If you’re familiar with the feeling when, “I’ll just check the news,” and then suddenly you realize you’ve been reading about disasters, scandals, and crimes for an hour, then you’ve encountered doomscrolling. This trendy word (doomscrolling) describes the habit of endlessly scrolling through news that leaves you only more worried. And yes, researchers warn that it’s real and it affects the psyche.
But don’t rush to blame yourself. Doomscrolling isn’t your weakness—it’s a deliberate tactic for keeping your attention as long as possible by feeding you progressively more “hot” headlines. And while you’re scrolling, real life passes somewhere on the sidelines. Fortunately, there are ways to regain control. On iPhone, you can enable Screen Time and see how much time goes into doomscrolling, and you can also set limits. Apps like ScreenZen and Opal can help create barriers to starting the feed and prevent you from drowning in headlines.
And if your hand still reaches for the screen, try to trick the system: open a book in Kindle or iBooks, play chess, or simply go for a walk without your phone in hand. This will help not only to get distracted, but also to feel that you’re back in charge of your attention rather than being a hostage to news feeds.
