For anyone unfamiliar with the term ‘doom scroll,’ or ‘doom scrolling,’ it refers to when someone is mindlessly scrolling through apps or a specific app on their phone, oftentimes social media. In fact, I’m not entirely sure if there are other apps in which one can doom scroll, aside from social media platforms; I think an exception might be a shopping app of some sort.
Doom scrolling is highly counterproductive, and, furthermore, it’s a terrible practice for brain health. It’s easy enough to fall into its trap, which is why, I think, newer iPhones now have a feature that allows someone to set time limits for specific apps. I tried it once using Instagram; you decide the allotted amount of minutes you can spend on a certain app, and once you have exceeded that time within a 24-hour window, a prompt appears to either ignore the limit or exit the app.
Abstaining from engaging with doom scrolling is the best option, but if you’re struggling to break the habit, there are other apps you can use that at least offer some educational aspects. Personally, I like word apps, and I have two on my phone that involve searching for and identifying words from a specific set of letters. If words aren’t your thing, don’t stress; nowadays, there are quite literally apps for just about anything, and there are all kinds that actually offer benefits to users as opposed to the brain rot social media channels offer.
Additionally, if games and apps aren’t really your thing, you can always read on your phone. I couldn’t tell you the last time I read the news from anything aside from my phone, and while there are apps for journalism, a simple Google search will also do the trick.
If you’re addicted to your phone, perhaps try breaking the cycle by starting with some educational practices.
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
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