How to Stop Doomscrolling: What the Research Says Works

By Fred Smith, maker of Drill Sergeant / Updated October 19, 2026/ 9 min read

The short answer

The method with the strongest evidence is a pause before the app opens, with an easy way out: in a six-week study of 280 people, that alone cut how often they opened their social apps by 57%. Next best: a daily budget of about 30 minutes, a few weeks off completely, and grayscale. Whatever you choose, make it hard to skip, because a limit you can dismiss with one tap stops working.

Doomscrolling is scrolling on through bad news, or any endless feed, long after it stops doing you any good. Merriam-Webster added "doomscroll" to the dictionary in 2023^[1]. The average internet user spends about 2 hours and 21 minutes a day on social media^[2], and most of us know which part of that we'd like back.

There's a lot of advice on this. Below is what actually has studies behind it, strongest first, with the numbers and how to set each one up. After that, a few cheap habits without much research but plenty of common sense.

Why it's so hard to stop

A feed has no last page. There's no natural point to stop, every swipe might bring something good, and the next video is already playing. Willpower is the wrong tool against something designed like that. The methods that work all change the setup instead: they add a stopping point, make the next swipe cost something, or make the feed less rewarding.

1. Put a pause in front of the app

The evidence: the strongest study here followed 280 people for six weeks while an app called one sec showed a short pause before their chosen social apps opened. On 36% of their attempts, people closed the app right at the pause. Over the six weeks they also tried to open the apps 37% less often. In total, they opened them 57% less, and said they were happier with how they used them^[3].

The same paper then tested which part of the pause did the work, in an experiment with 500 people. The biggest effect came from simply offering a clear option to back out. Making people wait helped too. The "are you sure?" message on its own did nothing^[3].

How to do it: install an app that puts a checkpoint in front of your feeds and gives you an obvious exit. one sec uses a breathing pause. Drill Sergeant uses Captain Jack: 10 push-ups, a report of real work, or "Get back to work", which is the exit button.

2. Give yourself a daily budget of about 30 minutes

The evidence: in a 2018 experiment, 143 students were split into two groups. One carried on as usual. The other was limited to 10 minutes a day on each of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, about 30 minutes in total, for three weeks. The limited group reported clearly less loneliness and depression, especially those who started out most depressed^[4].

How to do it: set a limit per app in Screen Time (iPhone) or an app timer in Digital Wellbeing (Android). Then read method 5, because by default these limits are easy to ignore.

3. Take a real break

The evidence: in a large experiment published in the American Economic Review, people were paid to deactivate Facebook for four weeks. Their well-being went up a little but measurably. They spent the freed time offline, including more time with friends and family. And weeks after the experiment ended, they still used Facebook less than before^[5].

How to do it: pick one app and take it off your phone for four weeks. Log out on your computer too. Put a date in your calendar to decide whether you want it back.

4. Turn your screen grey

The evidence: a 2020 study of college students found that switching their phones to grayscale cut screen time by roughly 40 minutes a day^[6]. A 2023 study with 84 people found a smaller drop of 20 minutes a day. People felt more in control and less stressed, but they unlocked their phones just as often^[7]. Grey makes the feed less fun; it doesn't break the habit of checking.

How to do it: on iPhone, Settings, Accessibility, Display & Text Size, Color Filters, Grayscale. Set the Accessibility Shortcut (triple-click the side button) to switch it on and off. On Android, look for Bedtime mode's grayscale option in Digital Wellbeing, or Color correction in Accessibility.

5. Make your limits hard to skip

Apple says it plainly: by default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once reached^[8]. A limit that disappears with one tap teaches you to tap. Three ways to give it teeth:

Set a Screen Time passcode and let someone else choose it.
On iPhone, turn on Block at Downtime, so apps are blocked during downtime rather than just dimmed.
Put a real cost on the way in, so getting past the limit takes effort, not a tap. That's the idea behind push-up app blockers.

Your thumb is not tired. Your feed is not finished. Neither of them ever will be. Stand down.

Cheap habits that help

These don't have big studies behind them, but they cost nothing and make the methods above easier:

Turn off notifications from feed apps. Let messages through; silence the "you might like" pings.
Move the apps off your home screen. If you have to search for TikTok, you'll notice yourself doing it.
Charge your phone outside the bedroom. Late-night scrolling is the hardest kind to stop, so don't start it.
Swap the scroll for something physical. Ten push-ups take less than a minute and break the trance better than any reminder.

Where Drill Sergeant fits

We built Drill Sergeant around the first and fifth methods. Open Instagram, TikTok or YouTube and Captain Jack stops you. You can do 10 push-ups for 10 minutes, report an hour of real work for 10 minutes, or take the exit and get back to work. Reports top out at an hour of scrolling a day, so there's a budget built in. And it doesn't go away with one tap.

Comparing apps? Read Pushscroll alternatives, compared. Losing your evenings to one tab in particular? See how to block Instagram Reels.

Questions people ask

What is the fastest way to stop doomscrolling?

Put a pause in front of the apps you scroll, with an easy way to back out. In a 280-person field study, a short pause before social apps made people abandon 36% of their attempts on the spot, and after six weeks they opened those apps 57% less.

How much social media a day is healthy?

There is no official number. In one well-known experiment, students limited to 10 minutes per app on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, about 30 minutes a day in total, reported less loneliness and depression after three weeks than students who carried on as usual.

Does turning my phone grey really help?

A little. Two studies found grayscale cut screen time by about 20 to 40 minutes a day. In the more recent one, people still unlocked their phones just as often, so grayscale makes scrolling less fun rather than breaking the checking habit.

Should I delete social media completely?

You can, and a large experiment found that four weeks off Facebook slightly improved well-being and left people spending more time with friends and family. But cutting down works too, and is easier to keep up.

Is there an app that stops doomscrolling?

Yes. Pause apps like one sec add a breathing pause. Push-up blockers like Drill Sergeant make you do 10 push-ups or report real work before Instagram or TikTok opens. Your phone's built-in Screen Time or Digital Wellbeing limits are free but easy to ignore.