It’s 2 a.m., and I finally snap out of my trance-like state of constant scrolling when I encounter a video of a man screaming with a green-screened tiger running at him in the background. I’ve spent countless nights like this, attempting to convince myself that I’m “winding down” by scrolling through Instagram Reels. I fall into what’s almost a zombie-like trance. In the end, I always feel more stressed than when I started. And the reality is that I’m using this doomscrolling outlet to distract myself.

For those unfamiliar with the term, doomscrolling refers to the act of scrolling on your phone for long periods of time, typically on apps such as the aforementioned Instagram, TikTok or X, subconsciously according to the Cornerstone Counseling Center of Chicago. Despite running into distressing things, you just can’t stop. 

Lots of apps nowadays are specifically designed to induce this kind of behavior. These apps will record data on what you specifically spend time with. More time on the app means more money made off of you from advertisements. 

“Doomscrolling makes us feel informed but often leaves us more anxious, sad or angry than when we started,” adds the Cornerstone Counseling Center of Chicago. While you may feel more “in the loop,” is it really worth it?

With finals coming up in a month for us students, a vast number of us will find ourselves in a similar situation, whether we like it or not. Even if we take our phone out of the equation, when push comes to shove, we will find another alternative to distract ourselves and procrastinate on the work we know we should be doing. 

I decided to ask one of my classmates studying psychology, first-year student Natalia Vujovic, about her relationship with doomscrolling. “… I hate doomscrolling, and I wish I didn’t do it, but I’m so addicted and love how it makes my brain go quiet.” 

I also asked her how she has kicked bad habits, such as doomscrolling, in the past. 

“Going cold turkey and never looking back… I went sober from social media for six months, and it was so G.O.A.T.-ed.”

It’s interesting how I’ve heard several people refer to cutting social media as becoming “sober,” because to many people, it is an addiction. Doomscrolling actively inhibits so many people from reaching their goals and that’s a problem.

A University of Florida study found that while doomscrolling isn’t as common as one might think, oftentimes the habit becomes subconscious. As mostーbut certainly not allーpeople who struggle with doomscrolling are generally middle school to college-age students.

It’s no secret why this is. We grew up in the era of a social media boom, and the way we process and digest media and news has altered immensely. In no time at all, we went from watching the news on TV to getting our news through social media platforms such as X, TikTok or Instagram. 

So you want to cut down your time spent scrolling endlessly on your phone but still want some entertainment before bed or in between study sessions. Where does that leave us?

Being on any sort of screen close to your bedtime has been proven to negatively impact the quality of sleep you get each night. In a National Library of Medicine and PubMed Central article, researchers found that consuming arousing media close to bedtime can decrease REM sleep, the most beneficial period of sleep and increase alertness before bed. The article also adds, however, that playing violent video games has a much more notable impact on things such as heart rate than non-violent video games. And when taking a break from studying, the last thing you want to do is to make yourself more stressed than you were before the break.

Breaking habits is never easy. A News In Health newsletter states that to break bad habits, you should try avoiding tempting situations, replacing unhealthy behaviors with healthy ones, preparing yourself mentally, asking for help from family and friends and rewarding yourself for small steps. Obviously, this is easier said than done. If it were as black and white as replacing bad habits with healthy ones, everyone would be doing it. 

After trying to replace doomscrolling with various other things to no avail, it brought me back to an old reliable – Nintendo’s Animal Crossing. 

For those unfamiliar, Animal Crossing has long been a mainstay for many casual gamers since its first North American release in 2001 on the Nintendo GameCube. The main objective of the game is that there isn’t one. You are a human living in a town full of anthropomorphic animals, where your goal is to pay off your debt to a raccoon man running a shack-like shop. Sounds weird, right? It is. But it’s amazing. 

What makes Animal Crossing a great substitute for doomscrolling is that it was built to only really be played for 30-minutes to an hour each day. What better way to wind down than chatting with your animal villagers, catching fish and organizing furniture to make your house look its best? It doesn’t take a great amount of brain power to go fishing, catch bugs or hang out with animals. A lot of the time, I find myself falling asleep playing Animal Crossing late at night. And that’s just the way I want it.

That’s not to say that Animal Crossing has to be your doomscrolling substitute. A lot of us would love to replace doomscrolling with language learning, exercise or some other productive task. Unfortunately, that’s just not realistic. Nobody is built to be a workhorse 24/7. We need rest. So while Animal Crossing may work for me, it’s not going to work for everybody. Some other great (and certainly more cost-effective) options include reading, going on walks, listening to music, journaling or even picking up a relaxing hobby.

If you’re going to be consuming something before bed, or even just as a break from studying, Animal Crossing is a lot less abrasive than whatever Instagram Reels or TikTok has for you. And as far as my hundreds of hours of Animal Crossing gameplay have told me, there hasn’t been any violence yet. I’ll keep you updated, though. Get out there and find your doomscrolling substitute and kick the habit for good. Your attention span doesn’t have to be destroyed forever!