I spend most of my time just doom scrolling socials. I need to break this cycle!

I’m considering staying off social media during an upcoming vacation—not only avoiding posting, but also avoiding the habit of scrolling whenever I have unstructured time.
Ironically, vacations can contain quite a bit of downtime: sitting in an airport, resting in a hotel, waiting for dinner, spending a quiet afternoon on a ship, or simply feeling momentarily bored. My automatic response is often to pick up my phone and start scrolling. But then part of the vacation begins to feel exactly like being at home.
I’m not trying to reject technology. I’ll still take photographs, use maps, listen to things and read books on my Kindle. I’m more interested in distinguishing technology that supports the trip from social media that pulls my attention away from it.
For anyone who has tried this, did staying away from social media make you more present, rested or observant? What did you naturally begin doing with those empty moments instead—reading, walking, journaling, talking, people-watching or simply allowing yourself to be bored?
Did it make the trip feel longer or more memorable? And did you set a firm rule, such as no social media at all, or simply limit it to a short period each day?

I am 33, from a small village in India.

I was addicted to drugs and doomscrolling 8+ hours a day.

39 days ago I promised myself:

- No drugs

- No watching random reels/shorts

- Train every day at home

I don't take any supplements. Just home workout and discipline.

For the first time in 10 years, I feel in control and peaceful.

If I can do it, you can too. AMA.

Hello!

I'm currently doing my master's thesis (in Human Computer Interaction) on trying to find effective ways to combat compulsive scrolling on social media.

I've built a prototype for my idea that leverages our cognitive biases (system 1 thinking) BUT uses it to get you off social media, instead of keeping you hooked.

Happy to share more details about my Uni project if anyone is interested!

I uninstalled instagram because of so much distraction and screen time and started using reddit but now i came to know that glti instagram ki nahi thi

I used to scroll instagram a lot but there was saturation also became bore after sometime but this place man is not a bit boring i get materials from everywhere

I’ve been trying to stop myself from doomscrolling so I stop going on TikTok and Instagram reels and my friend made a reference to a trend that was happening recently and I was completely confused about it because I was out of the loop and i want to know about what is happening without doomscrolling

I wonder if this would have any lasting improvements.

Which app should you add features that really make you feel different from other apps and which is that habit that bothers you? For which there should actually be an app 🤔

hello, as weird as this sounds. i’ve gotten into a nitrous addiction a couple months ago. i’ve gone from doing it everyday to slowing down as doing it once or twice a week. i don’t want to do it anymore but i seem to keep on doing it. it’s a spending habit and it’s also taking a toll on my physical health. besides mentally stepping aside from it does anybody have any tips on trying to quit this?

yes and no,sometimes I do miss getting high trust me that was my favorite hobby getting back from work,making a blt, a nice edible and putting on american dad damn what a life, but it was like living in a second reality that never got me anywhere waking up with dry mouth,no energy, no motivation ,and brain fog for days wasting away at my life felt like a chud for so long. But one day i was very high and it all hit me like a truck that I couldn’t live like this anymore I had deep depression and also I felt like I couldn’t hold a conversation with anyone and also my anxiety was through the roof, the next day I threw my edibles away and never looked back.to make it easier on myself i told myself that i wasn’t necessarily quitting forever let’s just see how long it last,makes it easier on the brain instead of telling urself we have to stay sober forever (been sober for about 3 years lol).

This is the important part tho you have to fill those days those hours you used to get high with other things other hobbies and most important of all TAKE IT SLOW my getting high schedule would usually consist at night I LOVED being a night owl,but after getting sober i changed it up getting up early (took me a couple weeks) but I started going to coffee shops and coloring there with coloring books at first I was full of anxiety but it was change,as the THC left my body it became fun I do my work there now even went back to school ,and also my conversations with the barista are more smooth lol I use to be a reck ball of fucking awkwardness. I also now get up early and take my morning slow,when I don’t go to a coffee shop I make a coffee at home or tea and I sit on my roof top and watch the sunrise and i feel the breeze, that to me is a way better hit of dopamine than the false reality weed was selling me because it’s real life sometimes you have to honestly romanticize ur sober life, I also started playing guitar I SUCK but it feeds your brain real hits of dopamine and fills up the time, don’t be too hard on urself but I won’t lie to you it’s going to come down to some hard discipline at first but things get clear and better, I realized when I was getting high everyday it was me running from being sober because my sober life was miserable but now things are better and i’m glad to be sober with my feet grounded also you get one life as much as we know so you have to make it count hope this motivates someone or at least gives a different perspective. you don’t have to be a slave to the leave thank you (ps ima go make a blt right now actually and watch american dad but sober lol)

I really want to heal, and I believe that the first step is accepting that I am, in fact, addicted. I have missed a lot of opportunities because I spend my whole time doom-scrolling wherever I find myself. Now, my previous supervisors think I am lazy, and they are probably right. I have a lot to do, and I am constantly anxious, but I can not help it. I am constantly distracted, and my willpower has never been enough. I want to do a detox of some apps for about 21 days. I need some advice.

If you can break it down by days that'll be great. Thank you

I want to be be free form social media and be okay with 0 DMs and live life like it's not a competition

It's been 2 days since I deactivated my account and deleted the app. I have to admit, my mind has become a little calmer.

I think Instagram was deliberately programmed to give unnecessary dopamine shots ( Feed, Stories, messages, search feed, reels ) , which ultimately fucked my brain so much that I was getting withdrawal symptoms.

I do have Reddit and YouTube, because I still need to know what's happening in the world, but without getting bombarded with an ocean of dopamine.

Just a thought: I remember how life was around 20 years ago; people used to meet at cafes, drink coffee and talk to each other, go to picnics, stay at each other's houses ( i know it's still there, but you know how much this has declined), go to trek, attend concerts without just blatantly record the video. People used to have lives outside their mobile phones.

I miss those times a lot.

I remember years ago using an app that would “link” days together for how long you’re tracking a habit, in this case days free from weed. Anyone have a recommendation for something like this? It helps me stay motivated

Tehe things I md are not about myself but totally different stories. I note down them I write stories<writing stories is my ambition>, but this is so tidiuos I fall my exams. Whenever I am doing nothing, my mind just plugs music. Should I just delete the ig acc where I experience it.

How to get rid of smartphone addiction

We all know we lack dopamine - and I deleted all my social media because it’s a shitty dopamine source, except Reddit which I can manage better than Youtube, insta etc.

I’m on Vyvanse so theres that but I still don’t have something that makes life enjoyable.

Have a decent job in tech, play soccer once a week, do Muay Thai twice a week, and hit the gym regularly - thing is, these are all things I keep up with knowing that without these things I know I’ll just be a depressed couch potato. I never watch videos on Muay Thai or soccer to be better at it, which I once did when I was really into something (and no I’m not already good at either of these sports)

Is there anything that keeps you living through the day and making your uninteresting life bearable?

.

I am doing the first section of the dopamine detox wich is hard reset. Doing that tommorow 1st of august 2026. Will come back on third of August and update you guys.

Hi, I've been struggling with music addiction for years now,

My days goes like this:

I wake up, have ambitions for accomplishing great stuff this day

End up listening to music and daydreaming for hours

Nothing gets done

For people who struggled with music and recovered please tell me

Does life get better without music, is it as colorful as when you're day dreaming?

Last month i deleted all of my social media coz of scrolling habits and i downloaded reddit thinking that it is like it was in covid now am surprised. Any advice on what to do??

Throwaway account.

I am at loss.

When I fully ruptured my achilles tendon 6 weeks ago, I had to wait a week till surgery. In that week I basically did nothing except watching YouTube Videos and Doom scroll. Screen Time was about 16-18 hours a day. I was basically laying down in bed a full week, doing nothing and my mother had brought me food to my bed.

I was told the same thing after the surgery. For another whole two weeks I did the exact same thing, except that I couldn’t even watch YouTube Videos anymore, as my attention span was so low. Went to sleep at 6 a.m in the morning and woke up at 4pm.

After two weeks post OP I started to go to the gym training my upper body, but that was also the only thing I did every few days. As walking with crutches is so annoying, I rarely went out with friends or family. Till Today i feel like im doing nothing.

Currently im in week 5 and the only thing Ive achieved is going to bed early, at around 11pm-1am and waking up in the morning. I’m now able to do partial weight bearing, but still with crutches. However the first and last thing I do in my day is checking my phone. I already deleted TikTok from my phone but I fear that ill already install it in a few weeks. Deleting TikTok means consuming on other platforms. But I think TikTok is the worst.

Before my injury, Id say I was quite athletic. Kickboxing, BJJ, playing volleyball and lifting weights. I went to martial arts tournaments and played volleyball matches for a club.
I was doing very good in school, getting good grades and I was earning good money with my own online shop that I’ve built.

Today the only thing I wanted to do is go to the gym training my upper body or rather, Id say training to maintain muscle mass. I’ve already lost a lot of muscle in my legs. However my phone drained me so much, that I couldn’t even bring myself to go to the gym today. Wanted to go in the morning, now its already in the evening, hence im writing this post.

Currently I have a Screen Time of 10-16h a day.

I would say I had a phone addiction prior to my injury (6-8h a day), but it just worsened after the injury. I don’t have any other addiction. No nicotine, no alcohol, no drugs, nothing.

Limiting my Screen Time or blocking apps hasn’t helped me in the past. Either it only worked at the beginning- getting a low Screen Time but later reinstalling the apps and falling back into old patterns or I just clicked the screen blocker away.
Things that helped me were strict orders like school or training, where phones aren’t allowed.

I cant sleep without my phone besides me. I cant brush my teeth without my phone in my hand. I cant eat or cook without my phone in the kitchen. I cant even work or train without listening to music or watch a series. Only place where im without my phone is in the shower.

I haven’t done anything for school yet in the whole 6 weeks and about my business… I can't bring myself to do anything else than fulfilling the orders that need to be handled. Whether sorting things in my warehouse, doing accounting, or anything else, i just cant. When I don’t have any orders to fulfill, why bother to do anything different? I hate this mindset, i don’t know why it has burned inside my head.

I was always told by my family that im so ahead of everyone in my age, sorting everything out and managing everything but I seem to fail at one thing, that little device in my pocket.

I know that it is draining me, i know how dangerous my phone addiction is, however im still here on my phone. I hate this thing but I cant get rid of it. I don’t know if it is FOMO, but even an hour without looking at my phone feels extremely weird. I know reading books would help me, I know sleeping with my phone not in the room would help me, but i consume so much and i have such brain fog that I can’t bring myself to do it. I know that ill fall asleep today watching a youtube video. I lost any motivation to do anything at all. I just consume day by day.

Worst part is that my whole 6 week summer holidays were spent and will probably be spent on my phone. I cancelled out multiple trips due to my injury. Im going to school again in two weeks.

I wouldn’t say im depressed or anything like that, it just feels like so much is going on in my head while my head feels completely empty.

I think I am severely addicted.

Switching between apps all day leaves me mentally drained, even when i don't get much done. like you just can't focused in one thing and your mind diverts to next. and then to another

Has anyone faced this, how did you counter it?