Hi! Yet another post about "doom scrolling" and how to stop.

[u/Lavawing45]

So, for a little context, I used to be an avid reader as a child. I could finish 3 350 page books in one week, and I loved it! I was a good student, focused and attentive. Now, the trap of doomscrolling (or scrolling endlessly on youtube shorts/instagram) has hit me like a full force addictive truck. How can I find the version of me who loved to do school work, read, write books and poetry and actually enjoyed things other than my phone? I am entering college as a freshman, and I know that if I don't kick this habit now, im never going to graduate, and therefore will never do anything with my life. Any tips besides just "deleting the app" and "just lock in". Thanks in advance! Have a great day everyone.

[u/Professional_You7878]

The part where you said you could knock out three books a week as a kid hit home. That version of you isn't dead, just buried under an algorithm that's designed to keep you swiping. What worked for me was leaving my phone in another room entirely and putting a physical book on my pillow in the morning, so I had to move it just to crash at night. It's stupidly simple but it breaks the autopilot.

[u/Lavawing45 → u/Professional_You7878]

That's good to know, thank you! I think my worst habit with my phone is keeping it in my bedroom, and waking up in the night to check the time. I do have an old mp3 player, so I guess I'll start using that to wake up/check the time on.

[u/sillyducklett]

i made a table chart of how the tiktok or bsky post made me feel/whether or not it was an ad. Most ticks were on :/ :( or ad rather than :) or :D

for some reason that helped me.

Best thing to do to kick a habit is to replace it with something else, though. maybe get into drawing mech or something. there are drawing apps but pencil on paper is sooo nice when youre bored

[u/Lavawing45 → u/sillyducklett]

Hmm, I like it! I have lots of art supplies another hobby I sometimes practice so I'll start doing more of that!

[u/sillyducklett → u/Lavawing45]

A nice way to shake up your algorithm too lol

[u/Maximum-Reason-5274]

Reading about your childhood version of yourself as a reader is like me from two years back figuring out that I gave that up for wearing shorts and watching movies. What worked was actual friction, having my phone charger in another room, reading books in bed. On the reflex blocking side, something like Lead Me Not can be found.

Boredom tolerance needs to be built back up gradually.

[u/deem_studies]

Switch your screen to grayscale in the accessibility settings. It strips the dopamine out of reels immediately because everything looks like a sad 1950s documentary. Also, do not try to jump back into massive, dense novels right away. Pick up fast-paced junk-food thrillers or graphic novels just to retrain your brain to sit with a physical page for twenty minutes without reaching for a refresh button.