How to Stay Informed Without Falling Into Doomscrolling

These days, just getting through your phone notifications without stressing seems like quite the feat. But going completely off-grid or disappearing into the forest isn’t an option (or wanted) for most of us. 

How can you stay informed without doomscrolling? How can you avoid being that friend who never texts back but also avoid digital burnout?  

There are ways to protect your peace responsibly — you just have to be intentional about it.

Not all phone use is bad (for real)

If your weekly screen time report makes you gasp, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need a digital detox, stat. Some online activities, like texting friends or doing a guided meditation, can actually benefit your mental health. Of course, there are also plenty of online activities that work against your mental health.  

Problematic phone use isn’t necessarily defined by how much time you spend online, but rather how your screen time affects you and your life.  

“Heavy use and problematic use are not the same thing. The question worth asking is whether your phone use is working for you or increasingly against you,” says Joel Jin, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist and acting assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to figure out if your time spent online is harmful:  

• Do you reach for your phone whenever you’re unoccupied, and feel restless if you don’t?  
• Does your phone use make you less present when spending time with friends and family?
• Do you buy stuff online even though it strains your finances?  
• Have you tried to cut back and found it difficult?  
• Is your phone use contributing to poor sleep?
• Have you been feeling anxious or irritable or had a low mood for a while and don’t know why?  

If you can answer yes to any of those questions, reducing your screen time may be helpful.  

“Many people report feeling worse after scrolling but find it hard to stop anyway. That loop is itself a warning sign,” says Jin.

People who are prone to anxiety and worry, have lower self-esteem or are more impulsive are more likely to fall into a pattern of problematic phone use, Jin says.  

“If your heaviest scrolling happens when you're anxious, angry or bored, your phone may be functioning as an emotion regulation tool. It provides short-term relief while training the brain to avoid discomfort rather than tolerate it,” he says.  

And sure, once in a while, avoiding discomfort for a brief amount of time isn’t the worst thing. But if you try to use your phone to regularly avoid uncomfortable feelings, you’re setting yourself up for those feelings to come crashing back in when you’re less prepared.  

How to stay connected while protecting your peace

If you want to make your phone work for you instead of against you, you’ll need to be intentional about how you use it and how you’re spending your time online. Here are some strategies to get started.

Start with an honest audit

Pay attention to how often and for how long you’re on your phone and what you’re doing on it.  

“Spend a few days noticing, without judgment, when your phone energizes you and when it depletes you,” Jin says.

Be strategic about checking the news

Seek out trusted outlets rather than passively absorbing whatever the algorithm chooses for you. Give yourself a set amount of time — say, fifteen minutes — to check the news and then move on to something else.  

Ask yourself if the information you’re getting is actionable. Is there something you can do to help, or are you just reading things that make you feel helpless? Simply staying informed without being able to do anything isn’t helping anyone, especially if it’s making you anxious. Focus on what you can do to support the people around you.

Try some simple strategies for limiting doomscrolling

Limiting doomscrolling isn’t about willpower; our phones are designed to be addictive, so breaking that cycle requires some strategy.

“The goal is to redesign your environment so the healthier choice is also the easier one,” Jin says.

Here are a few ways to start:

• Create physical distance by charging your phone outside the bedroom and keeping it out of reach during meals.  
• Use your phone’s built-in tools, such as screen time, app limits and grayscale settings.
• When you feel the urge to doomscroll, redirect to something physical: get a glass of water, take a five-minute walk or take a few slow, deep breaths.  
• Replace your scrolling instead of just restricting it; keep a book nearby and read for five minutes instead of scrolling.  

Add in some phone use that aids mental health

You can intentionally use your phone to seek out positive experiences, too. Try a meditation app or find some yoga videos to watch. Use your phone to create art, rather than just consume news that puts you on edge. Download a language app and start learning a new language. There is so much information available to you that can benefit your life, so start learning.  

How to recover from digital and social media burnout

Maybe you’ve tried making your phone time more positive, but you’re still feeling burnt out. Here’s how to do a more realistic reassessment of your time spent online so you can protect your mental health.  

Recognize what your phone does for you

Remember, it’s not all bad: your phone connects you with your loved ones and your interests and keeps you informed about things you really want to know about. It also helps you with things like finding new recipes, following a new driving route and keeping track of your daily step count.  

Also recognize that, even when you’re using your phone too much, there’s a reason. Maybe it distracts you or calms you down (temporarily). Even if you want to move away from using it for these things, acknowledge that the feelings are real.  

Try a soft reset, not a hard detox

If you want to build a new, lasting routine around your phone use, start small and be realistic. Maybe that means having one phone-free morning each week, building a bedtime routine that isn’t centered around phone use, or making an effort to put your phone away when you’re spending time with people you care about.  

Protect recovery time

You need to regularly give your brain time to exist in the here and now and tune into the world immediately surrounding you. This will help you recover from digital burnout and feel less overwhelmed moving forward.  

“Walking without headphones, time in nature, face-to-face connection, and sleep are not optional extras. They are the recovery,” Jin says.

And, of course, if none of this is working and you’re still feeling nervous, it might be a good idea to consult with a mental health specialist or talk with your primary care doctor.  

Ultimately, your phone isn’t good or bad, but how you use it can make a huge difference in your mood and quality of life. Work on more intentional, helpful phone use while limiting activities that cause stress — and don’t forget to get out there and engage with the real world, too.