Doomscrolling Said to Reduce Happiness, Here's Expert Explanation

The habit of endless social media scrolling, or doomscrolling, has come under scrutiny again following several studies demonstrating its link to declining mental wellbeing, particularly among young people.

According to a BBC report (23 May 2026), the World Happiness Report from the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford found that excessive social media use is associated with decreased wellbeing in life.

However, according to The Guardian (22 May 2026), not all screen time has a negative impact. According to experts, how a person uses technology is actually the most determining factor.

“If you use social media for one hour a day, that’s good because it keeps you connected,” said Plant.

However, he noted that the report found a correlation between the amount of time spent on social media and decreased mental wellbeing.

“The longer you spend on social media, the greater the decline in wellbeing,” he said.

The report also found that wellbeing among those under 25 years old in Western countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia has declined sharply over the past decade, coinciding with the growth of social media.

Plant admitted he was initially sceptical about the claim that social media has a negative impact.

“I was initially quite sceptical about the negative aspects of social media, but there is increasingly more evidence,” he said.

He also noted that social media platforms are indeed designed to keep users engaged for longer periods.

Activities such as learning languages through applications, playing games with friends, and video calling with family differ from scrolling through short videos without purpose.

The Guardian’s video game editor, Keza MacDonald, said many people use their phones simply to “fill time” without a clear purpose.