I have recently seen one YouTube video (link is here) about doom-scrolling. There is of course a lot of content about this topic, and so I’m not going to write about it’s effect on the brain, psyche and soul. Maybe some time later. But today I would like to talk briefly, of maybe not, about my thoughts on the particular points raised in the video.
There was one interesting point made in the video, and it was about the meaning behind the short-form content that actually never came to my mind. Every video represent some emotion, and more it invokes something in us, our brain, the more popular and engaging that video will be. And because of the oversaturation of platforms with these video, algorithm gives us only the videos that “blew up” in popularity. Meaning, we see only the best and most engaging videos.
This I think, is in the core of the algorithm and the reasons behind some video recommendations. Think about it, what do you see the most on you “For you” page? Right, the rage-bait videos, or videos or some accident, videos that made you cringe, maybe somebody is crying there, maybe somebody did something for attention. And we scroll and see a dying child, then a funny video, then bombing, then some fashion video and so on and so forth. The emotions change in a split second, and I don’t think our primate brain was ever intended to see all of that and experience in such a short time.
I, and many of you, are unfortunately exposed to all of that every day, from dusk till dawn. Every time we open YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels we are exposed to the flood of emotions, and I think that the situation on the TikTok is even worse. And I know what you might be thinking, Charli, what of it? But don’t you see the effect it has on you?
I saw it on myself. I felt truly depressed. I was comparing myself to the high achieving people, and it did not motivate me in the slightest. Now, my content is only a rage-bait. It is about rich people being horrible, it’s about planet dying, it’s about all the issues there are in the world right now. Genocide, war, famine. And I am utterly tired. Yes, it is important to know about all these issues, but we see only the negatives, not the positives.
So, what is the solution? There is no one ultimate solve to fix all of this mess, but I can share with you what helped me.
First, I blocked the hell out of my shorts because they destroy everything. Also, it came in clutch now before the start of my exam season. I use the app called ScreenZen, which you can find on the app store on Android (not sure about Apple). The app lets you set what do you want to block, you can block the entire app, but for that I think it is more useful to use internal settings in the phone. What I did about the app (btw I am not affiliated with it in any way, the app is free, but donate if you can) you are able to BLOCK ONLY SHORT-FORM CONTENT. I think that is huge. Now I can enjoy YouTube videos and no accidentally fall into a rabbit hole.
Second, I started to actively seek a positive news outlets. I found several, but most prominent and actually my most watched is Sam Bentley. He posts at the beginning of each month a video about positive news from previous month, and my god it helped my mental health. Because it helps me to still see the light at the end of the tunnel. I hear about communities doing huge work of preserving wildlife, forests, culture and people. And it just lights my heart to see people not giving up on this beautiful planet and still keep going. I wish all of us this strength.