How to stop doomscrolling: a practical guide
You didn't plan to lose forty minutes to the feed — nobody does. Doomscrolling isn't a willpower failure; it's the predictable result of software engineered to hold your attention for as long as possible.
Why the feed is so sticky
Three tricks do most of the work: an infinite scroll with no natural stopping point, a stream of unpredictable rewards that keeps you swiping “just one more,” and notifications designed to pull you back the moment you leave. You're not weak — you're up against a slot machine.
Give your attention a finish line
The antidote isn't more willpower; it's swapping the bottomless feed for something that actually ends. A task with a clear start and finish gives your brain the sense of completion it's really chasing — then lets you walk away.
The feed never ends on purpose. Beat it by choosing things that do.
That's the whole idea behind the little apps we make. A round in Cognito, one Sudoku Crazy! level, a quick game of Chess Connect — they scratch the same itch as the scroll, but they finish. You get the small win and put the phone down.
