Quick Help: 10 Ways to Stop Doomscrolling

The Challenge

Doomscrolling—swiping endlessly through negative news and social media posts—can leave you feeling worse by the minute, yet millions of us spend over two hours every day in this digital trap.

It’s a difficult pattern to break because while we think we’re staying informed or finding solutions, our brains are programmed to stay alert to possible threats like the crises we see in our feeds, and social media algorithms amplify the very content that heightens our anxiety. Research from University College London confirms this downward spiral: The more negative content we consume, the more our emotional well-being suffers—yet the worse we feel, the more compelled we are to keep searching for troubling information.

While we can’t control the flow of challenging news or eliminate our need to stay informed, we can choose how we engage with digital media. These 10 practical strategies will help you reclaim doomscrolling time for more fulfilling activities while maintaining your connection to what matters (keep an eye out for the two or three that might be most useful to you):

1. Start a mindfulness ritual. Practice regular check-ins when you reach for your phone—asking “What am I actually seeking right now: information, distraction, comfort?”—to catch yourself before falling into unconscious scrolling. Understanding your scroll triggers helps you choose more effective ways to meet your actual needs.
2. Create a go-to content library. Bookmark specific media that inspires or interests you—like podcasts about people you admire, music that energizes you, or videos teaching skills you want to learn—to give yourself a better option when the urge for mindless scrolling hits. This curated collection of meaningful material becomes a ready alternative when your brain craves less fulfilling entertainment.
3. Skill scroll. Replace mindless scrolling with short learning sessions—like language practice, professional skills, or workplace training—to counter the habit of consuming content that drains your mental energy. Using your phone for bite-sized learning helps you retain and apply new knowledge in the time you’d normally spend on negative feeds.
4. Joy scroll. Seek out content that inspires or brings you happiness—whether through Pinterest boards, uplifting Reddit communities, or positive news sources—to counter the negative information spiral. Deliberately participating in positive online spaces helps retrain your brain’s reward patterns while still satisfying your scroll impulse.
5. Read something longer. Switch from scrolling headlines to reading a book or long-form article to escape the rapid-fire cycle of negative news consumption. Immersing yourself in longer reading strengthens your analytic thinking and produces stress-relieving hormones that help counter digital overload.
6. Pick up a hobby. Channel your attention into an activity you enjoy like knitting, sketching, or playing an instrument to ground yourself in the present moment when the urge to doomscroll arises. Engaging in creative work can pull you into a state of flow—where time seems to disappear and you’re completely immersed in what you’re doing—creating a more restorative way to pass the hours.
7. Fix something. Take on a small repair project around your house to transform passive consumption into active problem-solving. Working with your hands to fix something gives you a concrete sense of accomplishment, which can counter feelings of helplessness and digital despair.
8. Move your body. Get up and exercise—do yoga, lift weights, go for a walk—to put space between you and your digital devices. Physical movement releases endorphins that naturally counter stress and anxiety, while outdoor activity provides a mood boost that can counteract the negative effects of doomscrolling.
9. Make caring connections. Seek out meaningful interactions—volunteer with a cause that matters to you, call friends and loved ones, or do activities with your pet—to counter the isolation and anxiety that come with doomscrolling. Helping others and forming genuine bonds gives you a sense of purpose and reduces stress, trading endless negative content for real comfort and warmth.
10. Design a healthier news feed. Choose a few trusted news sources that offer different perspectives and schedule specific times to read them—focusing on in-depth coverage rather than rapid updates—to counter compulsive monitoring of feeds. This structured approach to staying informed helps reduce anxiety while protecting your mental bandwidth and emotional well-being.

Where to Begin

Which of these approaches feels most manageable as a first step? Start with just one strategy this week—whether doing a mindfulness check-in or adding an inspirational podcast to your “go-to” content library. Remember, the goal isn’t to disconnect entirely from what’s happening in the world, but to gradually replace doomscrolling with more fulfilling alternatives and stay connected in healthier ways.

Resources

• AllSides: Media Bias Ratings
• Authenticity Associates: Neural Plasticity: 4 Steps to Change Your Brain & Habits
• Charles Doublet: Are You Doom-Scrolling Social Media? 50 Things to Do Instead
• Greater Good Magazine: Five Reasons to Replace Your Doomscrolling With a Hobby
• Happyful: 7 things to do on your phone (that aren't doomscrolling)
• IOL: Doomscrolling: how to stay informed without sacrificing your mental health
• Mayo Clinic: Doomscrolling: Stop the scroll, protect your mental health
• Medium: 19 Easy & Rewarding Behaviors You Can Do Instead of Doom Scrolling
• MI Training: Stop Doom Scrolling and Start Micro-Learning
• SoCal Mental Health: 13 Ways to Stop Doomscrolling & Protect Your Mental Health
• Struthless, YouTube: 10 Things to Do Instead of Doomscrolling
• The Atlantic: The Glorious Feeling of Fixing Something Yourself
• The Nation: Digital Detox
• The New York Times: How to Follow the News Without Spiraling Into Despair
• The University of Maine: Social Media Statistics Details
• The Washington Post: How to avoid doom scrolling and news fatigue while staying up-to-date
• University of Arkansas Hill: Ditch Doomscrolling, Choose Reading

For more information on breaking free from digital distraction and using technology mindfully, check out Shortform's guides Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport and Stolen Focus by Johann Hari.

Shortform Takeaway Question

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