If you’re spending hours ‘doomscrolling’ on your smartphone every night looking at social media, news and other sites, it can “create a lot of anxiety and stress” in your life, according to an Ottawa registered psychotherapist.
Benslyne Avril says it’s important to be aware of how much time you’re spending on your phone, look to find healthier alternatives to social media use and set guidelines for how you interact with content.
A recent report showed Canadians spent an estimated 5.65 hours a day on their mobile phones in 2023.
During an interview on CTV Morning Live, Avril says there are two aspects of ‘doomscrolling’ on your smartphone to consider.
“There is the aspect of going on a rabbit hole of finding news. There’s safety in knowledge, so wanting to know more about what’s happening around the world,” Avril said.
“The second aspect is around getting the dopamine fix, so going on the phone just in terms of you’ve had a long day and wanting to feel like ‘I just want to relax’ and then the automatic thing to pick up is your phone at that point and spending time on it. I see there is the aspect of doomscrolling, as the name says it, where you get the feeling of doom or dread after spending so much time on your phone. Also, there’s the aspect of, ‘OK, well I just want to interact with content on social media. See what other people are doing as well.'”
Avril says people use social media and apps to stay in touch with what’s happening around the world, while others view it as something to do while relaxing.
“A lot of people see their phone as an escape from their day-to-day lives; let’s say they have had a bad day or they’re bored – usually the quickest thing to pick up is their phone,” Avril said.
“For a lot of people, getting the sense that this is my time to mindless scroll and see what’s going on. Sometimes, you may have one goal of I want to see this one video, and the next thing you know you’ve watched 15 and an hour-and-a-half has passed.”
The registered psychotherapist admits spending too much time on social media apps can “create a lot of anxiety and stress.”
“I’ve had some clients previously say when I go and see what’s happening around the world, for I feel bad in the sense of not feeling in control, not knowing what to do when those types of things are happening but at the same time feeling, ‘OK, I just want to know more. I just want to know that I am safe,'” Avril says.
“But it does the opposite, especially if you’re consuming it in excess, it does the opposite in terms of creating more anxiety and stress at that point.”
When it comes to breaking the habit of doomscrolling, Avril says it starts with awareness of how much time you’re spending on your phone and how it impacts you.
“So, for a lot of people that may have an impact on how they feel, so that leads to stress and more anxiety,” Avril says. “Also, think about what is it that prompts you to want to be on your phone and how much time are you spending on there. Is it because you’ve had a bad day, is it because you’re bored, is it because other people around you are doing it such as friends and family.”
Avril shares the following tips to stop doomscrolling.
Set healthier alternatives
“What would it look like to step away from your phone, maybe going out for a walk, spending time with your family or your loved ones,” Avril says.
“Physical activity can also be really helpful. Just doing something that is a healthier coping mechanism instead of just sitting around on the couch and feeling like 90 minutes has passed and you don’t know what to do.”
Monitoring the type of content you interact with
Avril says she reviews her followers to see how many are generating the same type of content.
“Do I need to actually follow 10 different influencers that talk about makeup? Maybe picking the ones I relate to the most and what happens afterwards, especially if you’re spending a lot of time on your phone, you realize you already saw this content and it prompts you to know that you actually don’t need to be on (Instagram).”
Turn off notifications
Avril says signing out of an app and turning off notifications can be helpful.