay between our innate psychological wiring and the sophisticated technology designed to keep us engaged. There are several key reasons why people doomscroll, even when they know it's making them feel worse.
Psychological Mechanisms at Play
Our brains are hardwired for survival. This involves a highly sensitive threat-detection system that constantly scans the environment for potential dangers. Doomscrolling taps directly into this primal instinct.
1. The Illusion of Control: When we are under huge uncertainty, the world is a huge, disordered system. With the consumption of vast amounts of information about a crisis, we are under the illusion of control. The process of thinking is typically unconscious: "If I'm informed on everything relating to the problem, I can better prepare for it or protect myself against it." In reality, this ongoing gathering of information has a tendency to reinforce our powerlessness, amplifying anxiety rather than alleviating it.
2. Negativity Bias: This is an old cognitive bias whereby humans ascribe greater psychological importance to bad things and information than to good ones. Evolutionarily speaking, it was more useful that our ancestors remember the location of a predator (a bad stimulus) than the location of delicious berries (a good stimulus). Social media algorithms are guilty of this trap inadvertently. Bad news is startling, surprising, and evoking emotions, which makes it "stickier" and harder to ignore than good or neutral information.
3. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): With a world that is hyper-connected, there comes a lurking fear of always having to be "in the know." We worry that if we are logged off, we are going to miss some critical update or breakthrough. That fear can drive us to compulsively scroll through our feeds, ensuring we are "in the loop," even if that loop is relentlessly bleak.
The Role of Social Media Algorithms
Social media platforms are not neutral conduits of information. Their business model is built on capturing and holding your attention for as long as possible. The algorithms that power these platforms are exceptionally good at this.
Algorithmic Tactic | How It Works | The Doomscrolling Effect |
Engagement-Based Curation | The algorithm tracks every like, share, comment, and even the time you linger on a post. It then prioritizes showing you content similar to what you've engaged with before. | When you pause on a negative news story, the algorithm interprets this as interest and feeds you more distressing content, creating a personalized echo chamber of doom. |
Infinite Scroll | Feeds on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook are designed to be bottomless. There is no natural endpoint or "You're all caught up" message to signal a good time to stop. | This design encourages a passive, almost hypnotic state of consumption. You can scroll for hours without a clear stopping cue, making it easy to lose track of time. |
Sensationalism & Outrage | Content that evokes strong emotions—especially anger and fear—tends to generate the most engagement (shares, angry comments). The algorithm learns this and promotes sensationalized or polarizing content. | Your feed becomes skewed towards the most alarming and emotionally charged information, painting a distorted and disproportionately negative picture of the world. |
These reasons for doomscrolling show that it's a powerful combination of our internal anxieties and external technological pressures that keeps us locked in the cycle.
Effects of Doomscrolling on Mental Health
The consistent, prolonged exposure to negative information has tangible and severe consequences for our well-being. The effects of doomscrolling are not just fleeting moments of sadness; they can permeate every aspect of your life, creating a chronic state of distress. This is a critical issue for doomscrolling mental health.
Stress
Constantly reading about disasters, injustices, and threats triggers the body's sympathetic nervous system, leading to a state of chronic stress. This floods your system with hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which are intended for short-term "fight-or-flight" responses. When this state becomes prolonged due to daily doomscrolling, it can lead to burnout, weakened immune function, and physical symptoms like headaches, digestive issues, and muscle tension.
Anxiety and Depression
Doomscrolling is a direct pipeline to heightened anxiety. It can create a sense of impending doom and a belief that the world is a fundamentally dangerous and hopeless place. For individuals already prone to anxiety disorders, it can exacerbate symptoms, leading to panic attacks and a constant state of worry. Over time, this pervasive sense of hopelessness and helplessness can contribute to the development or worsening of depressive symptoms, as your outlook on the future becomes relentlessly bleak.
Insomnia and Sleep Disruption
One of the most immediate and common effects of doomscrolling is poor sleep. This happens for two primary reasons:
1. Psychological Arousal: Consuming distressing content right before bed leaves your mind racing. The anxiety and anger it provokes make it incredibly difficult to quiet your thoughts and relax into sleep.
2. Physiological Disruption: The blue light emitted from phone and tablet screens suppresses the production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates your sleep-wake cycle. This makes it harder to fall asleep and reduces the quality of the sleep you do get.
Impact on Productivity and Quality of Life
The consequences of doomscrolling spill over into your daily functioning. The time lost to scrolling—often hours each day—is time not spent on work, hobbies, exercise, or connecting with loved ones in person. It can lead to procrastination, missed deadlines, and a general decline in performance. Furthermore, it can strain relationships, as you may become more irritable, withdrawn, and pessimistic, making it harder to engage positively with the people around you.
Signs You Might Be Doomscrolling (✅ Checklist)
It can be hard to distinguish a healthy desire to stay informed from a destructive doomscrolling habit. Use this checklist to assess your own behaviors. If you find yourself agreeing with several of these statements, it may be a sign that your scrolling has become problematic.
Here are some common doomscrolling symptoms:
[ ] You lose track of time while reading news on your phone, and minutes often turn into hours.
[ ] You continue to scroll through negative news even though you know it's making you feel anxious, sad, or angry.
[ ] You feel a compulsive urge to check your phone for the latest updates, especially first thing in the morning or last thing at night.
[ ] Your sleep has worsened, and you often find it hard to fall asleep due to racing thoughts about what you've read.
[ ] You find yourself talking or thinking about negative news stories throughout the day, and it consistently sours your mood.
[ ] Your friends, family, or partner have commented on the amount of time you spend on your phone or how negative you've become.
[ ] You have tried to cut back on your screen time but find yourself unable to stick to your own rules.
[ ] After a scrolling session, you feel emotionally drained, hopeless, or physically tense rather than informed or empowered.
[ ] You are neglecting work, chores, or hobbies in favor of scrolling through your news feeds.
[ ] The first thing you reach for when you feel bored or anxious is your phone, specifically to check for news or updates.
Recognizing these doomscrolling symptoms is a critical first step toward making a change.
How to Stop Doomscrolling: 10 Practical Tips
Breaking free from the doomscrolling cycle requires conscious effort and a strategic approach. It’s not about becoming uninformed, but about consuming information mindfully and on your own terms. Here are ten practical doomscrolling tips to help you regain control.
Strategy | How It Works | Your First Small Step |
1. Set Strict Time Limits | Use your phone's built-in digital wellness features (Screen Time on iOS, Digital Wellbeing on Android) to set daily time limits for specific apps. | Go into your phone’s settings right now and set a 20-minute daily limit on your most-used news or social media app. |
2. Schedule Your News Consumption | Instead of checking news sporadically throughout the day, designate one or two specific times (e.g., 15 minutes after breakfast) to get updated. | Decide on your "news window" for tomorrow. Outside of that window, resist the urge to open news apps. |
3. Create a Tech-Free Zone/Time | Banishing phones from the bedroom is one of the most effective strategies. Also, implement a "no phones at the dinner table" rule. | Tonight, charge your phone in the living room or kitchen instead of on your nightstand. Use a traditional alarm clock. |
4. Turn Off Notifications | The constant pings and banners from news and social media apps are designed to pull you back in. Turning them off puts you in control. | Go to your notification settings and disable all notifications for at least one social media app and one news app. |
5. Curate Your Feed for Positivity | You have the power to shape your algorithm. Actively unfollow accounts that consistently post negative or enraging content. Follow accounts related to your hobbies, art, nature, or comedy. | Take five minutes to find and follow three accounts that post content you find uplifting or interesting (e.g., a travel photographer, a chef, a science page). |
6. Embrace "Slow" Information | Shift from the rapid-fire, reactive nature of social media feeds to more thoughtful, long-form sources like weekly magazines, documentaries, or Sunday newspapers. | Choose one in-depth article to read this week instead of scrolling through 50 headlines. |
7. Identify Your Triggers | Become mindful of why you pick up your phone. Are you bored? Anxious? Procrastinating? Identifying the underlying feeling is key. | The next time you feel the urge to scroll, pause for 10 seconds and ask yourself, "What am I really feeling right now?" |
8. Plan Positive Alternatives | You need to replace the habit with something else. Make a list of enjoyable, screen-free activities you can do when you have downtime. | Write down three things you can do instead of scrolling: e.g., "Read a chapter of my book," "Listen to one song without distractions," "Do five minutes of stretching." |
9. Practice Mindful Entry and Exit | Before you open a social media app, set an intention: "I will check for messages and look at three posts, then close it." When the time is up, mindfully close the app. | Try this just once today. State your intention out loud before opening Instagram or X, and see if you can stick to it. |
10. Use Grayscale Mode | Turning your phone's screen to grayscale makes it significantly less appealing. The vibrant colors are designed to be stimulating; removing them reduces the psychological pull. | Find the accessibility shortcut in your phone's settings to easily toggle grayscale on and off. Try turning it on for one hour. |
This guide on how to stop doomscrolling provides a starting point. The key is consistency. Start with one or two of these stop doomscrolling tips and gradually build from there.
When to Seek Professional Help
While the tips above can be highly effective, sometimes the grip of doomscrolling is too strong to break on your own. It can often be a symptom of a deeper, underlying mental health condition, such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), depression, or even obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
It's time to consider seeking professional help for doomscrolling if:
Your doomscrolling habit is causing significant impairment in your daily life—affecting your job performance, your relationships, or your ability to care for yourself.
You experience persistent and overwhelming feelings of anxiety, sadness, or hopelessness.
You've tried repeatedly to cut back on your own but feel a complete loss of control.
Your sleep is consistently disrupted, and you suffer from chronic fatigue.
A therapist or counselor can help you develop personalized coping strategies, address the root causes of your anxiety, and work with you using techniques like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to reframe your thought patterns. With the rise of telehealth, online consultations have made it easier than ever to access professional support from the comfort of your home.
FAQ Section
What is the difference between doomscrolling and normal scrolling?
The key difference lies in the content being consumed and the resulting emotional state. Normal scrolling can involve a mix of content—updates from friends, funny videos, hobbies, and news. Its purpose might be entertainment, connection, or simple boredom. Doomscrolling is specifically characterized by the compulsive consumption of negative content and consistently results in feelings of anxiety, fear, and hopelessness.
Is doomscrolling an addiction?
While doomscrolling addiction is not yet a formal clinical diagnosis in reference manuals like the DSM-5, it exhibits many characteristics of a behavioral addiction. These include compulsion (an intense urge to engage in the behavior), loss of control (inability to stop despite wanting to), and negative consequences (harm to mental health, relationships, and daily functioning). Many experts agree it functions like an addiction, activating the brain's reward system in a problematic loop.
Does everyone doomscroll?
To some extent, most people with a smartphone have engaged in doomscrolling, especially during major global events. The desire to stay informed is natural. However, it becomes a problem when it transforms from an occasional act into a chronic, compulsive habit that negatively dictates one's mood and mental state. Not everyone develops this problematic relationship with news consumption.
Conclusion
In our digital world, being informed is often seen as a civic duty and a personal responsibility. But there is a crucial difference between being informed and being inundated. Doomscrolling represents the point where the pursuit of information becomes self-destructive, trapping us in a cycle of anxiety and fear that is amplified by algorithms designed to prey on our most primal instincts.
Understanding what doomscrolling is, why we do it, and the toll it takes on our doomscrolling mental health is the first, most powerful step toward change. By implementing conscious strategies, setting firm boundaries, and replacing the habit with healthier alternatives, you can break free. It’s not about choosing ignorance; it’s about choosing intention. It's about curating a life where you are thoughtfully engaged with the world without sacrificing your own peace of mind. The goal is balance—a balance that empowers you to stay informed without letting the weight of the world's sorrows crush your spirit.