These 3 Apps Helped Me Stop Doomscrolling

During Trump’s first presidency, I worked at major news networks and found myself unable to distance myself from the noise of the daily news that seemed to bring one alarming crisis after another. However, even when I returned home at the end of the day, I found myself scrolling and scrolling through my social media feeds, unable to tear myself away.

Too many nights I’ve stayed up late into the night reading the president’s latest messages on social media and absorbing the comments and context of it all, even though I’ll be back in the middle of it just a few hours later. it’s just more tired and stressed than I would be if I hung up and went to bed at a reasonable hour. I had to train myself to completely disconnect from my personal time, which was made easier by the fact that I was swamped with it all day.

But I no longer work in political media, and as the world plunges into ever-worsening crises, from political upheaval to environmental disasters to endless wars, I find myself falling back into my old news consumption habits. I know that constantly being exposed to news and opinions on difficult and distressing topics is usually not good for me and can have a real impact on my mental health.

To curb my habit before it gets out of control again, I turn to apps for regulation and distraction. Here are a few that I found most useful.

To get enough news: Apple News (or Google News).

Obviously, commentary and context from experts and people with lived experience can be valuable tools for understanding the news, but it’s easy to get carried away by scrolling through post after post and reaction after reaction. If you want to cut down on your consumption and scrolling, but don’t want to give up getting the day’s top news altogether, try changing where and how you get your information. Instead of browsing through X or Threads, where you’ll see not only headlines but all sorts of responses to them, choose a dedicated news app.

I use Apple News ($12.99 per month with a one-month free trial), which allows me to customize the types of news I see and the publishers I read. I can open the app, look at the headlines of those publications, read the article if I want, and get on with my day without falling into a discussion hole.

I like Apple News (or Google News if you use Android or don’t want to pay Apple for the service) more than competitors like Flipboard because I don’t want to have too many options. I want a curated, condensed look at current events, what other people are reading, and what I need to know, not a quagmire of too many things that I could get stuck in for hours.

Use Apple News to:

• Seeing the headlines of the day

• Read reputable publications if you want to dive deeper

• Getting an idea of ​​trending stories, which are presented in a separate section.

• Reading content that would normally be paid for if you have an Apple News+ subscription.

• Curating what you want to see and don’t want to see

To limit screen time: one second.

Okay, I can’t completely disconnect, so I didn’t just completely delete my social apps. In such cases, I try to limit my screen time. For this, I like One Sec , which forces you to pause before opening assigned apps, reminds you to do breathing exercises, tracks time spent on those assigned apps, and can even block certain ones. It can be used for free for one app or for $19.99 per year for unlimited apps.

I set mine up to prompt me to act “intentionally” when I try to open certain apps. For example, when I try to open X, One Sec asks me why I want to do this and I have to choose options like “stay updated” or “can’t sleep”, which makes me wonder if it’s really worth it necessary at the moment. And if you like stats, One Sec tracks how many times the app prevented you from opening another app and how much time it estimates it saved you.

Use one second to:

• Reduce the time you spend scrolling

• Get accurate data on how much time you spend on social networks or other time sources.

• Forming long-term habits that will allow you to resist the urge to open an app and scroll through it.

To calm down after doomscrolling: Headspace

There are two main problems with doomscrolling. Firstly, you waste a lot of time – a problem solved by the above apps. Secondly, and even worse (for me), you can cause serious damage to your mental well-being. It’s not good to be on edge all the time, but social media and the media are designed to irritate you, keep you engaged, and keep you coming back, regardless of how it affects your nervous system. So, in addition to avoiding doomscrolling, you should also have an app that counteracts its negative effects.

For this, I like Headspace ($69.99/year with 14-day free trial). It contains meditations, sleep sounds, mindfulness tips and more with simple and soothing graphics. You do have to remind yourself to use it, so it’s only useful if you have the ability to log in and deal with stress, but the app is easy enough to use and produces clear enough results that it quickly became a habit. for me. Meditation exercises can be short (as little as three minutes) and available anywhere, which is why I prefer Headspace to other stress-relieving apps I’ve tried.

Use Headspace for:

• Monthly check-ins to track your progress in managing stress or anxiety (depending on what you’re focusing on).

• Brown noise to fall asleep to (which I selfishly like because it prevents me from ruining my Spotify algorithm with hours of hissing)

• Daily offerings of personalized grounding exercises, meditations, concentration sessions and even music, some of which you participate in in a group to help you feel less lonely.

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