jellykatz

[jellykatz]

5 More Minutes...

That’s what I keep telling myself over and over again as the initial five minutes turns into fifty. And soon enough, we’re hitting the five HOUR mark, swimming in a sea of TikTok, reels and recommendations I never asked for. 

So, for one week, I challenged myself to cut back on doom-scrolling. I didn’t go completely cold turkey because, let’s be real, I knew I’d fail. But I wanted to better understand my behaviour. Why exactly was I instinctively reaching for my phone in the first place? And more importantly, what could I do to stop? 

The Reward Loop I Didn’t Sign Up For 

Doom-scrolling can be equated to constantly munching on chips. You’re not really enjoying it and it’s nourishing you either. But somehow, you keep reaching for another bite. It’s just salty enough to keep you hooked even if you feel a little worse after. 

Still, those occasional hits of dopamine keep me coming back. That’s operant conditioning at its finest. Reinforcing a behaviour with variable rewards. And the algorithm knows exactly what to show me to keep me hooked. One rejection email was enough to send me spiralling into hours of content because it gave me quick, low-effort distraction. Emotionally, I was down. TikTok offered relief. Or at least, the illusion of it. 

Avoidance: Escaping, Not Engaging 

I came to the realisation that I wasn’t scrolling to engage with the content. I was trying to escape my feelings. One of the hardest days in the challenge was right after I had gotten rejected from an internship. Instead of journaling, talking to someone or even going on a walk, I just disappeared into my screen. 

I wasn’t choosing joy, I was choosing avoiding discomfort. 

Attention: My Brain Wasn’t Built for Reels 

The moment I couldn’t sit through a full movie, I knew something was off. My attention span had shrunk. Even though the movie was well-renowned and a genre I generally tend to like, my brain craved constant novelty. To the extent that, while I was watching the movie, I was scrolling on Instagram reels simultaneously. If this isn’t out of a dystopian Black Mirror episode, I don’t know what is. 

The realisation hit me hard. I used to read books for hours. Now even a 30-minute show felt like a commitment. 

Cognitive Dissonance: When the Scroll Comes with Guilt 

A few days into the challenge, I ended up doom-scrolling again. And then I impulsively bought makeup that I didn’t need. I mean, it felt good… for about five minutes. 

But as I stared at my overflowing vanity, guilt sank in. That was cognitive dissonance in action: the uncomfortable clash between my values (intentional living) and my actions (impulse shopping). 

What I realised through this challenge is that doom-scrolling doesn’t just waste time. It actively shapes how I think, feel and spend. When I was knee-deep in TikTok and reels, especially after a bad day, I found myself more likely to make impulsive purchases that felt like little emotional pick-me-ups. The makeup I so impulsively bought was a result of my brain being tired from negativity and craving control. Therefore, it latched onto the first ‘affordable luxury’ that came its way and that led me to my purchase. Turns out, it wasn’t just me being bad with money. It is actually a recognised consumer pattern: doom-scrolling taps into our negativity bias (we fixate on bad news), triggers our dopamine systems (reward from novelty), and nudges us toward buying things we hope will make us feel better. That emotional relief is short-lived. Social media doesn’t just feed us content. It feeds into our insecurities and spending impulses. 

My Low Point 

May 22nd I had recorded a full five hours of scrolling. The highest in that entire week. And that had led me to impulse-buying makeup from a random brand a creator recommended. 

This wasn’t just about screen time anymore. It was about influenced consumption. The moment I saw relatable influencers showing off their budget finds, I was sold. That’s the power of social influence and celebrity endorsement. I wasn’t just watching makeup reviews anymore. I was being marketed to. Subtly. Strategically. And insanely effectively. 

 What I learned: Even when I think I’m just watching content, I’m often in a vulnerable place as a consumer. Social proof and relatively can override logic and budgeting. 

My Small Win 

At the very end of my challenge, for the first time in days, I didn’t scroll before bed. No TIkTok rabbit hole. No mindless Instagram reels. And the best part? I didn’t even miss it that much. 

Every time I got the sudden urge to reach for my phone, I asked myself this simple question “Why do I need this right now?”. This awareness disrupted the autopilot habit. 

I am fully aware that it may have worked because I was at the end of my self-imposed challenge and I knew I could allow myself to go back to ‘normal’ from the next day but that last day actually showed me that I could achieve not doom-scrolling for hours on-end and encouraged me to put this more into practice in my daily life. 

Two Pieces of Advice for Anyone Trying to Cut Back 

Don’t just remove, replace

Doom-scrolling isn’t just a bad habit; it’s filling a need. Whether it’s comfort, connection, or distraction, you need to find healthier ways to meet that need. For me, it was crocheting, reading, and calling a friend instead of opening the app.

Track your triggers.

Notice what’s happening before the scroll. Are you anxious? Bored? Lonely? Emotional cues play a massive role in consumer behaviour. Once I learned to identify mine, it became easier to pause before reacting.

To conclude, I didn’t eliminate doom-scrolling completely. And that’s okay.

What matters is I stopped being passive about it. I went from feeling hijacked by the algorithm to being conscious of my patterns to (hopefully) making deliberate choices. Some days were better than others, but every day, I learned something new about how we consume. Not just content, but time, emotion, and even self-worth.

You're not broken. You're just wired to survive a world that profits from your distraction. But awareness is your superpower, and with it, you can reclaim your time, your focus, and your peace.