Want to Experience More Pleasant Emotions? Control Your Scrolling
Co-authored with Robin Stern, PhD
Recently, at a presentation on well-being we asked a group of educators to tell us about their evening routines, including bedtime. The majority of responses included mindless scrolling time at meals when they were eating alone and significant scrolling before bedtime.
Nothing dominates our culture today quite like the visual. Social media platforms serve up condensed content from the President’s State of the Union to Grammy performances to Workout routines to the devastation in Turkey into 15-second reels that compete not just for our attention, but for our emotional response: What keeps you looking? What keeps you engaged and reacting? The pace of the world is only quickening, and our emotions are forced to keep up.
Bearing witness to heartbreak on our phones — whether through faces of Ukrainian refugees or Turkish and Syrian earthquake victims — is not only a birds-eye view of devastation and suffering but a stark and immediate reminder that people everywhere have emotions. And just like interactions between at homes, schools and workplaces, emotions are contagious through our digital devices.
As we scroll, we often feel compelled to stop and look at facial expressions. And even if we’re not, the cascade of devastated expressions is processing somewhere in us. Most of us feel deep empathy and have an immediate desire to help. Yet, research cautions us of the negative mental health effects that viewing graphic news footage can have on our well-being. Images that evoke anxiety and fear can inhibit our ability to concentrate. Extreme emotions from a constant perception of danger can result in the persistent release of stress hormones like cortisol that affect executive functioning and memory.
At the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence we teach educators and school communities around the world to recognize how emotions influence every facet of our life. From attention, memory, and learning to decision-making, relationships, and physical and mental health. Recognizing how our own emotions impact our behavior and how our behavior impacts others’ emotions is key to having greater personal control in our lives and greater well-being.
Creating and upholding boundaries that limit exposure to social media and current events is critical to our well-being and mental health. Just like being aware of how our feelings about others affects how we treat them, we can use similar emotional data to guide interactions with our screens: how often we pick up our phones, how long we use them, and what for.
For example, if scrolling for more than ten minutes makes you feel frustrated or pessimistic about the state of the world then interrupt that cycle. You can set time limits and stick by them or delete the platforms that simply do not serve you in any way. Prone to doomscrolling before you drift off to sleep with lingering despair? Place your phone on a dresser or surface out of arm’s reach before you get into bed!
Years ago, we asked a group of high school students to do a self-study in emotions and technology, keeping track of their feelings and how they were associated with particular activities on their devices. One student noticed that when she was scrolling mindlessly, she experienced FOMO, envy, and anxiety and reported being depressed about the world she was growing up in. This learning experience led to a change in behavior for her and other young and resulted in increased happiness.
In place of unprofitable screen time, there are copious benefits to being in community with and in service to others. Feelings of connectedness and overall well-being are bolstered when you have purposeful, positive outlets to channel energy into.
Here are five tips to help you control your scrolling and engage with your phone in a more healthful way. Which one(s) will you adopt this week?
· Build greater self-awareness about your digital habits — keep track of your emotions after using different apps and social media platforms. Make note of what you are doing. Mindless scrolling? Staring at images that activate envy? Sharing videos?
· Identify your triggers — note when you find yourself picking up your phone to fill the time. Are you tired? Bored? Stressed? Recognizing your triggers is the first step to making different choices like chatting with a friend.
· Set reminders on your phone or another device to let you know it’s time take a break and stretch or grab a glass of water.
· Set up new routines. Start by choosing a time in the morning and in the evening to check your phone or read the news. For example, in the morning give yourself a chance to open your eyes and greet the day with a few minutes of stretching or a mindful moment. At night, stop technology an hour or at least a half hour before bedtime. Read a good book, practice yoga, take a bath, or listen to soft music instead.
· Set boundaries. Keep your phone off the breakfast and dinner table and out of the bedroom. Be patient with initial feelings of anxiety or FOMO you may have. If you live with others, think together about boundaries and keep each other accountable.
