By David Tamagi, MC, Registered Psychologist at Solasta Counselling
Most of us know that spending too much time on social media does not always leave us feeling better. One pattern that has received increasing attention is “doomscrolling”: repeatedly consuming upsetting news or online content, even when it is making us feel anxious, angry or discouraged.
It might begin with one disturbing video. You watch it, read the comments and visit the account that posted it. Before long, you are searching for more information, reading related articles or moving through a feed filled with similar content.
An hour later, you may barely remember how you got there. What you do notice is the pit in your stomach or a lingering sense of sadness, fear or anger about the state of the world.
Keeping up with important events is not inherently unhealthy. The problem begins when staying informed turns into an automatic cycle that leaves us distressed without helping us understand what to do next.
Why Is Doomscrolling So Hard to Stop?
Social media platforms are designed to keep our attention. The longer we remain on an app, the more opportunities the platform has to show us content and advertising.
Algorithms learn from what we pause on, watch, share and comment on. Importantly, this does not have to be content we enjoy. Something that makes us frightened or angry can hold our attention just as effectively as something entertaining.
This helps explain why feeds can become increasingly negative. Watching one upsetting video signals interest, even when the real reason we stopped was shock or concern. The platform then offers us more of the same.
In other words, your feed does not necessarily reflect what is most important, balanced or useful. It reflects what has been most successful at keeping you engaged.
Anxiety and the Search for Certainty
Doomscrolling is often connected to anxiety.
When something feels threatening or uncertain, people naturally look for more information. We want to understand what is happening, determine how concerned we should be and decide whether there is anything we can do.
Sometimes that process is genuinely helpful. Reliable information can help us make decisions and prepare appropriately.
The difficulty is that many modern concerns do not have a clear endpoint. Climate change, international conflict, economic uncertainty and public-health concerns cannot be fully understood or resolved in one sitting. There will always be another article, update or opinion.
As a result, information gathering can stop providing reassurance and begin feeding the anxiety that prompted it. The more unsettled we feel, the more we search. The more we search, the more threatening information we encounter.
People may also feel a responsibility to remain informed. Looking away can feel careless or even morally uncomfortable when other people are suffering. But remaining continuously immersed in upsetting content does not necessarily make us better informed or more capable of responding constructively.
How to Reduce Doomscrolling
The goal does not have to be abandoning social media or ignoring difficult events. A more realistic goal is to use technology deliberately instead of allowing it to dictate where our attention goes.
Set a time limit
Most phones allow you to place daily limits on individual apps. Choose a limit before you begin scrolling, rather than deciding when to stop after you are already absorbed.
When the limit appears, treat it as a cue to change activities. Stand up, step outside, have a glass of water or move to something you had already planned to do.
Check your actual use
Screen-time reports can be uncomfortable, but they are useful. Our estimate of how much time we spend scrolling is often inaccurate.
Review your usage regularly and look for patterns. You may notice that you scroll most when you are tired, avoiding a task, feeling lonely or trying to settle anxiety.
Decide what social media is for
Before opening an app, ask yourself what you intend to do. Are you checking messages, looking for a particular update or taking a short break?
Having a purpose makes it easier to recognize when you have drifted away from it.
Pay attention to how you feel
Notice your emotional state before, during and after scrolling.
Are you becoming more tense, irritable, hopeless or overwhelmed? Do you feel informed, or simply flooded with information? Are you learning something useful, or repeatedly encountering different versions of the same upsetting message?
Your emotional response can tell you when your media use has stopped serving you.
Train your feed
Algorithms respond to behaviour. Scroll past material you do not want amplified. Unfollow or mute accounts that consistently leave you distressed. Seek out credible sources and content that reflects a broader range of your interests.
This does not mean creating a feed in which nothing difficult appears. It means refusing to let the most alarming material dominate simply because it is effective at attracting attention.
Choose when you consume news
Consider checking the news at planned times rather than throughout the day. Avoiding distressing content immediately before bed can be particularly helpful if scrolling is interfering with sleep.
It can also help to obtain news directly from a small number of reputable sources rather than through an algorithmically selected feed.
Do something concrete
If an issue genuinely matters to you, consider moving from passive consumption to a defined action. That might involve donating, volunteering, contacting a representative, discussing the issue constructively or learning from a reliable long-form source.
Action will not solve every source of uncertainty, but it can provide a healthier sense of agency than repeatedly refreshing a feed.
When Doomscrolling Is Part of a Larger Pattern
Doomscrolling is not a diagnosis. However, it can sometimes be connected to broader concerns involving anxiety, depression, chronic stress, loneliness or difficulty tolerating uncertainty.
If you repeatedly try to cut back but cannot, or if social media use is affecting your sleep, relationships, concentration or mood, it may be worth looking at what the habit is doing for you. The scrolling itself may be less important than the anxiety, avoidance or emotional overload underneath it.
Solasta Counselling offers individual counselling in Calgary and online across Alberta, including support for anxiety and stress and burnout. Our team includes psychologists and therapists with different backgrounds and approaches, allowing clients to find support that fits what they are experiencing.
You can meet our Calgary counselling team or begin with a free consultation if you are unsure where to start.