If you’ve been living through the age of smartphones and social media for as long as I have, you’ll understand the dangers of the doom scroll. Doomscrolling is a term used to describe the act of scrolling endlessly through an algorithm-curated feed, whether it’s TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, Threads or Bluesky. The biggest threat of Doomscrolling is that it re-wires our dopamine system, which ultimately leads to a lower attention span. That’s why we need to actively replace doomscrolling time.
Nowadays, people instinctively open up their feed of choice and find themselves glued to the screen for a longer time than expected. And while we lose valuable time in the algorithm, the world keeps turning around us.
The trick isn’t to stop engaging in the doomscroll completely, but to instead set a designated period of time (or free time) where you’re allowed to do just that. The aim is to reclaim the time lost from doomscrolling and spend it doing something else that actually has a tangiable impact on our lives. Dopamine is healthier for us when it’s earned.
Here are 6 activities to replace doomscrolling
Journaling and/or creative writing
With the reliance on digital technology, the written word is now under-appreciated, as well as the act of physically writing things down by hand. Many are unaware, but writing things by hand exercises the brain in a way that typing digitally doesn’t. It challenges your brain to be more precise, and intentional with your words.
I have personally found that writing by hand improves my speech and vocabulary, more than typing does. If I haven’t written or read a book for a while, I find myself stumbling and searching for the right words. When I resume my reading and writing habits, my speech comes naturally again.
Students also process information more when taking notes by hand, rather than typing. This is because while typing notes, we have a tendency to type what we’re hearing; but because it’s impossible to keep up when writing by hand, we must first process what the lecturer is saying and write a summary in note form.
This is why I recommend that everyone keeps a journal or commonplace book for expressing themselves through the written word. And if you have a love for literature, you should also try writing a short story or novel.
People assume that these activities take time and effort, but the time you used to lose by scrolling websites is adequate time to journal your thoughts or write a few paragraphs in your manuscript.
Don’t let the page intimidate you. It will treat you better than the algorithms.
Practising art for pleasure (colouring in, sketching, painting)
No matter what level of artist you are, there’s hardly a more satisfying feeling than working on a piece of art. There is also pleasure to be had through seeing the evolution of your art skills as you stay consistent with the habit.
The trick is to remove all expectation, insecurity and self-doubt behind your art. Most people will say they’re not good at drawing; but that’s not a good enough reason to not draw. The truth is, nobody cares how good your drawing is if you never intend to sell it. You may never earn money from your art, or be priased for it, but there are serious mental health benefits to gain from drawing, sketching, doodling, painting and colouring in.
Mixing my journaling and art habits has provided me an outlet to deal with the stress, anxiety and acute pain that comes from living with my sickle cell disorder. And if I’m honest with myself, social media used to do nothing but add to the stress and anxiety.
Practising art is the best way to replace doomscrolling, because the more you do it, the more powerful the dopamine release becomes. And because you’re working on a tangiable skill, this dopamine is earned.
Remember, you don’t have to create a masterpiece. This could literally be a bunch of simple doodles.
Social events and group meetups
Going outside and socialising was once normal behaviour, before the internet took over every aspect of our daily lives. I truly believe that getting out and socialising with friends is essential to the development of a young person’s mind.
And as a grown up, getting out and doing things doesn’t need to stop. We need something more fulfilling than doom scrolling while listening to Netflix to break up the monotany of work life.
It’s important that we all get out and see the world outside. Think of it as a giant explore page, full of random discoveries that fill our minds with healthy dopamine.
You can:
- Go to a museum
- Go hiking
- Try a new restaurant
- Read a book at the library
- Travel to a new city or county for the weekend
- Go to an event catered to your personal tastes (example: comic con, anime conventions, health & beauty or fashion shows)
And if you’re the type of person that doesn’t have a large circle of friends to do things with, you can always meet new people by joining hobby-based groups. These are things like:
- Book clubs
- Life drawing groups
- Board game groups
- Anime meetups
- Events designed for mingling or networking
You can find these on sites like Meetup or Eventbrite.
Walking and exploring your environment
Similarly to above, a great source of dopamine is getting out and exploring the environment around you. Walking has both physical and mental health benefits, so why not spend the 30 minutes you were going to spend doomscrolling walking around your local park or woods?
Gym & exercising
There’s a misconception that everyone should be working out or going to the gym to look like a god or goddess. It’s not just about looks, it’s about being the healthiest version of yourself. And again, working out has both physical and mental benefits.
If the gym is too intimidating for you, then know that a gym subscription isn’t even necessary. Buy yourself a gym mat, a skipping rope, and any workout gear appropriate for your goals, and bring the workout to your home.
A workout combined with your music of choice is another satisfying replacement for doomscrolling.
Practicing mindfulness
Many of us are used to the idea of exercising our body, but there are too many people out there who don’t engage in the act of mindfulness and meditation. This is the mind’s workout, but it’s far more pleasurable than physical exercise in my opinion. It’s a great counter to the continous noise of social media and technology.
Because of how we’ve been conditioned in today’s world, we no longer know how to operate in silence or quiet moments. Our natural instinct is to now pick up our phones. Instead, try 5-10 minutes of meditation. It’s the perfect cleanse for our brains, and allows us to think and focus clearer.
Other mindful exercises include:
- Gratitude journaling
- Mindful colouring: Similar to what I mentioned above. Colouring does wonders for the mind no matter what age you are. The progression of colour, and the sound of the pencils or markers against the paper is soothing for the mind.
- Planting vegetables or flowers in your garden
- Practising self-care (grooming, doing your hair, bathing etc…)
Reading books, comics, manga or manhwa
Reading a book, whether fiction or non-fiction, is always more fulfilling than scrolling through content on social media. Books allow you to learn, develop empathy, and gain critical thinking skills. They give you experiences that you can’t get elsewhere, and they broaden your understanding of people from all walks of life.
There’s a reason that the practice of reading has been around for over 5,000 years. Becoming literate, and sharing thoughts, ideas and stories through the written word (or illustrations) is humanity’s best trait.
Social media does give us some percentage of this, as many posts online are being read. And the problem isn’t so much that social media technology exists, the problem is that the algorithms are designed to exploit our dopamine and dripfeed us constant hits of instant-gratification that ultimately rewires our brain.
Reading is longform, meaning that the dopamine rush has to be earned by focusing our attention.
You don’t have to stop scrolling completely!
It’s important to note that this article isn’t telling you to stop using social media or browsing your favourite platforms. There are benefits to using these platforms, like keeping up with your friend’s activities, and staying informed about the world.
The point is, that algorithms are designed to keep us scrolling by drip-feeding us content that is tailor-made for our brain. And because we don’t have to do anything to earn that dopamine, it rewires our dopamine expectations. It wrecks our attention span to the point we can’t watch a movie or finish a conversation with someone without scrolling our phones.
Some algorithms also focus on highlighting negative and harmful posts because they know these types of posts will drive engagements through the roof. But seeing too many of these negative posts alters our perception of the world and people around us.
With that being said, we need to get into the habit of setting a designated time for scrolling these platforms. It could be when commuting to work, while eating lunch, or during your free time before bed. Whichever time you choose to submit to the algorithm, be sure to stick to that set time, while also introducing some of the other activities listed in this article to your routine.
Let’s get back to earning our dopamine!
