How to Stop Doomscrolling for Beginners

 It is widely discussed that the rise of short-form content is associated with reduced attention spans. Before the death of Vine, videos on the platform were only 7 seconds long. 7 seconds to be funny, then on to the next thing. Even after Vine was shut down, people migrated to Instagram, YouTube, and eventually TikTok, but the sentiment still stood. Videos got longer, but not by much. 7 seconds became 30.  But the videos needed to be obviously interesting right at the beginning, or they got passed over.

The terms “doomscrolling” and “brainrot” started cropping up. Doomscrolling refers to the excessive consumption of negative content, usually news.  Brainrot refers to the short, low-quality content that has overrun short-form platforms.  It’s the perfect storm: some comedy, some depressing news. Short, low-quality, easily digestible. Keep scrolling, more, more, more. Sure, some of these videos are only 30 seconds long, but if you scroll through enough of them, you can look up and see that 2 hours have passed.  I’ve done it. “Just a few more. I’ll go to bed at 12,” I will tell myself. Then a few more turn into a lot more, and suddenly it’s 2 am and I have to get up for work in a couple of hours. 

I am willing to confess that my average screen time is about 5 hours a day. Sometimes I can spend as little as 1 hour scrolling, and other times I want nothing more than to spend the day rotting in bed, phone in hand.

So how do we fix it?

Oddly enough, the new trend online is not to be online. Some people are seeking out what have been dubbed “analog hobbies.”  Drawing, painting, word searches, sudoku, knitting, crocheting, etc., anything that requires you to work with your hands and keeps you away from a screen.  Some people have gone so far as to return to the stone age of technology and ditch their smartphones for flip phones. My preferred method is a little less extreme. A combination of a custom “do not disturb” setting and app downtime means that I get no notifications and have extremely limited access to apps after a certain time. This leaves me the ability to do the hobbies that I love and find fulfillment in, that sometimes get pushed to the side because I spend too much time scrolling.

It’s a work in progress, trying to distance ourselves from the online world. Several times while I was writing this, I took a break to look at my phone. Writing an article can be challenging and requires focus, so let me look at my phone instead to be instantly entertained. Scrolling for a little bit, I came across some random meme that had the caption, “Don’t forget to make a life.” I remembered where I was and what I was doing. I put the phone down.

For further exploration

Digital Minimalism:  Choosing a Focused Life by Cal Newport.  Call No.: 303.48 NEW 2019

“Minimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough. Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It's the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world. Digital minimalists are all around us. They're the calm, happy people who can hold long conversations without furtive glances at their phones. They can get lost in a good book, a woodworking project, or a leisurely morning run. They can have fun with friends and family without the obsessive urge to document the experience….”

How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price.  Call No.: 616.85 PRI 2025

"Do you feel addicted to your phone? Do you frequently pick it up "just to check," only to look up forty-five minutes later wondering where the time has gone? Does social media make you anxious? Have you tried to spend less time mindlessly scrolling--and failed? If so, this book is your solution. Award-winning health and science journalist and TED speaker Catherine Price presents a practical, evidence-based 30-day digital detox plan that will help you break up--and then make up--with your phone.”

Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked by Adam L. Alter.  Call No.: 302.23 ALT 2017

"An urgent and expert investigation into behavioral addiction, the dark flipside of today's unavoidable digital technologies, and how we can turn the tide to regain control...Tracing the very notion of addiction through history right up until the present day, Alter shows that we're only just beginning to understand the epidemic of behavioral addiction gripping society..."

Unplug:  How to Break up with Your Phone and Reclaim Your Life by Richard Simon.  Call No.: 303.23 SIM 2025

"The average American spends the equivalent of more than 75 full days a year looking at their phone. It can become an all-consuming addiction that puts a strain on virtually every facet of our existence from the way we sleep, eat, and exercise to our ability to focus and make new memories. Most importantly, it takes us away from our lives, our relationships, and the real world. But although it may seem impossible, there is always a way to overcome digital distraction: you can always turn off your phone. In Unplug, Richard Simon lays out a plan to detox from your phone, including things to do with your newfound time, lightly reintegrating a smartphone into your life, and finally, helping others quit"

Stolen Focus:  Why You Can't Pay Attention--And How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari, Call

No.:  153.7 HAR 2022

"Our ability to pay attention is collapsing. From the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections comes a groundbreaking examination of why this is happening-and how to get our attention back.

- Tyler, Twin Rivers