Doom Scrolling on a College Campus: Does It Hinder Our Experience?

“Doom scrolling” is the new phenomenon that has been coined by Generation Z. In its essence, doom scrolling is when someone spends an exorbitant amount of time consuming a large amount of negative content, mainly when it comes to news or other “informative” content. The saturation of negative content on our social media feeds is nothing new, but since Tik Tok has been introduced to many students' repertoire of platforms they access, it seems to be louder in discussion.

The content can consist of alarmist videos where people are saying we won't be able to afford houses and are never going to get into a financially stable position, which has been perfectly modeled by a TikTok by Freddie Smith. The other, more subtle videos can range from people talking about how they will never get into relationships to their terrible travel days where everything goes wrong.

A study by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications found that although there isn’t one key trigger to doom scrolling, it could be due to the events around us. It suggests that people use social media to obsess over the negative events happening in their lives and that the constant feed of content right at their fingertips aids in their quest to do so. It also mentioned that a lot of us are glued to our phones and feel like we are missing out on the conversation if we take a break from social media.

Sometimes students can laugh off some of the videos if they aren’t pertaining to them. However, with the use of targeted algorithms, it seems like the app itself is calling students and their negative thoughts out to the forefront.

WebMD has pointed out those who are more at risk of doom scrolling. The main groups at risk are men, younger individuals, those with obsessive-compulsive disorder and those who closely follow politics. Some of the signs that one is starting to spiral into doom scrolling is only researching negative content that doesn’t align with their views, getting video after video of negative content, involuntarily exposing oneself to the information out of habit, or worsened feeling than normal and try to treat it with scrolling on social media.

The repercussions and impacts of doom scrolling are endless. One of the main impacts is on users' mental health. First off, when going on social media, it is a great excuse to ignore the reality around us. So when a student ends up scrolling through one negative video after another, it can be overwhelming and directs their attention from real problems in their life to ones created by the algorithm that, in its opinion, they should care about.

So what can students do to minimize the harmful effects of doom scrolling? Very Well Mind has a couple suggestions. The most drastic solution would be to go on a media detox, which could not only tackle the doom scrolling but help bring them back to reality and ground themselves. Another tactic may be a little less drastic with just setting a time limit on your phone when scrolling through TikTok or other apps that are leading to doom scrolling. This can be easily done with an iPhone with the screen time setting.

Another option, which mainly pertains to TikTok, could be taking any video that is negative and causing anxiety and selecting the option that says the user doesn't want to see that type of content anymore. Use the algorithm to your advantage. At the end of the day, the main reason for all of the videos is because of constant interaction with them and liking them. By making it known to the algorithm that the user doesn't want to see it anymore, it will redirect to more fun, entertaining and positive content.

It is important to remember that this is still a very new concept and being studied. Whether someone may think they are doom scrolling or if they are approaching it, it is up to them to take the initiative to stop it.