After a pretty productive study session, you head to the bathroom to do your business before going back to work. However, what was supposed to take two minutes takes thirty minutes!
No longer are dogs man’s best friend. Make way for the smartphone, our ubiquitous companion. While it might seem harmless to scroll through Instagram or catch up on the news during these private moments, this habit of doomscrolling can have some major health effects.
Doomscrolling is essentially endlessly scrolling through social media with no plans to close the app. You keep scrolling and scrolling, watching every reel, getting that little hit of dopamine without putting in any effort to get that hit of pleasure. It’s a way for your body to stay in its comfort zone without ever getting stimulated as your brain turns into a piece of mush.
Is Doomscrolling Even That Common?
Just think about it. You’ve done it more than once before. And we can bet you’ve done it at least once this past month. To quote a Times of India article, “Around 33.9 per cent of respondents used smartphones in the bathroom to get updated with current affairs.
Almost 24.5 per cent of participants said that they use the phone in the washroom to message or even call. While we hope you don’t take calls while on the loo, scrolling mindlessly isn’t that much better.
Of course it is! It affects your mind, your body, your posture, and even your career in the long run. How does what you are doing in your spare time is going to affect your future? Read on!
Mental Health Implications
When you expose yourself continuously to negative news online, it can heighten anxiety and bring about psychological distress, making you generally more fearful and uncertain. This constant barrage of adverse information can also contribute to depression, as many people develop a pessimistic outlook on life.
Moreover, doomscrolling can make you more irritable and less productive, make your concentration worse, and even make you feel generally tired, further affecting your general sense of well-being.
Physical Health Consequences
Doomscrolling can even manifest physically. Too much screen time, especially in the same position, like on the toilet or in bed, can disrupt sleep patterns, leading to insomnia and poor sleep quality. The blue light emitted from screens messes with melatonin production, a hormone responsible for regulating sleep.
Also, too many mindless reels and YouTube Shorts can increase the production of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, making you feel stressed and mentally drained all day.
Cognitive and Behavioral Effects
Bad news travels the world faster than good news and social media is the perfect catalyst for that. And when you become more attuned to negative information, it might distort your perception of reality. Feelings of hopelessness and loneliness can become quite common with the massive influx of bad news.
Furthermore, this behaviour can become compulsive, with many people having an uncontrollable urge to stay updated with the latest negative news. This compulsion can interfere with daily activities, reduce productivity, and you’d just become a negative person.
Impact on Concentration and Mindfulness
Concentration is something that’s lacking today, and that’s because of how much we all multitask. Just think of it: watching TV while eating lunch, switching tabs for a minute while working, or listening to scrolling through reels as you rock your baby to bed.
Using phones in the bathroom only contributes to today’s culture of multitasking, which worsens your concentration. The bathroom, traditionally a place for a quick pitstop, becomes another place for dopamine overload, reducing the best place for some quiet time and mental relaxation.
Compulsion: Feeling an uncontrollable urge to check the phone during every bathroom visit.
Extended Time: Spending more time in the bathroom than necessary due to phone use.
Anxiety Without Phone: Experiencing discomfort or anxiety when the phone isn't accessible during bathroom breaks.
Regularly using phones in the bathroom can disrupt those moments of solitude that might otherwise serve as brief mental breaks during the day. Instead of providing a chance for mindfulness or relaxation, scrolling through potentially distressing or mindless content can lead to increased stress and tension.
This constant exposure to negative information can reinforce a negative mindset, contributing to mental fatigue and decreased overall well-being.
Putting the mental health part aside, using phones in the bathroom can have physical repercussions, too:
Haemorrhoids and Rectal Issues: Too much sitting on the toilet, mainly due to being engrossed in that damn phone, can increase the risk of haemorrhoids and other rectal problems.
Hygiene Concerns: Bathrooms are breeding grounds for bacteria. Handling a phone in such an environment can lead to the transfer of germs, posing health risks.
Botched Brain Signals: Your brain might not send signals to your body about when to use the toilet at the right times when you spend too much time in there. When you spend too much time there, it can make the process of wanting to poop even longer!
Establish Phone-Free Zones: Designate the bathroom as a no-phone area to encourage breaks from digital engagement.
Set Time Limits: Allocate specific times for phone use, making sure it doesn't encroach on all aspects of your daily life.
Engage in Mindfulness Practices: Use bathroom time for deep breathing exercises (assuming you have a clean bathroom) or brief meditations to promote mental clarity.
Stay Informed Mindfully: While it's essential to stay updated, be selective about news sources and set boundaries so you’re not overloaded with information.
Now that you know how lousy doomscrolling can be, we hope you can stop many people from indulging in this bad habit. While being active online is an essential part of our identity, you don’t have to be connected to the world constantly. Sometimes, you gain more by missing out, and this is a clear example.
Not only will you thank us, but you’ll be able to concentrate so much more on the more important things as you become the best version of yourself!
