Doomscrolling can exacerbate stress and anxiety as a result of consuming too much negative news. But phones can also be a tool for calm. Annie Button explains more.
We’ve all experienced the temptation to quickly check-in on Facebook or Instagram, only to find ourselves still scrolling hours later. Mindless scrolling, and particularly doomscrolling, is a symptom of using social media, but smartphones have been designed to do just that. The good news is that there are ways to reduce the stress and anxiety that can come from spending too much time devouring negative news, and use your phone as a way to calm the mind instead, from listening to music to a tool for creative expression.
Why we scroll
Social media platforms are designed to keep us scrolling, providing small and easy-to-consume content that leads us to spend hours on our phones even when we want to, or should be, doing something else. They release dopamine by activating the brain’s reward centre, keeping us hooked and seeking out the next feel-good moment.
However, as anyone who’s spent time on Instagram or TikTok will know, these rewards are inconsistent. One minute you can be watching a funny pet video and the next you’ll be faced with a shocking news headline or a violent photo. The uncertainty triggers a dopamine release that keeps us scrolling in search of the next great video or picture.
Things also change rapidly on social media, which means that we’re constantly worried we’re missing out on the latest trend or meme. To combat this, we feel inclined to pick up the phone all the time and scroll endlessly to make sure we’re not missing out on anything important.
The mental health impact of doomscrolling
Doomscrolling is the act of mindlessly scrolling and consuming negative content, without even paying attention to what we’re watching or how long we’ve been scrolling for. It can mean losing hours a day for some of us and often means we’re engaging with news that has a negative impact on our mental state.
This and scrolling in general, can generate feelings of depression, worry and distress. With the state of the world right now, from economic crises and wars to climate change, it’s no surprise that many people find social media has a detrimental effect on their mood.
Turning your phone into a tool for calm
Get creative
Your phone has so much potential for creative expression, it’s just that many of us overlook these opportunities. The camera feature, for example, can be more effectively used for mindfulness purposes, such as photo journalling, capturing shots of nature, landscapes or portraits of family and friends. You might also use Notepad for journalling, poetry or writing reviews of books or films you’ve watched recently.
Voice journalling is a further option – recording voice messages that detail how you feel about certain events in your life, or day-to-day reflections. On iPhone, you’ll have a Voice Memos app already installed, or on Android, you can use the default Audio Recorder to record and transcribe. It’s a convenient way to process emotions, preserve memories and summarise your feelings from anywhere.
Download apps for mental wellbeing
Stressors come in various forms, and we all have our own unique ways of handling them. But whatever your approach, chances are there’s an app that can help you. For example, if you like to meditate to calm a chaotic mind, apps like Calm or Headspace are perfect – they provide guided meditations to cater to a range of needs, from winding down for sleep to tackling anxiety.
Breathwork, via apps like Breathe2Relax, is the practice of changing the pace and depth at which you breathe in and out to help you relax. If you struggle to sleep or wind down at the end of the day, switch scrolling for listening to binaural beats (listening to two tones which play at different frequencies), which are believed to help lower stress and anxiety and calm the mind.
Remove triggers from your phone
So often, we scroll out of habit, so try removing the apps that are triggers for you. The goal here is to make scrolling more difficult and the apps that draw you in harder to access. Maybe that means uninstalling the likes of Instagram and TikTok and only using them one day a week, or setting time limits for individual apps that stops you accessing them after a set period of time. It can also help to curate your home screen so it’s minimal and only has the apps you want and need to access every day, leaving social channels out of sight.
Making a mindset shift
The journey from doomscroller to intentional phone user isn’t about perfection, but progress. Changing your habits will take time, but small adjustments and self-awareness rather than a complete overhaul of how you use your phone will help you stay on track with your goals.
Start with manageable changes that feel achievable rather than overwhelming, such as setting one small boundary - maybe you’ll avoid social media until after lunch or put your phone in another room while you’re enjoying your morning coffee. These micro-changes create a foundation of success that builds confidence for larger shifts.
It’s also important to tune into your emotional response to scrolling. Pay attention to how different activities actually make you feel, both during and after, and notice the difference between the hollow satisfaction of consuming content passively and the genuine engagement you feel when you’re connecting meaningfully. Your emotions are valuable data about whether your phone use is serving your wellbeing and what changes you may need to make.
Remember that every moment you choose presence over scrolling is a small victory for your mental health and reinforces your capacity for mindful living. The goal isn't to become someone who never uses their phone, but to become someone who uses it purposefully.
