“Doomscroll.” “Brainrot.” These terms, and more like them, refer to the amount of time we spend absorbing negativity from our phone’s news and social media feeds. And they’ve quickly become part of our everyday vocabularies.

The concern over doomscrolling isn’t for nothing: concerns persist about smartphone and social media use and mental health, particularly among teens. According to the Pew Research Center, roughly half of teens say social media sites have a mostly negative effect on people their age, and parents are often even more worried. Plus, while social media can be a great connector, it can also contribute to mental health challenges.

Knowing that, why do so many of us remain glued to our phones? Regardless of age, smartphone usage is simply a daily fact of life for most people in the U.S. We use them to shop, communicate and navigate. And sometimes, our phone usage can spiral out of control, becoming excessive and potentially harming our mental health.

Many have been quick to refer to excessive smartphone use as “phone addiction,” but that’s not currently a widely accepted mental health diagnosis. Still, many people find it hard to regulate their phone usage, which can lead to or contribute to mental health challenges like anxiety and depression.

One reason our cellphones can be so compelling is because smartphone usage — especially social media — activates our dopamine pathways. The neurotransmitter dopamine reinforces the anticipation of rewards. Our phones are full of rewards! Social media is designed to keep you scrolling in anticipation of the ‘hit’ that makes you feel good, and dopamine makes that scrolling feel good too. While you can’t quite be addicted to dopamine, it does act as a motivator for many habits.

So what should you do? Throwing away your smartphone probably isn’t the best option, so here are six things you can do to cultivate a healthy relationship with your phone.

1. Explore your experience. Many phones can give you information about your screen time and usage: How much time are you actually spending on your phone? Which apps take up the most time? The answers might be surprising and will give you baseline knowledge of your habits.
2. Assess your needs. Check in with yourself: how are you feeling? Do you experience more stress or anxiety while using your phone? Are there things you’d rather use your time for? What do you have to use your phone for?
3. Make a phone schedule. Most of us need our smartphones too often for us to stop using them entirely. But placing boundaries over when you use your phone can help. We often wake up and grab our phones immediately in the morning, kickstarting that cycle of scrolling and anxiety. Try not using your phone for the first 30 minutes of your day. Giving yourself time away can be a great way to start the morning. Try the same thing at night! We sleep better when we reduce our screen and blue light exposure, so try not using your phone for an hour before you go to bed.
4. Set app limits. Smartphones usually have features that let you set screen time limits on certain apps, turning them off automatically. You might set a 30-minute limit on your favorite social media during the week and a bit longer on weekends.
5. Manage your notifications. If you phone is constantly buzzing and dinging, it’s hard to ignore. Try turning some notifications off, making them silent or delivering all your notifications in a bundle at a few chosen times per day. Different phones have different options, so explore yours and experiment.
6. Clean up your phone’s home screen. Clear away distracting apps so you can keep your focus on those that matter and be less tempted when you open your phone.

These steps can be a starting place for managing your phone use for a healthier lifestyle. For more resources on social media use, read our blog posts Helping Teens Build Healthy Social Media Habits and Three Ways to Use Social Media Positively. If your phone use is significantly impacting your mental health and wellbeing and feels unmanageable, seek professional help and support.

For more tips and tools for understanding and responding to mental health challenges in yourself and others, sign up for a Mental Health First Aid course today.

References:

Anderson, M., Faverio, M., Park, E. (2024, March 11). How teens and parents approach screen time. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/03/11/how-teens-and-parents-approach-screen-time/

De-Sola Gutiérrez, J., Rodríguez de Fonseca, F., & Rubio, G. (2016). Cell-phone addiction: a review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 7, 175. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00175

Katzenstein, J. (n.d.). Addiction to electronic devices. Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/behavior-disorders/addiction-to-electronic-devices

Pew Research Center. (2024, November 13). Mobile fact sheet. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/#find-out-more

Ratan, Z. A., Parrish, A. M., Zaman, S. B., Alotaibi, M. S., & Hosseinzadeh, H. (2021). Smartphone addiction and associated health outcomes in adult populations: a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(22), 12257. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212257

Roberts, J.A., Yaya, L. H. P., & Manolis, C. (2014). The invisible addiction: cell-phone activities and addiction among male and female college students. Journal of Behavioral Addictions. 3(4), 254–265. https://doi.org/10.1556/jba.3.2014.015

Westbrook, A., Ghosh, A., van den Bosch, R., Määttä, J. I., Hofmans, L., & Cools, R. (2021). Striatal dopamine synthesis capacity reflects smartphone social activity. iScience, 24(5), 102497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102497