Teenagers in the United States spent an average of 4.8 hours a day on popular social media apps — including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram — in 2024. This is the equivalent of roughly 73 days spent scrolling through social media. 

Social media usage has become a significant method of connection, learning and communication for teenagers around the world. While social media content and consumption can be an outlet for self-expression, it can also be a hub for cyberbullying, insecurity and addiction. 

YouTube, TikTok and Instagram expose users to an endless stream of short-form content. Videos ranging from seconds to a few minutes long require minimal time and attention for a high dopamine payoff. With this in mind, these apps are designed to keep users engaged with social media platforms for long periods of time. 

“It’s straight-up a trance,” Kai Tabas ’26 said. “You start scrolling, then you … kind of forget about everything. And then you realize, ‘What am I doing? I just burned two hours on my phone.’” 

Curiosity or boredom may cause users to open social media. However, many end up having difficulty closing the app — fostering an addictive relationship with social media scrolling. Social media platforms design their algorithms with several psychological principles in mind to maximize user engagement, according to the National Library of Medicine. 

Algorithms do this by replicating the chemical stimulation humans experience when engaging with natural reward systems, like when seeking food, entertainment or connection with others. Social media replicates these reward systems by feeding viewers an endless stream of new content curated to the user’s interests. As people scroll, their brains release dopamine, the main chemical involved in addiction.

Neuroscience teacher Hannah Graham said, “The dopamine released due to the uncertain timing of these surprise rewards causes the [scrolling] behavior to be reinforced, meaning we will want to keep scrolling and scrolling to pursue more and more of these surprise rewards.”

This addictive behavior observed with social media use is often called doomscrolling. Doomscrolling is the act of spending a large quantity of time, often mindlessly watching short-form content, user-generated social media content or news. Doomscrolling can also specifically refer to the consumption of negative content. 

Some may open social media without the intent of doomscrolling, but the time spent scrolling can quickly become significant and potentially dangerous. “My version of doomscrolling is when I really know a lot about a certain topic, but then I just keep watching and searching it up … on different platforms,” Stacey Liu ’27 said. “[I end up] not keeping track of time or not really caring about the amount of time I’m spending on social media.” 

For some, procrastination can trigger doomscrolling sessions. “When I have something I don’t want to do, like an assignment or a chore, I’ll just go on my phone first and then … keep going,” Ava Goldenberg ’28 said. 

Scrolling can serve as a method for decompression. “Being mindless sometimes feels nice to just get out of my own head and feel good,” health teacher Jenn Epstein said. “It can feel like a break if … it’s been a long day.”

Many students use doomscrolling as a way to unwind from external stressors. “[Scrolling] feels like a form of self-care to me. I have a lot to do, but at the same time, my mental health is deteriorating, and I need to have this doomscrolling break,” Liu said.

Although it may seem appealing at times, doomscrolling’s long-term effects can be hazardous. According to an article written by psychologist Victoria L. Dunckley, quick, constant artificial dopamine release — such as that triggered by scrolling — can interfere with essential habits for sleep, mental acuity, and attention span. For example, spending time on social media rather than sleeping or interacting with others can lead to sleep deprivation or feelings of isolation, both of which are linked to mood changes and depression. 

Some report that time spent doomscrolling takes away from more valuable pastimes. “The worst part of [social media] reels is that you don’t have to practice thinking,” said Tabas, who has recently reduced his social media usage. “I’m really valuing [being] bored more often. If you spend time working out your mental problems in your head, whether it’s in bed or reading, it’s time to practice thinking.”

Some students use social media as a filler activity to help avoid boredom. “[I’ll use social media] on the bus or when I’m sort of in the process of doing something like going to school, when there’s nothing better to be doing with my time,” Soren Price ’28 said. 

Epstein reflected on other patterns of social media use she notices in students. “Places [where we] just sat with ourselves and our thoughts, like sitting at your brother’s gymnastics practice or waiting for the bus, are all times that we used to maybe just listen to music and be in our own heads and with our own thoughts. [We] felt more comfortable being bored or not stimulated constantly,” she said. “People use the phone to fill all of those spaces.”

Social media’s addictive properties and easy accessibility can inhibit students’ productivity. “The week before finals week in the fall term, I had so much burnout that I was just doomscrolling from the moment I got home to five minutes before I started doing my homework,” Liu said. 

Due to doomscrolling’s inhibitions on productivity, some find it important to avoid it when working. “One thing that helps me not doomscroll is to do my homework in a more public space in my house, not in my room,” Goldenberg said. “I’ll do [my homework] sometimes on the kitchen counter with my mom nearby, because then I’m held accountable.”

While there are potential risks to doomscrolling, some note that being active on social media can be a source of connection between social media users. “I feel like [not scrolling] makes you a little less cultured, in a way. … [When] you pick up on certain references, you can connect with people,” Tabas said. “But … the reward payoff for how much time you spend [scrolling] is very small, because you’ll get a couple more references for wasting hours of your day.”

Though social media can be a means of connection, the risks of doomscrolling can be impactful. According to Talker Research’s Media Consumption Report, conducted in July and August 2024 and published in October of that year, 66% of Gen Z respondents agreed that they consume too much media. 

This growing awareness has prompted many Gen Z users to actively limit their social media habits. A September 2025 study from Broadband Search found that 86% of Gen Z respondents attempted to limit their social media usage in 2025.

Having a task, such as homework, has prompted many students to use strategies to get off their phones. “I sometimes like to give my phone to my sister. I’ll put it in her room while I have all my homework in my room,” Liu said.

Tabas expressed hope for the future of social media usage. “I feel like in the end, short-form content will not end up being as big of a deal as we really think it is because everybody has the same concerns about it,” Tabas said. “I think people aren’t going to let [doomscrolling] completely consume everything that they do.”