I quit doom scrolling for a week and I wasn’t expecting what happened – Wales Online
In an attempt to distance myself from my phone which had started to become more ingrained in day-to-day life, I was hit with some hard truths I hadn’t expected to face. I’ve been seeing more and more jokes and warnings about the term “doom scrolling”, so much so that I could no longer ignore a problem that I knew had been developing for longer than I am comfortable with saying. Every new year’s resolution of mine involves something to do with limiting my screen time, or using my smartphone less, but like with everything, it’s very easy to talk about doing something or acknowledging the issue without actually doing anything.
My phone goes with me everywhere. It’s in my pocket, on my desk, on the kitchen counter, you name it, in case I need it to search something, or in case I need to message someone. At least that’s what we all tell ourselves. If we’re being brutally honest, the reason a lot of us keep our phones handy is because we are afraid to be without them. In a public place like a coffee shop or out buying food, nine times out of ten, if you are in a queue of people, at least one person is on their phone. Or out in a restaurant, if someone is left at the table alone – they reach for their phone without question.
So recently, I made the decision to actively cut back on my reliance with this piece of metal for good. The first step? Dealing with my doom scrolling addiction. An older family friend asked me not long ago, who I really admire for his dedication to keeping with what is going on in the world without being glued to a smart phone; “Would you say you are addicted to your phone?” I paused and because he can read people just as well as books, replied: “Yes, definitely. Just because of the sheer amount of time I spend with it.”
On a mission to break up with my unwanted obsession, I decided to avoid watching reels, the short form video feature that has exploded on social platforms because my phone’s screen time (a grim four hours a day on average) showed me that TikTok and Instagram were my two most-used apps alongside WhatsApp. And what am I doing on there, exactly? Watching short clips of short, snappy videos of everything from silky video montages of travel destinations, viewpoints on topical issues like the US presidential election, to cute puppies swimming in the sea.
There has been loads of research coming out about the effects of so-called “doom scrolling” like the report entitled; ‘Doomscrolling Scale: its Association with Personality Traits, Psychological Distress, Social Media Use, and Wellbeing’ which conceptualised the act of doom scrolling as a “habitual, immersive scanning for timely negative information on social media newsfeeds” by Sharma et al (2022). After a couple of days, I did actually find myself reaching for my phone less in moments of downtime, like I had previously.
By the third day, my need to switch off by watching reels had diminished. And surprise, surprise – life is much better when you’re not scrolling through snapshots of other people’s lives and focusing on your own. One of the biggest changes I noticed was being more keen to meet up with my friends in person. At day four or five, I started to feel more organised and refreshed, finishing a book I’d forgotten I had been reading, and using screens intentionally in the evening made me feel less guilty.
By the end of the week, I genuinely felt refreshed, happy, and more organised. Reflecting on my experience, I have three issues with reels specifically. First, how easy it is for time to slip away as you search for dopamine hits. Second, the repetitiveness of content that comes from algorithms creating echo chambers. And thirdly, the impact on mental health from being exposed to short-form content.
Going forward, I’m more determined than ever to remove myself from social media and spend time on activities that truly benefit me. I have set restrictions on my phone usage, and I believe we all need to be stricter with our relationship with technology. Phones should not run our lives, and we must see them as tools, not necessities.