My Personal Experience with Doom Scrolling & Taking Myself Off of it:

“I didn’t know how much such a simple and seemingly harmless activity could affect my physical and mental health. I used to feel so much more anxious and overwhelmed because we live in such a fast-paced world with technology. Everything has to be given or completed instantly. Have you ever heard of the phrase, “Stop and smell the roses”? I didn’t think that was ever going to be possible. We are only given one life and mine was disappearing day by day, left with no feeling of accomplishment or joy/satisfaction. I had to change something.

Scrolling endlessly for hours on end would make time go by in the blink of an eye. To some, that may be a blessing as an easy way to end boredom. For me, I would feel very guilty and sad by the end of it. Guilty that I didn’t really “accomplish” anything all day. Sad that I didn’t really feel “satisfied” nor entertained. What’s also shocking is I had no clue the real reason I had felt this way. I blamed an unknown cause and labeled it as an addition to my own mental health issues. One day, I said to myself, “This is the problem, and it’s got me in a chokehold,” – along with millions of other users on the internet. I wondered what difference it would make if I reduced and eventually got rid of this habit.

I began by changing the settings on the app to remind me to take a break after a set amount of time. I can be strong-willed & ambitious, so I set an early low time limit for only about 20 minutes. I can’t say it was hard for me, honestly, because I knew how much I would rather not waste my time sitting on the couch, doing nothing, learning nothing, and possibly feeding myself false information. This is not to say that it was completely necessary to cut out all phone time, as I always have and still do appreciate its convenience and many interesting features technology has to offer. “All good things in moderation,” though, which is what we as a society and this generation moving forward have strayed far from.

Once I realized I was hitting the “snooze” on the break reminder, I decided to choose not to even open the app or any like it for a while. I told the people I would talk to using that application that I would prefer text messages from now on or another application that was strictly for messaging. From that point forward, I am convinced that my app usage has been drastically cut down a large percentage of time. I now only use my phone with a specific intent and purpose that only lasts a few minutes of my time.

As time continues to pass, I noticed a few health benefits that came with this change. I have become more aware of my posture and it’s easier to correct than before. I believe that I will eventually be able to naturally stand and sit in a healthier manner. My mood has definitely improved and I no longer yearn for that quick entertainment and instead strive for a more meaningful experience, in real life. Having less need for instant gratification like that rewired my brain in a way that gives me motivation and inspiration to create, cook, read, finally get something done around the apartment without the feeling of dread that used to come with it. Watching myself and my boyfriend feel so convinced that we must keep scrolling was alarming – it was quite honestly an addiction that I do not miss. “