Doomscrolling and Brain Rot: Why You Can't Stop Scrolling

What are doomscrolling and brain rot?

Doomscrolling is the habit of scrolling on and on, often through bad news or anxiety-inducing content, even though it makes you feel worse. Research by Sharma, Lee, and Johnson (2022) found that doomscrolling is linked to lower mental well-being.

Brain rot is how Oxford describes the deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state from overconsuming trivial or unchallenging content. It isn't a medical diagnosis, but it captures that "foggy brain" feeling after hours of scrolling.

Why it's so hard to stop scrolling

Social media apps are designed with no end point: there's always another post. We also never know when something interesting will show up, so the brain keeps looking for "just one more". And when you're tired or anxious, scrolling feels like rest — even though it rarely leaves you refreshed.

For many people, scrolling is also the doorway to social comparison: seeing other people's holidays, achievements, and bodies, then feeling like your own life falls short.

Signs you're stuck

• Opening apps on autopilot. Your thumb is in the app before you've decided to open it.
• A worse mood after scrolling. You open the app feeling fine and close it feeling more anxious or smaller.
• Trouble focusing on anything longer. Reading a book or watching a whole film feels heavy.
• Sleep delayed by the screen. "Five more minutes" turns into an hour.

How to cut down on doomscrolling

1. Limit it — you don't have to quit. A study by Hunt and colleagues (2018) found that students who limited social media to about 30 minutes a day for three weeks felt less lonely and had fewer symptoms of depression.

2. Add friction before opening the app. Move apps off your home screen or set time limits. A one-second pause is enough to ask, "what am I opening this for?"

3. Set your own end point. Since the app has no end, you make one: one video, one thread, then close it.

4. Replace, don't just remove. Have a short substitute ready for bored moments: a quick walk, a breathing exercise, or writing two sentences about your day.

Swap scrolling for a short reflection

rumputhijau offers a replacement habit that's as quick as opening social media: a two-minute check-in to write down how you feel, and Latihan Reflektif for the moment you've just finished scrolling and feel small next to everyone else.

References

• Oxford University Press. (2024). Oxford Word of the Year 2024: Brain rot.
• Sharma, B., Lee, S. S., & Johnson, B. K. (2022). The dark at the end of the tunnel: Doomscrolling on social media newsfeeds. Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 3(1).
• Hunt, M. G., Marx, R., Lipson, C., & Young, J. (2018). No more FOMO: Limiting social media decreases loneliness and depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 37(10), 751–768.