How excessive screen time impacts your mental health
You open your phone for a quick break—just for a moment, before getting back to whatever you were doing. But somehow five minutes turns into 30. Then 30 minutes turns into an hour.
You’re not even enjoying it anymore, but you keep scrolling anyway. Video after video on TikTok, endless posts on Instagram, or an array of comments on Facebook.
We’ve all done it. Scrolling on social media isn’t inherently a bad thing. For many, especially young people, it’s also one of the easiest ways to access your social networks.
But when scrolling becomes constant or hard to step away from, it can start to impact your well-being.
When scrolling becomes more than a quick break
Social media can be a tool, and how it impacts you can depend on how you use it. There’s a difference between using social media casually and using it to avoid what you’re feeling.
Sometimes, scrolling becomes a way to distract yourself from stress, loneliness, anxiety, depression, or other emotional pain. In small doses, temporary distraction can be helpful. It gives your mind somewhere else to go when you’re overwhelmed or stuck on something.
But scrolling can become an issue when it no longer feels like a choice.
Maybe you reach for your phone every time you feel uncomfortable, or you start scrolling when you know you should be sleeping, eating, working, studying, or spending time with people in your life. Maybe you tell yourself you’re taking a break by scrolling, but afterwards, you don’t actually feel rested.
That’s when it might be worth paying attention to your relationship with social media.
Why we keep scrolling
Excessive scrolling and social media overconsumption can become self-reinforcing.
Scrolling offers quick hits of satisfaction, each swipe releases a small burst of dopamine and the unpredictability of what comes next keeps your brain wanting more. Over time, the pleasure pathways in your brain can change to encourage scrolling behaviour.
Social media gives us easy access to information, stimulation, distraction, and connection. The more we turn to it as our safe space, the easier it can become to keep reaching for it.
When it becomes a habit, scrolling can start to feel like the easiest coping strategy in your toolbox. While healthier options such as talking to a friend, going outside, or journalling are there, they often take more effort in the moment.
That can be especially difficult when you’re already feeling overwhelmed, depressed, or exhausted. When you’re just trying to get through the moment, it can be hard to prioritize longer-term coping strategies.
Scrolling can leave you feeling worse
Scrolling can feel passive because it doesn’t take much physical energy. But for your brain, scrolling is far from passive.
When you scroll, your brain takes in a lot of information very quickly, from upsetting news to funny videos and much more.
Even if you think you’re relaxing, your overstimulated brain is working overtime trying to process all that content.
If you’ve already spent much of the day looking at screens, trying to relax with more screen time likely won’t give your brain the kind of rest it really needs.
And when you’re done scrolling, all the things you were avoiding are still there. The tasks still need to be done. The difficult emotions still need to be felt. You might not have moved your body, eaten regularly, had water, slept enough, or connected with someone in a meaningful way. What started as a well-intended break can actually leave you feeling more drained than before.
If social media starts impacting your daily functioning, it may be time to look at your relationship with scrolling. Try asking yourself, ‘Am I...’
Feeling worse after scrolling?
Not wanting to reach out to others?
Avoiding social plans or events?
Not sleeping or eating regularly?
Having trouble regulating my mood?
Struggling to concentrate?
Falling behind at school or work?
Noticing changes in my relationships?
Creating heathier ways to cope
Changing your relationship with social media doesn’t mean you have to delete every app or stop using your phone altogether. It can start with adding more structure.
That might mean:
Setting boundaries around screen time
Choosing certain times of day to be offline
Turning your phone off for short periods of time
Leaving your phone in another room
Sleeping with your phone in a different room
Finding more productive distractions
It can also help to create more opportunities for rest and connection outside of scrolling.
Instead of opening social media, try calling a friend or family member, spending time outside, reading a book, cooking a healthy meal, moving your body, listening to music or a podcast, or scheduling social plans.
These habits might not feel as easy or comfortable as scrolling at first. But building healthy coping skills doesn’t always feel good immediately. It takes time to break old habits and create new, healthier ones.
When to reach out for support
If scrolling has become your main way of avoiding difficult emotions, it’s helpful to ask yourself what would help you through those moments, rather than avoiding them.
You don’t have to rely on social media alone to cope with what you’re feeling. Talking to a counsellor can help you better understand what is beneath the urge to scroll and build healthier ways to manage difficult emotions. They can also help to create more space for support and connection in your life.
If scrolling has started to feel hard to control or like it’s affecting your well-being, Calgary Counselling Centre is always here to help.
Information for this blog was provided by registered social workers, Kyle Ho, Sharona Pilmeister, and Fiona Schick, and registered psychologist, Lisa McIsaac. Learn more about our counsellors.