A reason why social scrolling creates depression and anxiety is bc your brain has a negativity bias to search for threats. Once you feel the threat, your brain wants to find an all-clear signal to know the threat is no longer present. The variable reward of the next post being that all-clear signal keeps you scrolling. Keeping you in a hyper aroused state 24/7.
Some ways to break this:
+ choose fixed windows to be on social media
+ consume a single long form source vs scrolling
+ 24 social fast 1x week
Evidence
In 111 healthy students (mean age 23) Limiting screen time to >2 hours/day for 3 weeks statistically improved depressive and stress symptoms, as well as sleep quality. Following the intervention, screen time increased rapidly, and symptoms worsened again, indicating a causal link.
