It’s past midnight, you’re exhausted, but you’re still staring at your phone. We’ve all been there.

“I go to check the time and end up on my phone for an hour,” says sophomore, Londyn Arnold.

You start by checking one notification, and suddenly you’re twenty minutes deep into a thread about a natural disaster or the latest political drama. Your heart is racing and you feel terrible, but for some reason, you just can’t stop swiping. This is “Doomscrolling,” and for our generation, it’s becoming a major problem.

It turns out, there is actually a scientific reason why we do this. Our brains have something called a negativity bias. Back when humans lived in the wild, it was more important to notice a predator than a pretty flower. Our brains are still wired that way today. When we see scary news, our curiosity kicks in. It makes us feel like we need to keep reading to feel safe even though scrolling through TikTok in bed isn’t actually helping us survive anything.

Social media apps make this even worse. They use algorithms designed like slot machines. You never know if the next post will be a funny meme or a depressing headline, so your brain keeps chasing that desire for new information. This constant stream of bad news is leading to a shorter attention span. Our attention spans get so fried by quick digital updates that we can’t even focus on a movie or a textbook anymore.

“I stay up too late at night on my phone and the next morning I’m already burnt out and tired,” says sophomore, Hendrix Stagge.

The physical side effects are just as bad. Most of us Doomscroll at night, and the blue light from our phones tells our brains to stay awake. When you mix that with the stress, you’re basically giving yourself a shot of adrenaline right before bed. 

It’s no wonder so many students feel burnt out and sleep-deprived the next morning.

Breaking the habit isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. Simple things like setting a 15-minute timer for scrolling or keeping your phone in another room at night can help. 

We can’t fix the world’s problems by staring at a screen until 3 AM. Sometimes the best thing we can do for our mental health is just hit the power button.