An overwhelming dependency on social media and devices has hit multiple generations without warning. The question rages, ‘How does one parent social guineapigs in an ever-changing digital age?’. As the years turn into decades the impact of smart phones on mental health has come into the spotlight as well as the need to parent oneself.
Doom scrolling has been described as the experience of sinking deeper and deeper into an emotional pit whilst bingeing on bad news. This spiral of emotions wreaks havoc with one’s mental health leading to an increase in anxiety, depression, and stress. Below are some tips to empower you to stop the cycle.
Retrain your phones algorithm
Your phone has an algorithm that is tailored to you. Simply put, your phone calculates the topics that you search and then bombards your Google feed with similar topics. This is great if you are planning a holiday, but, if you’ve shown an interest in the economy, covid or war you could be on a downhill projection into depression. To break the cycle let your algorithm know what the real you is truly interested in.
TIP: prepare 3 or 4 ‘good’ internet searches that interest you and only search for those topics for a week. Your favourite sports teams and exercise, travel destinations, favourite foods and new recipes, hobbies that you have enjoyed in the past are a few ideas to start with.
Seek out positive stories online
Think of what positive stories you would like to search for before you open Google and dive down a pre-prepared rabbit hole.
TIP: Try YouTube biographies of past inspirational people, e.g., The man Winston Churchill. The more inspirational people you search, the more your feed will send you inspiring people that you have never heard of.
Engage in an offline hobby
Doing hobbies with others is a great way to get someone out of their ‘shell’ and ‘headspace’. Engaging in hobbies has been a time-tested stress reliever through generations.
TIP: Get back to enjoying the simple things in life! Gardening, hiking, surfing, painting, book club, dinner club, and sports clubs- To name a few!
Take mindful social media break
It is always a good idea to set personal or family time for your evenings. After dinner and dishes plan an activity or connection point, like reading, family board games or time for a hobby. Plan a set time in your evenings to sit down and ‘switch off’ as you scroll through your feed.
TIP: Set an alarm (beginning and end) on your phone to consciously limit the time you spend on scrolling.
Focus on the positive
Laughter is said to be the best medicine! If you or a loved one are in the grip of doom scrolling, learn to laugh again.
TIP: Use your down time to relax with a comedy show – try Drybar Comedy on YouTube there is no bad language and you are sure to find an act that you enjoy.
Good Things Guy, is a South African news outlet that is devoted to informing the community about good and inspirational news both in South Africa and abroad. Why not feel good while you increase your general knowledge.
Ending the doom scrolling cycle and choosing to focus on the positives will undoubtedly have emotional benefits. Putting in some structure to your social media usage might be tough at first, but will ultimately help you to live your best life as you safeguard your mental wellbeing. Whatever is good, whatever is noble, let us focus on these things.
Date Published: 07 March 2024
