Here’s a challenge for you! Avoid using your phone for the next hour and focus on work. The probability of you reaching out for it within the next five minutes is extremely high. Admit it, we have all been there — aiming to check a quick message and finding yourself hours later, knee-deep in a feed full of celeb gossip, or political rants. This phenomenon of not being able to hit snooze and instead refreshing your feed for more is doomscrolling.
Social media, once a leisure activity, has now ingrained itself into our everyday routines. Our minds are overloaded with information, both good and bad, which can be detrimental to our mental health.
The doomscrolling effect
Dr Pritika Bernice Gonsalves, a psychologist from Mumbai, American Psychological Association (APA), international member and founder, Mindbasket India, a Mumbai-based company providing counselling services, says that doomscrolling is a person’s attraction towards negative information and further scrolling for similar content. “It is also linked to passive social media use, out of habit or poor self-control.”
Social media is a big distraction for Raghav Seth, 25, a Delhi-based working professional, often finds it hard to concentrate even when he keeps his phone away. “Especially at work; I end up checking the apps on my laptop if my phone is not around. It hampers my productivity and general routine too.” At times it is so consuming, he ends up delaying other activities like going for a walk or meeting a friend.
Seth’s average screen consumption is eight hours a day. Keeping his interests aside, his social circle is another aspect intensifying his addiction. “I have a group of friends who share content with me daily. I struggle to resist my urge to check the phone and give up out of curiosity most times.”
“Being addicted to mindless scrolling is just the tip of the iceberg. It becomes a channel for people to run away from their fears – fear of failing – maybe at work or in school exams,” Gonsalves says. It also affects sleep and overall well-being. Post pandemic, she has also witnessed a rise in the number of parents complaining about lack of focus in their children due to their increased screen time. Unfortunately, this issue is now frequently noticed by people of all ages and is no longer limited to that age group.
Try the alternatives instead
From not being an avid social media user to becoming addicted to it, Seth also stumbled upon some good online channels which he says has helped him expand his knowledge. “I was not much of a reader, but I came across a video of book recommendations online which gauged my interest. Two years later, I have completed 13-14 books.” Citing another example, he adds that another content creator’s video nudged him to start investing.
The concept of microlearning
Breaking free from the doomscrolling cycle is crucial for maintaining mental well-being and focus. Microlearning offers a powerful tool to do just that. As the name suggests, it is breaking down information into bite-sized units allowing a person to grasp information quickly.
The concept gained popularity because it is easy to create and facilitates people’s quick learning. A 2020 Emerald Insight study titled ‘A review of the trend of microlearning’ summarises that microlearning allows learners to gain new skills or knowledge in a short span. It helps to meet their immediate needs in the fast-paced world. It also states that the search for microlearning has seen a rising trend over the past few years. The ease of learning improves a person’s willingness to learn new skills along with focus and retention power.
A person might not invest hours reading a book on the Cold War but may find a short video on five facts about it more intriguing. Microlearning also extends other forms of content including images, podcasts, infographics, mini quizzes, or games. It works best for people with a short attention span. They can grasp knowledge through a 30-second to a minute-long video. Moreover, it can be beneficial for students who struggle to focus on the conventional way of learning that is through reading books. Microlearning tools, unlike books, are crisp and limit cognitive overload.
As we delve deeper into the digital world, microlearning can be a game-changer. It will help people stop from falling into the passive scrolling quicksand.
