Ditch the Doomscrolling!
Exams are coming up, schedules are filled to the brim and sleep is scarce, but winter break is approaching just as fast as our finals. Students are finally getting the rest they deserve without having to worry about when their next exam is taking place or when their next assignment is due. However, this change is abrupt. We’re transitioning from having so much to do with so little time to having nothing to do at all. We have so much free time during winter break that it becomes difficult to manage.
During breaks, our screen time tends to go up significantly. We end up bedrotting and doing nothing of all the things that we said we would do. Boredom rules our lives, and some students even begin to miss school life. We end up feeling as if our vacation was wasted and comfort ourselves by saying that we were able to “rest”. Nevertheless, have you noticed that despite being in bed all day, scrolling on TikTok, you still feel tired?
Fake rest?
Usually, doomscrolling happens at night, right before going to sleep. We have a chance to lie down and not think about the things that worry us, whether it’s exams or just the thought of beginning a new semester.
However, our “me-time”, which we use to scroll mindlessly on social media, does not help us relax. Watching so many viral videos triggers our stress response. The news and content pushed by the algorithm are most often negative, as they tend to attract more viewers. There is something addictive about watching triggering content. Our brains have a bias towards any form of negative news, which explains why some questionable influencers have gained popularity. Consuming that type of content worsens mental health and may even lead to issues such as insomnia. Our brain is being bombarded with so much information that it becomes difficult for it to move into a state conducive to sleep.
Self-sabotage
Scrolling triggers our brain’s reward circuit. Let’s take TikTok as an example. When scrolling, you find relatable videos on your FYP. This makes you feel like you belong to a group and triggers dopamine, the pleasure hormone. Users scroll and scroll for hours because of that dopamine hit. Although it may feel good at the moment, having so much dopamine released creates an imbalance in the brain.
Balance
Although social media has many downsides, it’s our generation’s way of communicating and connecting with the whole world, as well as to have our ideas heard. By writing this article, I’m not saying that we should all give up social media cold turkey; however, it is nonetheless imperative to find a balance between our scrolling “me-time” and other, more fulfilling activities.
Salamon, Maureen. “Doomscrolling dangers.” Harvard Health Publishing, 1 Sept. 2024, www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/doomscrolling-dangers. Klein, Jessica. “The Darkly Soothing Compulsion of ‘Doomscrolling.’” BBC Worklife, 26 Feb. 2021, https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210226-the-darkly-soothing-compulsion-of-doomscrolling.
