Why Do We Doomscroll?
Social media use can eat into our time and energy. It’s continual use is known as DoomScrolling where
we may be paying particular attention to negative information. It’s generally not good for us (which we
probably know) so why do we continue with it?

The main reasons are –

– Instant gratification – Social media is designed to grab and hold our attention. They do this by
pushing content onto us that creates emotion, whether this be fear, outrage or surprise. This keeps
us hooked in and provides small dopamine hits which feels good. This though, can become
addictive as we all like to feel good and can chase anything that provides this.
– Fear of Missing Out – We don’t want miss out on critical updates or events so we keep checking in
over and over again to ensure this doesn’t happen. What tends to happen is that our attention is
captured and we end up looking at some unnecessary or unhelpful rubbish.
– Negative bias – As human’s we have a natural tendency to focus on negative information more than
positive. That’s why the news tells us about all the bad things that have happened and soap operas
dramatize with negative storylines.
– The need for information to feel in control – When we feel uncertain, we can seek information to
gain and understanding of what’s happening. This can apply to the next strain of flu or covid, war
or economic policies. We tend to overload ourselves as we avidly seek to understand and feel in
control which ultimately can make us feel stressed and worried.
– Instant gratification – Information and drama is at our fingertips and we can develop an
unconscious habit of picking up our phone to gain some sort of gratification.
– The need to feel informed – Keeping up to date with news, friends or certain groups can carry social
approval which fuels the need to keep scrolling.
– Stress and drama can be addictive – When we feel stress, the body releases the stress hormones of
cortisol and adrenaline and for some, these can feel good much in the in the same way that roller-
coaster rides and fights can be exciting.

There are many reasons to keep us addicted to our phones and our behaviours may fool us into thinking
we’re staying informed and in control, however, it often leads to heightened anxiety and stress. As the
co-ordinators of our own lives, it’s healthy to be self-aware enough of our unhealthy habits and
addictions and where appropriate, to make different choices.