Doomscrolling is Killing our Brains: And How to Break the Addiction (from an Ivy League psych major)

A recent study from Harvard just came out explaining why doom scrolling is slowly killing our brains. So I'm gonna provide some neuroscience about that and tips on how to break the habit. The behaviour of doom scrolling is rooted in our brains' limbic system, which is dominated by the amygdala. The amygdala deals with memory, emotion, and also receives dopamine hits, which is why you feel addicted to scrolling or like you always have to reach for your phone. This is super harmful though, and produces what a Harvard doctor calls popcorn brain, which makes the world slow and boring and depressing because we're used to the over stimulation and popping of social media, thus feeding the addiction. But I don't gate keep, so here are some tips to help you if you're serious about ending your phone addiction. My first tip is to keep your phone off your nightstand so that you can't compulsively grab it and it creates a buffer between you and your stress response. And same thing goes for your workspace or school. Just keep it out of sight. My next tip is to not bring your phone to meals. This way you can focus on your food, do some self-reflection, and calm your nervous system. My next tip is to opt out of notifications. That way you're establish some boundaries with you and your phone. Are you using your phone or is your phone using you? My next tip is to switch your phone to greyscale because there is a correlation between lower levels of saturation and lower screen time. And my final tip is to focus on the good and develop hobbies outside of your phone. This could look like going for nature walks, volunteering, trying a new workout class. Things that are positive emotional experiences will help you cut back on your addiction.