You Lose Over One Month By Doomscrolling

“Stop scrolling, start doing.” — Unknown

Doomscrolling is stealing more of your time than you realize. It’s one thing to perform a daily check of your favorite app(s), but the average person has progressed far past that. In an era of dopamine junkies, everything from apps to streaming services are promoting mindlessly scrolling. As much fun as it is to build up your thumb callus, this can be time spent doing (literally) anything else.

We have all done it – mindlessly scrolled through <insert app/website/streaming service here>. The average adult spends about 873 hours (36 days) simply scrolling on their phone or computer¹. This equates to an entire month, plus some, of time lost per year. That’s insane. This time spent doomscrolling is in addition to looking for things to watch on streaming services. The average person wastes nearly another five days per year just scrolling for something to watch on streaming². Collectively, that brings the average up to 41 days wasted on scrolling alone. Brutal.

Once time is spent, it’s gone. These are 41 days you will never get back, year over year. The answer isn’t hard – stop doomscrolling. Understand why you are scrolling and work to stop it³. Not sure what to watch? Ask your friends (or AI) for recommendations, keep a list and pick one. Bored? There are infinite amounts of productive things you can do rather than sit on your phone⁴. As we say, your focus is your most valuable resource. Don’t waste it mindlessly watching things rocket across your screen.

Action: Only scroll with purpose this week. Be mindful if you start to doomscroll and stop.

Further Reading:

1. Doomscrolling
2. You’re wasting nearly 5 whole days a year just scrolling for something to watch on Netflix and YouTube, study finds
3. How to Stop Scrolling: Tips from a Behavior Change Expert
4. Productive Activities for when You’re Bored at Home or Work