Doom Scroll of Death

I might not be much good in grammar or English. But, I don't know. I wanted to point this out for a long time. "The DOOM SCROLL of DEATH". This maybe a long blog, You'll be only coming across this once a while. So I'd think it will be best to spent few minutes reading this.

The Start of the Phenomenon

Back then, Internet was pretty simple. Send messages to you're loved ones? , Or perhaps react to cute family pictures. Or even watch some other's cute cat or dog pictures. Internet was vast, but the messages were spread in a short circle. The Communities were smaller back in those days. Much like of a Cozy Protected Community where People "ACTUALLY" Cared for each other. There were no algorithms, No AI BS, Just some peaceful message communities. Those websites, with barely any good UI/UX and were just made to "work". During those times people had really good connections with Family as well as their friends online. The times where teens eagerly wait to get the game from the friends computer to theirs.

The Burst Of Internet

I remember, playing some old low poly game on vista. Honestly, that pc was mainly used for not much of purposes, and I occasionally play games in it. I still miss the Old UI of all websites, Software's etc.. All these times, Internet was mostly limited to Computers. After a specific time, Phones were designed to be "Efficient" and "Portable". This was probably that start of bursting of the messaging apps and social media. It was quite simple. If you still came across those YouTube videos which were published 15+ years ago, It mainly had "Motivation", "Friendship" , "Spending Time with their Loved Ones" etc.. People weren't addicted to doom scrolling. But often used when they had nothing to do in free time. Early 2000's were the Burst of Internet. People started posting Games , Challenges , Pranks and stuff. You can see the Rapid Exponential growth of internet.

The Algorithm Time Period

During 2012's "Monetization", A feature where people earn money from big corporations like Meta, Alphabet Inc, Google, Snap Inc. You can post anything, and based on "User Retention" (How long you can hook users to your video), You get paid. I'd say during these times, People actually stopped caring about others and focusing on their own wealth and profit by either providing useful stuff or useless to other people. Not gonna lie, But there are creators who love to provide good content to users without considering reaping the profits. Algorithms were pretty optimized. It know the contents user prefer, And always promote it to the front screen, while demoting all the videos with low views. If they manage to hook up people more time on their platform, the higher will be their revenue from Ads. Ever since money got in internet, The internet stopped being internet. Don't get me wrong, But this monetization had helped several youtubers to produce some quality education or some may even give them as charity. For such purposes, I'd say it got good effects. But YouTube were mostly running on Long Videos, Like the typical Recommendation. People upload (1920x1080) Resolution videos, which were not addictive as current ones IMO. But yes!, The algorithms started doing its job best during this time period.

Spark of Shorts

A decade ago, Popular Chinese Tech Company (ByteDance) released an app, Popularly known as "TikTok". Where users shared videos, But in "short" format. Instead of Developing social Life, It's motive was "What keep you hooked".

The rise in number of users, were pretty steep. The Aim of the App was Simple.

Short Videos (few seconds)
Instant Hook
Vertical (so users don't have to turn their screen every time)

Unlike YouTube (thumbnails + choice overload), TikTok removes decision fatigue. They inject your feed with your interests, and you're forced to watch it. You can't choose what to play, But algorithm decides the fate. A video will be playing always in your screen, And only decision you can do is Swipe to next content. As we can't decide much. we just gets hooked to it.

TikTok tracks micro-behaviors like:

Watch time (most important)
Rewatches
Completion rate
Pauses
Shares
Comments
Even how fast you swipe away

If you rewatch a 9-second clip twice?

Algorithm says:

“You REALLY liked this.”

And feeds you more. When you first join:

It shows broad viral content
Rapidly narrows based on your micro-interactions
Within 30 minutes, your feed feels “made for you”

Creators quickly learnt how to : Hook in first second, Cliffhangers , Part 2 Stuff, Looped Endings. This optimized content for retention — not depth. When Instagram launched Reels and YouTube launched Shorts, they copied TikTok’s structure.

“Engineered Addiction”

Interest graph
Infinite scroll
Variable reward loop
Frictionless design
Behavioral prediction

Our additions had got so bad that.

You go in for 5 minutes
You leave 2 hours later

It is as bad as drugs or p-rn. Most of current world contents are just Sexualizing everything. Explicit Thumbnails, Video Formats. It is bad. Even for Kids too. Humans are gross creatures who is willing to "DO ANYTHING" for the sake of "Money".

How it affect Minds

I am not a bio student, but here's what I know. "Dopamine", it is a hormone which is crucial for regulating mood/motivation/pleasure/attention. It is like of a rewarding chemical from brain. Dopamine is essential for coordinating smooth, controlled body movements.

Low Levels: Fatigue, lack of motivation, mood swings, memory loss, and difficulty concentrating.
High Levels: Can be associated with mania, hallucinations, or addiction. (source: internet)

When does it usually get released?

Food
Love
Big wins
Drugs
Sex
Watching emotional stuff
Solving stuff

Each short is for few seconds, It will contain different genre of stuff. from facts to fictions. Instead of getting dopamine in long intervals, Our brain triggers it dozens of time every minute. You will feel it as fast rewards. Reels feel extremely stimulating. You feel hooked quickly.

Over time:

Dopamine receptors become less sensitive (downregulation).
Baseline stimulation feels lower.
Normal activities feel “boring.”

This doesn’t mean dopamine disappears — it means your brain adapts to high-frequency stimulation.

Short-form content constantly forces:

Context switching
Emotional switching
Visual switching

Your prefrontal cortex (focus + impulse control area) gets less practice sustaining attention.

Neurologically, you’re strengthening:

Scanning behavior
Rapid evaluation
Swipe decision reflex

And weakening:

Deep focus
Delayed gratification
Cognitive endurance

This is plasticity at work — the brain adapts to what you repeatedly do. Eventually, it becomes reflexive. You may open it without consciously deciding to.

That’s basal ganglia habit circuitry taking over. Boredom normally pushes you toward:

Creativity
Reflection
Problem-solving

But if you instantly remove boredom with stimulation, your brain becomes less tolerant of low-stimulus states.

Long study sessions require:

Sustained dopamine at moderate levels
Patience before reward
Effort-based satisfaction

Reels condition the opposite:

Immediate reward
Low effort

So switching from Reels to textbook feels mentally “painful” at first. It’s not weakness. It’s conditioning. The brain is plastic both ways. If you reduce high-frequency stimulation:

Receptor sensitivity gradually normalizes
Focus improves
Boredom tolerance increases

But it takes time (days to weeks).

Consider an average life span of 70 years, An average person spends 2.5 Hours on social media, You spend "8 YEARS" of Life on that Screen. Nearly 1/7th of your DAMN LIFE, on a SCREEN. Just visualize how much time of your "Precious Life", you spent on reels. The probability of you dying is 100% , but the probability of you being is 1 in 10 to the power of 3 Million.

Break from the Chain.

Here's much better tips for "What is best and what not". Better than Reels, I'd Honestly suggest you playing with Friends, Watching movies, Online games. Because these things would be much better than the brain rot content you're getting injected with.

Delete the app (use browser only)
Or log out every time
Turn off notifications completely
Move the app off the home screen

Make it slightly annoying to access. This would make you less likely to use the app. Be strong to take your decisions.

Replace Reels with:

Gym (natural dopamine + long-term boost)
Skill building (editing, coding, design, Drawing, Writing, Reading)
Deep music listening
Real conversations

Effort-based dopamine is healthier because:

It releases slower
It doesn’t spike as high
It doesn’t downregulate receptors as aggressively

Sit with boredom for 10–15 minutes daily.

No phone. No music. No stimulation.

At first it feels uncomfortable. That’s your reward system recalibrating. Within 1–2 weeks, normal tasks feel less dull.

If you watch reels already, Do not go to 0 mins of watch duration all of a sudden, It could really impact your brain. Take the steps gradual. from few hours to few minutes. Each day, Lower and Lower.

25 min deep study (no phone)
5 min break
Repeat

At first it feels harder than scrolling. After 2 weeks, focus becomes easier again. Neuroplasticity works both ways. Boredom is the spark of creativity.

Conclusions

If this blog has affected you in anyway, And got any suggestions to add? let me know in dm's. The Reels, Short are killing your Creativity. Just stay away from it. Create awareness among people about its Cons. Reels is free, But you're paying your Time for it. Tools designed by some of the most powerful companies in the world to compete for one thing: "Your Time".

The real danger isn’t that short videos exist. It’s when they quietly replace boredom, deep work, creativity, and real human connection. Creativity requires silence. Growth requires discomfort.

This isn’t about quitting the internet. It’s about using it consciously — instead of being used by it. If this blog made you reflect even for a moment, that’s enough. And if you have thoughts, disagreements, or ideas to add — I’m always open to hearing them.

Because awareness is the first step toward control. ~Cosmic