Forget Doomscrolling, People Are ‘Bloomscrolling’ When Everything Starts Stressing Them Out
Raul Mellado Ortiz | Shutterstock In a world full of negativity and challenges, we often turn to doomscrolling as a way of taking our minds off things. However, a new trend is emerging, one that invites a little joy into our lives.
It's called "bloomscrolling," and more people are becoming aware of its benefits. We typically enjoy coming across a wholesome story or some happy news, but making this the only type of content we see on our feeds has some powerful neurological and psychological impacts.
People are turning to 'bloomscrolling' to help relieve stress in their daily lives.
Unlike doomscrolling, which involves continuously scrolling through social media feeds even when the content is upsetting or overwhelming, bloomscrolling intentionally focuses on the positive. It involves curating the content you see to be uplifting, educational, or inspiring.
Miljan Zivkovic | Shutterstock
Maybe you follow personal growth content because it motivates you, or you choose educational content because you want to learn and expand your knowledge. The point is to only allow things in your feed that make you feel happy or make you better in some way, and remove the content that is unhelpful or stress-inducing.
According to Cosmopolitan India, "Algorithms thrive on friction and unease. The more overwhelmed you are, the longer you stay. Outrage, panic, heartbreak, ambiguity — it’s all fuel. Bloomscrolling interrupts that. When you scroll back up or linger on posts that feel warm, thoughtful, or pleasant, you’re breaking the pattern the platform expects."
Bloomscrolling can positively influence your mental health.
Though it's still time spent on technology, the type of content you're consuming matters to your brain. Positive content can cause a boost of dopamine and oxytocin to be released in the body, rather than the stress spikes that often accompany doomscrolling.
Repeatedly exposing yourself to constructive content can even change the way you think. It reinforces patterns of optimistic thinking and strengthens the neural pathways that control gratitude and resilience. Your brain literally becomes rewired.
Psychiatrist Dr. Ashutosh Shah of Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital told Cosmopolitan India, "When you slow down and choose what to look at, you activate the prefrontal cortex, which pulls you out of compulsive scrolling. You’re switching from sympathetic activation to parasympathetic calm, which brings in neurotransmitters like serotonin and oxytocin. Bloomscrolling is the brain praising you for putting your mental health first."
'Bloomscrolling' is one simple way to start interacting more thoughtfully with technology.
It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking all technology is bad, but in reality, it's more about how we choose to engage with it that determines how it truly impacts us. Our habits become automatic, such as opening apps on autopilot, but we can interrupt these harmful behaviors by asking ourselves questions. Think about "why am I doing this?" and "what will this accomplish for me?"
mojo cp | Shutterstock
Additionally, don't let technology make your life too convenient. Allowing some friction can disrupt mindless use, and you can do this by deleting distracting apps, logging out of social media after use, and finding ways to reduce visual stimulation.
A big part of using technology mindfully is taking time not to use it at all. Taking intentional breaks helps weaken your dependency and improve your attention span. But you don't have to be bored during this time. Pick up an analog hobby, like crafting, reading, or making art!
Kayla Asbach is a writer currently working on her bachelor's degree at the University of Central Florida. She covers relationships, psychology, self-help, pop culture, and human interest topics.
