It starts innocently enough. You open your phone to just quickly check in on a work post or respond to a message, and before you know it, you’ve slipped into ‘the scroll’. One story leads to the next: natural disasters, political chaos, economic worry, and suddenly you’re knee-deep in doomscrolling, again. Sound familiar?
You’re not alone. And you’re not doing anything wrong. In fact, your brain is doing exactly what it was designed to do: scan for threats, stay alert, and stay safe. The issue is, our modern digital environment is designed to keep us there; hooked, anxious, and emotionally exhausted. Scrolling social media feeds isn’t like reading a newspaper where when you get to the last page, you close it and put it away. Instead, there isn’t a natural end; when you get to the bottom of the screen, more posts appear to keep your brain engaged and your thumbs scrolling.
Why Doomscrolling Is So Hard to Stop
Doomscrolling is the habit of endlessly scrolling through bad news, even when it leaves us feeling worse1. While this may seem irrational, it’s deeply rooted in our brain’s natural wiring. Attention to threat detection is part of us, a phenomenon known as negativity bias. Our brains give more attention and weight to negative information because, evolutionarily, it’s helped us survive.
But here’s where this gets complicated in our modern life: social media algorithms are built to keep us engaged. They feed us more of what we’ve clicked on before, so if you spend a few minutes on a tragic headline or a stressful political thread, you’ll soon be served more of the same. As researcher Zeynep Tufekci explains, platforms like YouTube and TikTok don’t just show us what we like—they lead us down a path that intensifies the emotional content over time2.
In other words, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by negativity in your feed, it’s not just your imagination. It’s the algorithm doing its job. And the more you consume, the more you’re shown.
Recently, I saw a video in my Facebook feed that caught my attention … it was this adorable tiny little (clearly very spoiled) pet spider whose owner made a fun video of it roaming around its habitat and nuzzling on its owner’s thumb. I don’t like spiders, but this was truly sweet to watch. 15 seconds that brightened my day…. BUT it came with an unexpected consequence. The next time I opened my Facebook feed, what do you think I saw? Yep, spider videos, and lots of it. Little spiders and (gulp!) bigger spiders; Facebook’s algorithm was convinced I love to see spider videos. The moment I saw these videos appear, I knew what was happening, I understand the algorithms, but that didn’t do me much good, I was still stuck with these videos for several days while I retrained the algorithm.
The Professional Trap
For many professionals, social media isn’t just a distraction, it’s part of the job. Whether managing a brand account, posting professional updates, or staying informed in your industry, being online is a professional necessity.
But that quick check-in can easily turn into a spiral. You click to see how a post is performing and five minutes later, you’re reading about climate catastrophes or economic crashes. The line between professional use and personal scrolling gets blurry fast.
This is where emotional intelligence (EQ) becomes essential. EQ isn’t just about understanding how you feel, it’s about being aware of how those feelings are shaped, influenced, and intensified by stimuli in your environment, real and digital.
So, What Can We Do About It?
Here’s the good news: we’re not powerless in the face of the algorithm. There are small, intentional actions we can take to change what we see, and how we feel.
1. Use EQ to Interrupt the Cycle
Before you scroll, ask yourself:
- What am I feeling right now?
- Am I looking for connection, distraction, or control?
- Will this make me feel better… or worse?
This pause helps engage your prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain responsible for rational thought, and gives you a moment to make a different choice.
2. Intentionally Seek Out Positive Content
Researchers have found that consciously consuming uplifting content can reduce stress and improve well-being. A study from3 showed that positive emotions broaden our thought-action repertoire, helping us become more resilient over time. The best part? When you engage with hopeful, inspiring content, social media platforms notice, and you’ll start seeing more of it.
Try it: Search for posts with hopeful outlooks, follow accounts that promote mental health, creativity, or joy, and engage with them. Over time, your feed will shift.
I won’t encourage you to seek out posts of cute spiders, but I will recommend another animal to you: the quokka. I have included a photo on the top of this article for you. This adorable marsupial’s facial expression mimics a smile, giving it the nickname of the ‘happiest looking animal in the world’. If you want to jumpstart your happy-focused algorithm, check out this quokka video.
3. Focus on What You Can Control
One of the most emotionally taxing aspects of doomscrolling is the feeling of helplessness. When we take even small, values-driven actions (like leaving an encouraging or celebratory comment on a friend’s post, or sharing content that supports a cause we want to make a difference in), we move from passive consumption to active engagement, and that can make all the difference.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need to swear off screens or cut yourself off from the world. But by becoming more emotionally intelligent about how you interact with digital media, you can reclaim your focus, your energy, and your sense of agency.
We can’t change how the algorithms work, but we can change how we respond. And that begins by noticing, pausing, and choosing what comes next.
- Scherer, A. G., & Palazzo, G. (2021). The New Political Role Of Business In A Globalized World: A Review Of A New Perspective On CSR And Its Implications For The Firm, Governance, And Democracy. Journal of Management Studies, 58(4), 899-931. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12697 ↩︎
- Tufekci, Z. (2018). ‘YouTube, the Great Radicalizer’. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/10/opinion/sunday/youtube-politics-radical.html ↩︎
- Fredrickson, B.L. (2001). ‘The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology: The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions’. American Psychologist, 56(3) pp.218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218 ↩︎
