Social networks have transformed the way people inform themselves, relate and spend their free time. Platforms like TikTok or Instagram have consolidated a fast, visual and apparently harmless entertainment model that is part of the daily routine of millions of users.. However, the growth of the so-called ‘doomscrolling’the gesture of swiping without stopping to consume content, has raised concern among mental health and neuroscience specialists.
What is the ‘doomscrolling’ that platforms like TikTok make so addictive?
The term doomscrolling describes the action of compulsively browsing videos or posts for long periods. According to the psychiatrist and researcher at the International University of La Rioja (UNIR), Hilario Blasco-Fontecilla, current social networks function as “social cobwebs” designed to capture the user’s attention for as long as possible.
The specialist warns that these platforms respond to economic interests based on the user’s permanence in front of the screen. In their opinion, they are designed to “to entangle and control the thinking of human beings”a dynamic that, according to their analysis, especially affects minors and adolescents, whose brains are still developing.
Blasco-Fontecilla points out that these types of tools pcan progressively replace real social interaction. The result, he explains, is a generation that, despite being hyperconnected, experiences higher levels of loneliness and difficulties in social skills.
The impact of infinite scrolling on the brain
Constant consumption of short videos It not only affects social habits, but also brain chemistry. As explained in an informative video about this phenomenon, “your brain chemistry is going to be unbalanced every time you do scroll to the screen.” This effect is related to dopamine releasea neurotransmitter linked to pleasure and motivation.
The same content warns that “your brain releases small doses of dopamine and over time to adapt to these constant peaksyour brain will lower your base level of dopamine.” This can make everyday activities such as reading, playing sports or walking less stimulating.
Research in neuroscience supports this idea. Studies published in journals such as Nature Reviews Neuroscience have shown that The brain’s reward systems can adapt to repetitive and intense stimuliwhich increases the need to seek increasingly immediate stimuli.
Another of the consequences indicated is weakening of the prefrontal cortexthe brain region responsible for functions such as decision making, planning and impulse control: when making a scroll constant cell phone, this part naturally weakens.
This phenomenon could translate into a decreased ability to stay focused or resist distractions: The brain ends up looking for “instant dopamine”, which favors impulsive responses over reflective processes.
Various studies of Journal of Behavioral Addictions have linked excessive use of social networks with symptoms similar to those of other addictive behaviorsincluding loss of control, emotional dependence and difficulties in reducing the time of use.
Consequences on memory, learning and creativity
Infinite scrolling can also affect the hippocampus, the brain structure related to memory. Overexposure to fast and fragmented content can make it difficult to consolidate memories and deep learning. In addition, experts warn of a possible impact on creativity. Passive consumption of content reduces the time dedicated to reflection and generating one’s own ideas, favoring a reactive mentality.
A particularly worrying problem in young people
The psychiatrist Blasco-Fontecilla warns that minors are especially vulnerable. He claims that his immature brain makes it easy for these platforms to influence his emotions and behaviors. It also warns that the increase in mental health problems among adolescents in developed countries coincides with the rise of these networks since the 2010s.
The specialist considers that there is a “crisis of social skills and mental health in young people” and positively values initiatives such as those being studied by some countries to limit minors’ access to social networks.
Experts recommend set usage limits, disable notifications and encourage activities outside the digital environmentsuch as sports or face-to-face social relations. They also suggest practicing conscious content consumption and avoiding using your cell phone before going to sleep. Although social networks are part of everyday life, specialists agree that the challenge is to use them without replacing other forms of leisure, learning or human interaction.