I propose an exercise: before continuing reading this article, check how many people around you are checking the
cell
. Probably, that image of users immersed in their devices in spaces such as the office, the house, restaurants, bus stops, and even in the bathroom, is already more than everyday. The figures can be revealing. According to calculations, we look at the cell phone once every seven minutes or even up to 150 times a day. And that’s when the experts sound the alarm, many of these cases can be ‘doomscrolling’.
Doomscrolling, what is it?
Frederick Pardo is a personal trainer. He says that especially at night he can spend several hours at a time hooked on his cell phone, especially checking the news. “I think it happens to many of us and when we see the cell phone one tends to review very bad news and I feel that it does affect mental health, because apart from not having good energy, for example, my head hurts a lot,” he says. .
Frederick speaks of a trend known as ‘doomscrolling’, a term that comes from the word ‘doom’: tragedy, and ‘scroll’: the action of moving the content on the cell phone screen. The practice is not new but it was so popular in the pandemic that the Oxford dictionary named it the term of the year in 2020. “It is a trend of intensive consumption of negative information. They range from bad news associated with climate change, the COVID, violence, war; with a particular condition, it is a trend that comes from the eighties, from when these news networks were developed in which the news lasts 24 hours and now with the internet, we consume this type of information constantly ” , explains the professor and doctor in Social and Human Sciences of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Jorge Alberto Palomino.
This trend intensified especially at the beginning of the pandemic, when there were more questions than answers regarding the transmission of COVID, a situation that facilitated the spread of false and especially hopeless news. “The reason for a trend like ‘doomscrolling’ to become popular at this time is the need to obtain information to understand what is happening around us, and on top of that, we get information through devices that we use 24 hours a day. Palomino points out.
The question that arises is,If we don’t necessarily look for that negative information, why do we still receive it on our devices? The answer lies in the algorithms and social networks, one of the activities to which we spend the most time when we use the cell phone. “Each interaction that we have on social networks generates a digital footprint that is used by these platforms to suggest more content to us than we have consumed. That is why we get trapped in this information loop and consume the same thing over and over once more.”
But is it possible to fool the algorithms? Palomino believes that it is not that easy, however “there are some tricks that we can do: despite the fact that certain people make us uncomfortable, we can follow them on networks, in these electoral moments, following those who think differently is a good exercise for networks also show us different postures; the same goes for music or other interests”.
How to take care of mental health
Although the cell phone and, in general, the use of technology is part of everyday life, it is necessary to set off the alarms when its consumption is excessive. “I have a patient who spends between seven and eight hours a day on the cell phone, when one sees that it is the equivalent of a working day, one already says, something is happening,” explains psychologist Luis Alberto Rengifo.
In other words, Spending a lot of time and also being immersed in negative news, much of it false and hopeless, does have an effect on mental health. “The ‘doomscrolling’ is very common, for example in boys and they, many times, can even generate a cell phone addiction without realizing it. The negative news has something special and is that it is more shocking and attractive, than positive news and that becomes a trigger for people to spend hours and hours in front of a device,” Rengifo points out.
To take care of mental health, it is key to review three aspects: the first alert call occurs when we stop fulfilling our tasks and routines by staying connected on the cell phone, “we have to do a conscientious exercise on the frequency of use that we give to these devices, the intensity and this activity interfering with our routines, that’s the first step.
But also, keep in mind:
- There are tools and apps to measure how much time we spend on social media and widespread cell phone use. Set rest times and avoid prolonged use, especially at night, before bed.
- Talking regarding the use of social networks should be done in spaces such as home and school. It is not regarding demonizing digital platforms, nor regarding prohibiting their use in young people, but regarding intelligent and responsible use.
- Always look at the terms and conditions when downloading applications, their free download implies in many cases, the use of your personal information that is then raw material for the information suggested by the application.
