“Doom Scrolling” and the Toll on Women’s Health
In today’s digital age, "doom scrolling" has become a common phenomenon, especially among women. Doom scrolling is the act of continuously scrolling through negative news or social media content, often without realizing how much time has passed. While staying informed is important, this habit can have profound impacts on mental, physical, spiritual, and social health. Let’s explore the specific effects of doom scrolling and how women can take steps to reduce its harmful impact.
Mental Health Impact
One of the most significant effects of doom scrolling is its impact on mental health. Women are particularly vulnerable to the anxiety and stress caused by consuming a constant stream of negative information. Research shows that doom scrolling can lead to:
Anxiety: Reading about traumatic or stressful events like natural disasters, political turmoil, or social injustices can heighten anxiety levels when it’s out of balance with other activities. For women who are already dealing with family or work-related stress, the addition of global distress can be overwhelming.
Depression: Regular exposure to negativity can activate feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, both of which contribute to depressive symptoms.
Cognitive overload: When we doom scroll, we take in information faster than we can process it. Absorbing large amounts of negative content without giving us time to process it can overwhelm the brain, making it harder to process, think clearly, or make decisions.
Decreased attention span: Excessive screen use can have a significant impact on attention, particularly in how the brain processes and sustains focus. The fast-paced, highly stimulating content can train the brain to expect constant novelty. This makes it harder to concentrate on less stimulating tasks like reading or completing long-term projects. The constant switching between apps, notifications, and multitasking can fragment attention, making it challenging to focus deeply on one task for extended periods. Over time, this can contribute to difficulties with sustained attention in both academic and professional settings.
Physical Health Impact
The physical effects of doom scrolling are often overlooked, yet they are just as damaging. This habit can lead to:
Sleep disruption: Staring at a screen in the evening can interfere with the production of melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep. Poor sleep increases stress, weakens the immune system, and impairs cognitive function, creating a vicious cycle.
Eye strain: Prolonged screen time can cause eye discomfort, dry eyes, headaches, and even blurred vision, a condition commonly known as "digital eye strain." (PS: there are studies that demonstrate excessive screen use is making kids near sighted!)
Sedentary lifestyle: Hours spent scrolling often mean less time spent being physically active, leading to an increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and muscle tension, especially in the neck and shoulders.
For women who may already be balancing work and family obligations, the lack of physical activity exacerbated by doom scrolling can have long-term consequences on their health.
Spiritual Health Impact
Doom scrolling can also affect spiritual well-being. For many women, spirituality provides a sense of peace, purpose, and connectedness. However, when consumed by constant negativity, it can:
Dampen hope and optimism: Negative news cycles can foster a pessimistic worldview, making it difficult to maintain hope and faith in positive outcomes.
Reduce mindfulness and self-reflection: Time spent mindlessly scrolling can take away from moments of introspection, meditation, or prayer. This lack of spiritual connection can leave women feeling disconnected from their values, purpose, or God.
Erosion of inner peace: The persistent focus on external chaos and crises can rob women of their inner peace and serenity, replacing it with feelings of unease and dissatisfaction.
Without a balance of encouraging content, silence, and solitude, and other spiritual practices, doom scrolling can make it hard for women to nurture their spiritual health and feel grounded.
Social Health Impact
Doom scrolling gives a false sense of community. It often occurs in isolation and can have negative consequences on social relationships. Women, who often value strong social connections, may find that doom scrolling affects:
Feelings of isolation: Engaging with distressing content for long periods can make women withdraw from their social circles, either because they feel overwhelmed or because they believe others won’t understand their feelings.
Strained relationships: Constantly absorbing negative news can create tension in conversations, especially when sharing distressing information with friends or family members. This can make social interactions feel heavy and discouraging.
Reduced quality time: Time spent scrolling is time that could be spent nurturing relationships with loved ones. Over time, this can lead to feelings of loneliness or disconnection from important social bonds.
For women who thrive on strong social support systems, doom scrolling can gradually erode these connections, leaving them feeling more isolated than before.
Ways to Decrease Doom Scrolling
Fortunately, there are practical steps women can take to reduce doom scrolling and mitigate its negative effects:
Set time limits: First, look at your screen time data on your phone. How much time are you spending daily? Does this data align with your vision and values? What else might you do instead? Use apps or built-in phone features to set time limits on social media or news apps. Allocating a specific time each day to check the news can help prevent endless scrolling. Better yet…remove these apps from your phone. Yes, it’s possible!
Curate your content: Follow accounts that promote positive, uplifting, or educational content. Unfollowing sources that only focus on negative news can help create a healthier balance in your feed.
Engage in mindful scrolling: Before picking up your phone, ask yourself why you’re doing it. If it’s out of habit or boredom, consider a different activity, like reading a book, going for a walk, or meditating.
Prioritize offline activities: Engaging in offline hobbies like gardening, cooking, exercising, or journaling can create a healthy escape from digital overload and offer a sense of alignment.
Create "no-phone" zones: Establish certain times or places where phones are off-limits, such as first thing in the morning, during meals, family time, or before bed. This creates more opportunities for meaningful connections and self-reflection.
Practice gratitude: Counterbalance the negative content with a daily gratitude practice. Writing down a few things you’re grateful for each day can shift your focus away from the negativity of doom scrolling and toward a more positive mindset.
Conclusion
Doom scrolling can have far-reaching consequences on women’s mental, physical, spiritual, and social health. However, by recognizing the impact of this habit and taking active steps to reduce it, women can regain control of their well-being and cultivate a healthier, more balanced relationship with their devices.
Be Still Holistic Counseling & Wellness specializes in serving women and teen girls who are struggling with anxiety, depression, grief & loss, and chronic illness & pain who want to stop feeling exhausted and overwhelmed and start living in balance and freedom.
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