Over the last year, the coping mechanism I adopted for the stress I was facing was spending hours on my phone. There was a day when I scrolled for nearly 11 hours—11 hours! That’s almost half a day.
The irony is that I actually watched videos about doom scrolling, yet I still kept scrolling. Even though I’ve tried restricting myself, consistency has always been an issue. For two days I set a timer on the app, and on the third day I removed it.
I dislike traditional shopping sprees. However, that hasn’t stopped me from spending hours scrolling through shopping apps to find just the right thing to buy. In most cases, the items I purchase aren’t things I need. They’re things I buy for instant gratification. I usually make these purchases when my mood is low.
I’m hoping that by starting good habits, I will slowly and gradually let go of these unhealthy coping mechanisms. This year was a nightmare, but now that I’m at the end of it, I finally feel like I’m waking up. For the first time in months, I feel hope. I want to live—not just survive, but truly be happy.
Word Hues 
I feel it’s harder this time of year when the weather is colder and social media is all about the latest holiday deals. 🥴
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I resonate with you 😅😅
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What do you think of the new law in Australia? Will it meen that in the future, Australians won’t be so prone to dooom-scrolling?
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As far as the law is concerned, I think it is a good start to reducing the harm of social media at an early age. Though I am not sure of how effective it can be. I think its personal discretion that will be the most effective.
As far as doom scrolling goes I think the age at when you start using social media does not matter. I probably have used the my phone more in the last year than I have used in the 5 years before that. In my case scrolling gave me a way to shut down my mind.
Now I try to acknowledge how I feel and spend time with people rather than on my phone. It may not work for all but when I am with family and friends I often don’t remember my phone.
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