Doom scrolling – dopamine, the hit and miss, and why it’s particularly bad for your mental health
Today, while reflecting on “doom-scrolling,” I had a minor insight. The term “doom-scrolling” refers to the endless scrolling behavior on social media, driven by the pursuit of small dopamine hits with each post. People continuously scroll, hoping for the next rewarding post, creating a cycle that’s hard to break free from. I believe two factors contribute to the detrimental impact of doom-scrolling on mental health.
The first factor is the constant craving for dopamine hits. Whether it’s seeking likes on our own posts or hoping to find funnier, more interesting, or relevant content, we become fixated on these rewards. This continuous search for validation or entertainment keeps us trapped in a quagmire, affecting our mental well-being. I’d imagine it’s not dissimilar to gambling.
The second factor is what I call the “hit and miss” experience. While doom-scrolling, we encounter posts that either disturb or irritate us. However, we tend to scroll quickly past them, not allowing ourselves to process the emotions. Unlike reading a newspaper where we take time to digest an article, this rapid scrolling leaves us feeling annoyed without pinpointing the exact cause of our discomfort. The constant stream of likes and dislikes contributes to mental stress, as we are unable to identify the specific triggers for our feelings.
Unlike a shocking or irritating news article in a newspaper that we consciously digest, doom-scrolling bombards us with continuous stimuli, leaving us overwhelmed and unclear about what affects our mental state negatively. This constant state of uncertainty takes a toll on our mental health and increases stress levels.
Of course, social media companies particularly pride themselves with infinite scroll, so there’s that.
