Doomscrolling is a commonly mentioned, commonly found habit among people—especially students—in this modern era of humanity. For a lot of people, they know it is holding back. They know it is a problem, but they don’t do anything about it. Or more accurately, they can’t.
Modern psychological tactics have made it increasingly more difficult to quit scrolling in general. Every minute, new content is created and posted for the user to enjoy. This content is hand-picked for each person, and can vary drastically among different people. However, a fairly consistent narrative, or formula, emerges. The fact is, a large majority of viral media involves unjust situations, wild narratives, filtered news, or brainrot. These hook people’s attention because they are often polarizing, provocative, surreal, striking, or stimulating. This causes favorable algorithmic conditions with an influx of comments, viewers (with higher retention rates), follows, and likes.
Oscar Hudson, a senior here at CdM, mentioned new patterns. “Some of the most engaging content involves lower attention needs,” he explained. Content is most effective when it “doesn’t require the viewer to act, but only watch.” One example Hudson mentioned commonly fell along the lines of brainrot, like AI narration videos.
This is a key detail that exposes another reason doomscrolling is so engaging—the low attention needs. In order to watch a quick, one-minute video, a person wouldn’t have to do anything. Part of the addiction is because it safely stimulates the brain in an environment that feels safer than elsewhere. Compared to the alternatives, like reading a book or doing work, scrolling doesn’t require comprehension and has no consequences. It simply provides a door to a place where the brain is in a utopia, one without punishment, one without deadlines. Just a place where one exists without stress, in a quiet, peaceful environment. That is what makes scrolling different from anything else.
In the end, doomscrolling is a bad practice. Trying it out is like stepping into a maze built to keep people forever. No matter which way a person goes to escape, there will be another corridor waiting. That is why it is important to ask for help and maintain mental health. Avoid the frustration if you can, and be careful online.
