Doom-scrolling is the worst. The mind-numbing spiral starts with “just five minutes” and ends an hour or three later with you feeling somehow worse about your life than before. I had to delete Instagram from my iPhone just to stop myself from wasting hours every night.
If you have also felt that feeling of despair after a scrolling session, it turns out that feeling is backed by science. The World Happiness Report, published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, has found a clear link between excessive social media use and declining wellbeing. And it’s hitting younger people, especially girls, in the Western world, the hardest.
According to the BBC, researcher Michael Plant says a little social media is fine. “If you use social media for an hour a day, that’s great, you’re being connected,” he says. But the more time you spend on it, the worse it gets for your well-being.
Is social media the new cigarette for young people?
The report found that well-being among under-25s in countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, and the UK has dropped significantly over the past decade, mirroring the rise of social media.
Plant admits he was skeptical at first, but says the evidence is now hard to ignore. Young people today are not smoking or drinking alcohol (alcohol sales are at a historic low point, in fact) like previous generations, but they do have social media, and the platforms are built to keep them hooked.
Several studies have proven that social media addiction and doom-scrolling lead to worse mental health issues and increase stress and negativity among youth.
So what can you actually do about it?
Sydney Grows, a fitness content creator on TikTok since 2021, knows both sides of it. She loves what she does, but admits that even with four years of practice, one negative comment still stings more than a hundred positive ones.
The hard truth is that social media is not going anywhere. Plant says the government is not going to step in for adults, and the platforms certainly won’t stop you. The responsibility falls on you. If scrolling through reels is making you feel worse about your own life, it might be time to step away and actually talk to someone instead.
I also recommend using the built-in tools in Android and iOS to set a time limit on social media apps. It’s also better if your friend has the password to bypass the time limit; otherwise, you will ignore it. You can also try switching to one of the new wave of minimalist phones that don’t offer any such app.
The first thing is to become cognizant of the fact that you are addicted and then take the necessary steps to curb your addiction.