Social media | Life | Focus
How to Reset Your Brain After Doom Scrolling
Yes, a Brain Reset is Possible
Doom scrolling, we’re all guilty of doing it at some point in our lives. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), doom scrolling is even more inevitable. Content is getting more niched, targeted and authentic by the day, especially with the help of AI.
Doom scrolling has become an epidemic, especially among Gen Z. The rise of short form content and platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube shorts, is keeping our gadgets and mobile devices glued to our hands.
According to a BBC interview, doom scrolling has made it hard for university students to focus. It has become a form of escapism. The biggest side effect of doom scrolling is brain rot.
The internet today is not the same internet that I grew up with in the early 2000s, where there were dial-up tones and loading a page can take a minute. Back then, the internet was primarily used for research rather than entertainment.
Today, the internet has become a complex maze of content, much of which is of low quality since anyone with an internet-connected device can spew their thoughts into the world. Unchecked and unvetted.
Useless content can be harmful, especially in today’s world, where it often comes in brief formats lasting between 30 seconds and 3 minutes. This brevity makes it difficult for our brains to process information effectively, leading to a phenomenon some refer to as “brain rot.” This condition can cause us to struggle with focus and experience a foggy memory. According to Dr. Elena Touroni, co-founder of The Chelsea Psychology Clinic, “The brain actually prefers focused, intellectual engagement.”
If you are experiencing any brain rot symptoms such as lethargy, increased stress and anxiety, or feel that you spend too much time doom scrolling, there is a way to reset your brain and prevent it from further decay.
Put Away Your Phone
Easier said than done, I know. Being apart from our phones these days feels like being apart from our significant other.
The average American checks their phone 144 times in a day, according to a survey done by Reviews.org. The average American also spends an average of four hours and 25 minutes each day on their mobile phones. These numbers are staggering!
The best approach to limiting screen time is by starting small. Start by timing yourself to focus on one task and not derail from it.
When I need to focus on a specific task, my go-to method is the Pomodoro technique — or in this case app, which is also used by Tom Hanks. This method involves concentrating on a task for 25 minutes, followed by a 5-minute break. After completing four Pomodoros — equivalent to two hours — you can take a longer break of 20 to 30 minutes. This approach is similar to time blocking and scheduling, much like how we structured our days in school, helping us accomplish more tasks effectively.
Other more strict techniques that we can use to eliminate our time scrolling is by physically putting our phones away from arms reach such as in our bags, a different room or in the drawer.
However, one of my favorite methods for minimizing the urge to constantly check my phone is to activate airplane mode. Not only does it not ensure I won’t open social media, but it also ensures that I can focus and not have constant notifications popping up when focusing on a task.
Listen to Music
In addition to putting your phone away, consider listening to music while you focus on a task.
Personally, I prefer classical music or oldies. Classical music is composed differently than modern pop; many pieces are designed to be played for longer durations — often around 20 to 25 minutes. Moreover, classical music follows strict harmonic and structural rules, which our brains tend to respond positively to.
However, if classical music isn’t your cup of tea, listening to any type of music helps. Music in general, helps us relax and when we’re relaxed, we become more productive.
Listening to music can transform our brains and is one of the best ways to rest our brains.
Physical Activities
Do you automatically reach for your phone the moment you wake up? This is a modern day habit that many of us have. However, do you make time in your day to do physical activities? Often times we ask ourselves why do we feel lethargic, uninspired, and missing the big picture. Have we focused on our physical well being?
Studies have found that 10–30 minutes of exercise is sufficient to improve our mood. Going to the gym two to three times a week and doing weight training is ideal, however, if we are not able to go to the gym, there are other ways to supplement our physical activity.
There are ways to incorporate more movement into our daily lives. Whether it be parking a bit further than the entrance, taking more stairs instead of elevators, gardening or even cleaning the house.
For me, I found that working out with weights two to three times a week is enough. The rest of the week I would do a combination of gardening and house cleaning. We may not think about it, but house and garden work engages different parts of the muscles.
In addition to staying physically active, we need to remind ourselves to focus on social activities with friends outside of the digital space. If you have an hour, instead of scrolling on social media, why not go swimming or hiking with a friend?
Activities that involve sun and nature, are the best such as walking or going to the beach, the possibilities are endless when we just put our devices away and walk out our front door.
Watch Old movies & TV Shows
It’s getting harder to distinguish between scripted content on streaming platforms or network television and reality content on social media. The lines are getting blurred by the day. Streamers like Netflix and television networks are heavily producing and promoting reality shows such as cooking competitions, selling real estate, or housewives living their best lives.
All this reality content, with their viral clips and quotes on social media, has one thing in common, they make us feel more insecure and unhappy with ourselves and what we have achieved in life.
One of the reasons there are so many mental health issues in the world today is due to the content we consume on a daily basis. True crime series, reality shows, and matchmaking shows fill our screens and have become increasingly popular. This reality content, with their viral clips and quotes on social media, has one thing in common, they make us feel more insecure and anxious in our lives.
When I was growing up between the 1980s and 2000s, this was not the case. The content produced during that time aimed to entertain while also teaching important life lessons about family, perseverance, hope, and love. Reality shows didn’t exist back then because people preferred to escape into dreams rather than confront reality. A wise person once told me that people need stories and dreams more than they need bread.
Today’s reality shows, as inspiring as they may be, with the beautiful people and their perfect bodies driving their Maseratis, but they rarely provide valuable moral lessons, a positive outlook on life, or even a sense of hope.
It’s no surprise that everyone seems so unhappy these days, how can we be happy when we are constantly comparing our lives to the one percent?
I’ve started re-watching old movies such as Sabrina starring Julia Ormond, Spy Game, and Indecent Proposal starring Robert Redford. The feelings I experienced during and after watching these films were truly transformational.
I no longer felt burdened or stressed out but hopeful and joyful. For a brief moment, I gave my brain a break from the constant stimulation of trying to be all and have it all and live a simpler life where friendship mattered more than algorithm and reach.
As humans, we need to feed our souls with hopes and dreams, not just viral content on social media that leads us to more rabbit holes of consumption or conspiracy theories.
Reading
The most powerful tool that has helped me refresh my mind has been reading.
The book landscape of today is far more vast than it was in the past. This is mostly due to the rise of younger authors who write books that are not the traditional genres that existed before. Today’s books are flowers in a blooming garden, there are so many types, tropes, and genres that when I first jumped right back in, I was confused as to the variety that existed.
There are retellings of Greek God Mythologies with a twist, billionaire romance, enemies to lovers, fantasy, romance fantasy. All the genres I never had growing up, exist today. This makes reading not only easier but also more rewarding since every year there are a plethora of great books that are released.
Research has shown that reading engages an intricate network of circuits and signals within the brain. As your reading skills develop, these networks become stronger and more refined.
In contrast, watching too much short-form content causes our brains to have difficulty focusing on a single thing. It may give us a short endorphin hit but then it is an action that requires repetition. This is why unwillingly, we end up scrolling on our phones longer than planned.
Reading, on the other hand, does the exact opposite, it keeps our brains focused on one thing and our mind on a single task for long periods of time. Which is a great way to reset the brain.
I’ve managed to read a 700-page fantasy fiction in one week, a personal record on my end.
If you’re thinking of reading more, start with a genre that you love, that you know will hook you in the first five pages, and be sure to be a page-turner. Whether it be fantasy, romance, or even a cookbook, picking up a book instead of your phone is already a win.
In the age of digital media and Artificial Intelligence, we have to remember that there is an entire life to be lived outside of algorithms, trends, and content.
There is a life to be lived as a human.
A simple one.
