‘Doomscrolling’ – tips for healthier news consumption - Doubleclick (Double Click Design & Print CIC)

Keeping up with the latest news is simpler than ever thanks to smartphones and social media. However, it’s easy to end up doomscrolling – constantly scrolling through negative news for long periods of time. In the run-up to World Mental Health Day this Friday, the Mental Health Foundation give us some advice on the dangers of ‘doomscrolling’ and what we can do to help ourselves.

Doomscrolling is a natural and human response to a world that can feel unstable. However, it can also affect our mental health. While online content can help us feel more informed, reassured and in control, doomscrolling can cause us to become more anxious, sad, or overwhelmed.

Understanding why we doomscroll and the effect it can have on our wellbeing allows us to create positive changes in managing our mental health.

Why do we doomscroll?

Doomscrolling often begins with good intentions: wanting to learn more about a topic so that we can understand it and feel prepared. This makes sense when we think about it in terms of human survival. Our brains are naturally wired to be on the lookout for threats so we can prepare ourselves for whatever comes our way.

We may also doomscroll because we want to feel in control, stay connected with what’s happening in the world, or because we don’t want to miss out on anything important.

However, with round-the-clock news updates available with a single tap on a phone screen, it’s easy to get drawn in to reading negative story after story. So what starts out as information gathering can quickly turn into an unconscious habit that can leave us feeling overwhelmed and anxious.

The impact of doomscrolling on mental health

Feeling overwhelmed by doomscrolling isn’t uncommon. An overload of negative information can cause us to worry more, feel irritable, have difficulty concentrating, feel guilty and find it hard to “switch off” mentally.

In fact, doomscrolling can fuel a negative cycle of feeling low or worried, triggering us to continue scrolling content in attempts to feel better, often causing us to end up feeling worse. But the impact of doomscrolling on mental health isn’t just emotional; it can be physical too. For example, doomscrolling can result in physical issues such as headaches, nausea, neck and shoulder pain or even difficulty sleeping.

This may be because doomscrolling triggers our ‘fight, flight, freeze’ response, causing raised blood pressure and increased stress hormones. Even keeping our bodies in an ongoing fixed posture when scrolling can contribute to this effect.

Spotting the signs of doomscrolling

Doomscrolling can be so automatic that you may not even realise you are doing it. Here are some of the most common signs that doomscrolling may be negatively affecting your mental health:

feeling anxious, tense, or low after checking the news
scrolling for much longer than you meant to
checking for news updates multiple times an hour
feeling emotionally drained or ‘numb’ after your scrolling sessions
struggling to ‘switch off’ from the outside world.

It’s important to know that these are natural responses to constant exposure to distressing news. If you resonate with any of these, know that you’re not alone. We share some tips below for managing doomscrolling that you may find helpful.

Practical tips to manage doomscrolling

If you’re looking for ways to spend less time doomscrolling, try these tips:

Turn off push notifications – Turning off instant alerts for social media or news apps can give you a break from anxiety-provoking information. This is easy to do; simply go to your phone settings and choose which apps you want to get alerts from and which ones you don’t.
Use a watch or an alarm clock – If you often doomscroll in bed, it may be because your phone doubles as your alarm clock. Switching to using a watch or a physical alarm clock may help. This way, you can leave your phone in a different room and break the habit of absorbing negative information that could affect your sleep.
Manage your social media feeds – Your social media feed is like having a personalised newspaper – you get to decide what content you see. You could make changes to what appears on your feed by blocking or hiding certain profiles, allowing you to limit the negative content you are exposed to.
Set a time limit – Setting a time limit on your scrolling can help, as long as you stick to it. For instance, you could try setting an alarm to restrict time spent on news apps. Or, try limiting your scrolling to the time it takes to make a cup of tea. Find something that gives you a gentle signal that it’s time to put the phone down.
Consider phone-free zones – If you find yourself regularly doomscrolling in certain places, creating a ‘no-phone zone’ may help you reduce your time spent online. For example, if you use the phone at mealtimes or in bed, you could consider making the bedroom or dining area a phone-free zone. You’re allowed to have quality time that isn’t interrupted by notifications every few minutes.
Balance the negative with a positive – For every doomscrolling session you have, you could choose to balance it out by doing something positive for your emotional health. Mindfulness, reading, spending time with others, and exercising are all great self-care activities that can benefit your wellbeing.