At Green Schools Green Future, we prioritize student well-being by creating learning environments that reduce harmful habits and promote intentional technology use. One key way we do this is by limiting phone usage in our upcoming school. Students will use laptops strictly for academic purposes, which help them avoid distractions like social media and doomscrolling. Through these boundaries, we aim to protect both physical and mental health. That said, it’s still useful to learn about doomscrolling and its negative effects.
You wake up, unlock your phone, scroll through Instagram reels, check the time, and somehow 30 minutes have passed. You say to yourself you’ll scroll for just 5 more minutes, but next thing you know, it’s been an hour, and you’re late for school or work.
Doomscrolling has become such a hot topic over the last couple of years and it’s something many people do daily without even realizing it. What seems like a harmless habit is actually doing much more than just wasting time.
Doomscrolling is defined as spending a large amount of time scrolling through online media, consuming negative news (webster, 2023). Although it may feel like a trivial habit, it can cause multiple negative biological and psychological responses in the body. From changes in brain chemistry to increased stress levels and disrupted sleep, doomscrolling can have serious effects on both our mental and physical health.
Your brain goes into “threat mode”
When you look at negative news, your brain reacts as if the threats are occurring in real life. This response is controlled by the amygdala, within the limbic system of your brain. The amygdala drives the fight-or flight response to danger. According to experts, we are wired to scan for threats, which is why stressful headlines grab our attention so easily. This is why doomscrolling feeds on this instinct and keeps our brain in a state of hyper-vigilance. So, instead of short bursts of stress, your brain is exposed to a continuous stream of it. This ultimately makes it difficult to relax (Salamon, 2024).
Your stress response stays activated
As your brain is constantly exposed to negative content, your body remains in a prolonged stress response. This leads to the release of stress hormones and can result in increased anxiety, feelings of dread or panic, and emotional exhaustion. What’s more, doomscrolling is associated with lower life satisfaction and poorer mental well-being. In more extreme cases, it can also cause existential anxiety, where we feel overwhelmed by uncertainty about the world.
Your nervous system is on high alert
Doomscrolling activates your entire nervous system, not just your thoughts. Continuous exposure to distressing content can trigger a fight, flight, or freeze response, which keeps your body in a state of alert. This can lead to worsening anxiety or depression, create a sense of losing control, and lead to vicarious trauma, where you feel impacted by events you only see online (Doomscrolling: Effects on Mental Health and How to Stop, 2026).
Your ability to focus decreases
Scrolling through large amounts of fast, emotional content can overwhelm your brain. This can cause something called “popcorn brain”, which is essentially the feeling that your mind feels constantly active and overloaded. Due to this, you may experience difficulty focusing, mental fatigue, and a reduced ability to engage in slower tasks in real life. This makes it more difficult to disconnect and return to everyday activities (Salamon, 2024).
Your sleep gets disrupted
Many people do their doomscrolling sessions late at night, which can affect sleep. There are two main reasons for this: stress and mental stimulation keep your brain active, and blue light from screens suppresses melatonin, the hormone that helps you fall asleep. This can end up in difficulty falling asleep, sleep quality, and increased fatigue the next day.
As time passes, this creates a cycle where lack of sleep makes you more likely to doomscroll again (Doomscrolling: Effects on Mental Health and How to Stop, 2026).
Your physical health declines
The effects of doomscrolling show up physically as well. Spending long periods of time on your phone can lead to headaches, muscle tension, neck and shoulder pain, low appetite, and increased blood pressure. Also, staying in a sedentary position for a long time can also contribute to fatigue and discomfort, which demonstrates how mental habits and physical health are closely related (Salamon, 2024).
Why is doomscrolling such a hard habit to quit?
Doomscrolling is caused by both behaviour and biology. People often turn to negative content when they feel anxious, thinking that this will help them feel more in control. However, it just leads to more scrolling and worsening anxiety. It’s also more difficult because digital platforms are purposefully designed to keep users engaged through constant updates and personalized algorithms.
Evaluating Your Digital Scrolling Habits
Doomscrolling may seem like a harmless daily habit, but it has many problematic effects on your brain and body. Understanding these effects is the first step toward becoming more aware of your digital habits. The next time you catch yourself scrolling endlessly, it may be worth asking whether this is benefiting your time and health in any way.
At Green Schools Green Future, we value personal wellness, being intentional about technology use, and sustainability. We are building our first green school to teach students healthy habits, future-ready skills, and eco-friendly technologies. Help us raise the capable leaders of tomorrow by making a donation.
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References:
Doomscrolling: effects on mental health and how to stop. (2026, March 11). Lifemark.ca. https://www.lifemark.ca/resources/doomsrolling-effects-mental-physical-health
Salamon, M. (2024, September 1). Doomscrolling dangers. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/doomscrolling-dangers
webster, M. (2023, September 11). Definition of DOOMSCROLL. Www.merriam-Webster.com. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doomscroll
