Description of Experience
I chose to track my doomscrolling behavior, specifically on platforms like Instagram Reels and X and how it relates to my sleep timing, study breaks, and moments of low engagement. I was motivated to study this habit because, despite having productive workdays, I consistently found myself sleeping very late because of unintentional scrolling.
What I Tracked and How
I measured my behavior on Friday and Saturday, logging my activity in 15-minute intervals. The behavior I paid closest attention to was when doomscrolling occurred and what immediately preceded it, like breaks, transitions, meals, waking up, etc. Logging at a 15-minute resolution was very tedious but it definitely helped with my observations. Interestingly, I noticed that doomscrolling rarely appeared during periods of intense work and mental involvement. It actually clustered around transition moments, like after finishing work, returning to my dorm, before falling asleep, etc. One surprising aspect of the experience was realizing how predictable my behavior was.
Key Learnings
My main takeaway is that doomscrolling is not primarily caused by stress or lack of discipline, but by low mental involvement and easy access to a dopamine hit. Also, late-night scrolling consistently delayed my sleep onset, which led to later wake-up times and lower energy the next day, resulting in a reinforcement loop.
What I’d Do Differently Next Time
If I were to repeat this exercise, I would do three things differently:
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Track internal states explicitly
I would log variables like how bored and fatigued I was on a scale from 1-10. I feel like there would be a pretty notable correlation between doomscrolling and these variables. -
Extend the measurement period
This would give me a better high-level overview, but I worry that it won’t capture my doomscrolling since doomscrolling happens in increments of less than 30 minutes.
