The Infinite Scroll: What Doomscrolling Is Doing to Our Minds

You open your phone for "just five minutes."

Then suddenly, it’s an hour later, the sun has gone down, and you have switched between TikTok, Instagram, Threads, and X countless times. The "infinite scroll" is not just a design feature. It is also a psychological trap.

But what is it actually doing to our brains, and how do we reclaim our time?

The Dopamine Loop

Doomscrolling has quietly become part of many people’s daily routine. The endless stream of videos, updates, trends, and notifications keeps us constantly engaged. Every scroll gives our brain small bursts of dopamine–the chemical linked to pleasure and reward. The uncertainty of what appears next makes scrolling even harder to stop.

Before we realize it, scrolling becomes automatic. It becomes the first thing we reach for in the morning and the last thing we look at before going to sleep.

Why It Affects Our Mental Health

At first, doomscrolling can feel comforting or distracting. It helps us temporarily avoid stress, boredom, or uncomfortable thoughts. But over time, constantly consuming content can leave us mentally drained.

Many people begin to experience:

Difficulty focusing	Our brain become used to quick bursts of information, which can gradually reduce attention span and make sustained focus more difficult.
Disrupted sleep	The bright light from screen and constant stimulation keep the brain alert when it should be winding down for rest.
Increased anxiety and comparison	Constant exposure to curated lifestyles and achievements can lead us to compare ourselves unfairly to others’ “perfect” moments online.
Guilt over "wasting time"	Many people feel frustrated or disappointed in themselves after spending hours scrolling when they intended to do something else.
Heightened Cortisol	Repeated exposure to stressful or emotionally charged content can keep the nervous system in a prolonged state of alertness, making emotional regulation and genuine rest more difficult.

Our minds rarely gets a moment of quiet. Instead of fully processing our emotions, we continuously distract ourselves from them. Even during moments of rest, our attention is still being pulled in different directions.

Being present 

One of the biggest things doomscrolling takes away from us is presence. We become so used to consuming content that we stop noticing what is happening around us, and sometimes even within us.

We eat while scrolling.

We walk while scrolling.

We rest while scrolling.

But are we actually resting?

Being present does not mean completely disconnecting from social media or never using our devices again. It simply means creating small moments where our mind is allowed to slow down. Moments where we can check in with ourselves honestly.

Mental Health Awareness Week: Taking Action

In accordance with Mental Health Awareness Week's theme of Action, it is important to move from simply recognizing the problem to taking small but meaningful steps toward change.

When we think about action, we often imagine dramatic lifestyle changes. However, supporting our mental health can begin with small and realistic habits.

Here are a few actions you can try:

• Put your phone away 10 minutes before sleeping

• Avoid reaching for your phone immediately after waking up

• Take breaks from scrolling during study or work sessions

• Have conversations without checking notifications

• Practice "Monotasking" by setting aside a time to do one activity, such as reading, cooking, or walking without music, podcasts or other distractions. 

Small actions may not seem important at first, but over time they help create healthier habits and a healthier mind.