How Doomscrolling is Affecting Your Mental Health
Chrissy Teigen recently called for a social media curfew. In her Instagram story, Teigen posted a video following the TikTok ban suggesting social media should be inaccessible for a certain period of time. Per Yahoo! Entertainment, the mother of four said, “I think the government or some kind of ethics committee, somebody, should shut off social media between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.” She added, “Guys, life was great. Life was awesome before this.”
It’s unlikely that any such curfew would ever become law or policy. But if Teigen, who has an active social media presence, is suggesting a curfew to curb our social media addiction, perhaps it’s time for us to stop and consider how social media and doomscrolling is significantly affecting our mental health and way of life.
What is doomscrolling?
Consuming negative news online or on social media is called doomscrolling. If the term itself doesn’t set off warning bells in your head, knowing that continuing this habit can lead to losing sleep, appetite, or interest in things you usually enjoy might be enough to make you reconsider the amount of time you spend online.
How doomscrolling is affecting your mental health?
According to an interview with psychologist Dr. Susan Albers published by Cleveland Clinic, doomscrolling “may worsen mental health issues, may lead to insomnia and can contribute to ‘crazymaking.’” She added, “Burying your nose in a phone can actually exacerbate feelings of disconnection and loneliness. Too much time on any media or social media sites, whether the news is bad or not, has been linked with feelings of depression.”
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in an opinion piece published in The New York Times (via People) called for social media platforms to have warning labels. He wrote, “It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.”
How to stop from doom-scrolling?
It’s not easy to avoid doomscrolling, which is why Teigen’s suggestion is becoming more and more appealing. Doing a digital detox on our own is difficult, but if our social media apps are switched off during a certain time, then we have no choice but to do without them.
Here are several steps that can help us to cut back on doom-scrolling:
- Setting time limits on how long you can spend on social media or news sites each day.
- Switch off notifications so you wouldn’t be tempted to constantly check your phone.
- Designate screen-free times during the day, especially a few hours before bed.
- Focus on positive content.
- Find other activities to fill the time you normally spend scrolling.
If you doomscroll a lot and believe it’s affecting your mental health, reach out to a mental health professional for proper care and guidance on how to get better.
