Wellbeing & Resilience Doomscrolling: What is it and how

Doomscrolling: What is it and how can we stop it?

AMY NIKOLOVSKI, MANAGING PARTNER, DBH LAWYERS AND MEMBER, WELLBEING AND RESILIENCE COMMITTEE

Iread a quote recently (on social media I confess) that said, “Millennials have had to deal with 9/11, two global financial crises, a pandemic, unaccountable natural disasters and now World War 3 all before we turn 40”, and well, it really hit me in the feels.

Because it seems at the moment, every time you turn on the TV another terrible thing occurs. These last two- and a-bit years have been particularly hard and if you are anything like me, you have found yourself addicted to “doomscrolling.”

So, what is it?

According to Urban Dictionary “Doomscrolling is when you keep scrolling through all of your social media feeds, looking for the most recent upsetting news about the latest catastrophe,” this in turn triggers the release of stress hormones that can affect both your mental and physical health.

The COVID-19 pandemic was thought to start the term, with it trending on Twitter in 2020, now doomscrolling has become a part of many of our daily routines. The constant consumption of bad news can lead to catastrophising or focusing on the negative aspects of the world around you in a way that makes it more and more difficult to notice the positive. The behaviour can be addictive - comparative to a car crash where you are watching something, and you just cannot look away.

Are you a doomscroller like me? If so, here are some tips to stop (and I will attempt to take my own advice):

MAKE MORNINGS SACRED

Stop using your phone as your alarm, this will in turn stop you from automatically checking social media feeds first thing when you wake up in the morning, which will in turn hopefully set you off on the right foot. PUT THE PHONE DOWN

Every time I get a notification, I cannot help myself, pick it up, and check my phone, I think often I don’t even realise how often I’m doing it. Put your phone in another room and take a break from the world, we do not have to be available 24/7.

Also, if you have an iPhone (I would assume android would have the same capacity) check your screen time (go to settings and screen time) you may be disgusted at how much time you are on your phone.

LIMIT SOCIAL MEDIA APPS ON YOUR PHONE

While you are in your settings put a limit on how much time you can access social media, this may in turn get you out of that TikTok or Facebook rabbit hole you fell down by alerting you to how much time you have actually spent that day already.

FIND ANOTHER ACTIVITY TO REPLACE DOOMSCROLLING

Enjoy this beautiful Autumn weather, go for a walk, pick up a book, play with your kids, do something for you in that time. Replace doomscrolling with something that delivers that kick of adrenalin/cortisol for good rather than bad.

The world at the moment seems like a very scary place, but there are ways we can take back control. If you feel like you may have lost control, there is no shame in admitting you need help. Reach out to Law Care, Dr Jill, your workplace EAP or any other resources to get you out of the funk you may be in at the moment with what feels like never ending bad news being thrown on a daily basis.