Healthy Living

To Your Health, Excessive Scrolling Increases Mental Health Issues

by RikCharbonneaux. To Your Health  
01/08/25
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"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding". Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV

“When you are mindlessly scrolling, you are an 'absent presence'—that is the zombie state. You're missing opportunities for connection, experiences, and real-life engagement.”     Don Grant, PhD,  Newport’s Director of Outpatient Services, Santa Monica

Pre-Covid daily smartphone total use was 1.45 hrs, and today the average for adult use is 4.5 hrs/day.  Along with this increase is a corresponding increase in mental health issues related to “scrolling”.

The two types of scrolling that can most affect your mental health and productivity are Zombie scrolling and Doom scrolling, as follows:

Zombie-scrolling of smartphones:

The average person in the USA checks their smartphones 144 times a day and scrolls through 300 feet of content daily, taking 4 ½ hours away from their productive time daily as well.  During Pre-Cpvid days, this would have been considered as being very extreme usage.*

Today, scrolling to this extent can make you late for work, can hinder your productivity, and can cause increased anxiety, making you feel more tired and possibly develop sleep debt.

The bottom line is that Zombie Scrolling is an addiction, and such a person truly needs to seek corrective treatment.

Doom-scrolling of smartphones:

Are you one to seek every nuance of a sad or bad news item on your smartphone?  You are not alone, as this compulsive/depressive behavior affects most people to one extent or another.

If you are one of the 60% of Americans who self-diagnose themselves as being depressed, and if you are one of the Doom-scrollers as well, you more than likely will find that Doom-scrolling is a serious addiction that is difficult to break.   As it drives more anxiety and depression than Zombie-scrolling and has a greater negative effect on the state of your mental health that increases with time, it is highly recommended that you seek professional help.

 "I ask that you take away sickness, infirmity, and pain from me and restore me to health." Psalm 103:2-3 KJV

 *Newport Institute, Mental Health Specialists, https://www.newportinstitute.com/resources/mental-health/zombie_scrolling/