Have you ever been in bed and know that you should be sleeping but instead you are scrolling through your phone, let it be Tiktok or Instagram or something else? Have you ever put off work and scroll instead? If you haven’t, then good for you. But if you have, then this article is for you.
It is perhaps already a well known fact that spending all this time on different apps will shorten our attention span and make ourselves become more easily distracted. Studies have shown a negative correlation between screen time and academic performance, suggesting that the more time a student spends on their phone, the worse their academic performance. It is also suggested that spending too much time on social media could lower the brain’s ability to convert short term memory to long term memory. But most of you probably already knew or at least have an idea of all that, still, why do we keep on scrolling despite knowing all the negative effects it will have on ourselves and our lives?
As the saying goes, the first step to solving a problem is to acknowledge that you have one, we have to acknowledge that not being able to stop scrolling, or doomscrolling, is a problem, and perhaps even an addiction. How do we know that it has become a problem? Ask yourself, are you truly in control of your habit when it comes to your phone? Do you often spend more time than you intended to on it? If yes, you have your answer.
How do our devices have so much power over us? Apps are designed to hook us, according to Catherine Price, the author of How to Break Up With Your Phone, apps mimic the techniques used by slot machines, which are widely considered to be some of the most addictive machines ever to be invented because they are designed to trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter which delivers the message that a behaviour is worth repeating to our brains. Therefore, we are motivated to repeat the behaviour of doomscrolling, regardless of the consequences.
However, the question that matters the most is not why, but how do we stop? For that, there are a few tips given by Catherine Price. First, you could set your screen settings to black and white, which may seem pointless to some people, but removing bright colours is to remove a dopamine trigger, this is something easy and worth trying. Second, reduce your notifications as they are interruptions, decide what is and what isn’t worth interrupting your lives for. Third, put some distance between your phone, it is common for people to go on their phones before bed and when they get up, so the easy solution is to get an alarm which is not your phone and put your phone in another room, then replace it with something else such as a book so when you reach for your phone, you end up reaching for a book instead.
So what are you waiting for? Stop scrolling and reclaim control from your phone!
