Discover the truth about how doom scrolling is stealing precious time and years away from your life. In this eye-opening episode of Next Act Ninjas, host Rachael Van Pelt explains how mindless scrolling is not just eating up hours of your time, but also accelerating stress, inflammation, and even aging. Learn how screen time is undermining your healthspan, your wealthspan, and shortening lifespan. Hear the shocking statistics on screen time and how the digital habits we’ve formed impact our sleep, physical activity, and overall well-being. Rachael dives into our addiction to dopamine, offers practical strategies to reclaim control from digital media, and reveals actionable tips to set healthy digital boundaries. Whether you're looking to reclaim your time, reduce screen dependency, or simply enhance your quality of life, this episode is your essential guide to transforming doom scrolling into a more mindful, fulfilling Next Act. Because every minute matters when you have a finite number of quality years left. Tune in now to take control of your digital habits and invest in a healthier, more vibrant future.
Discover the truth about how doom scrolling is stealing precious time and years away from your life. In this eye-opening episode of Next Act Ninjas, host Rachael Van Pelt explains how mindless scrolling is not just eating up hours of your time, but also accelerating stress, inflammation, and even aging. Learn how screen time is undermining your healthspan, your wealthspan, and shortening lifespan. Hear the shocking statistics on screen time and how the digital habits we’ve formed impact our sleep, physical activity, and overall well-being. Rachael dives into our addiction to dopamine, offers practical strategies to reclaim control from digital media, and reveals actionable tips to set healthy digital boundaries. Whether you're looking to reclaim your time, reduce screen dependency, or simply enhance your quality of life, this episode is your essential guide to transforming doom scrolling into a more mindful, fulfilling Next Act. Because every minute matters when you have a finite number of quality years left. Tune in now to take control of your digital habits and invest in a healthier, more vibrant future.
Chapters
00:00 Doom Scrolling is Stealing Years of Your Life
01:58 How Much Time Are We Really Losing to Doom Scrolling?
03:32 How Doom Scrolling Accelerates Aging
06:04 Why We Can't Stop Doom Scrolling
08:24 Breaking the Doom Scrolling Addiction
09:24 Taking BackControl From The Media
11:01 Setting Boundaries Between You And The Infinite Scroll
12:35 Choose Content For How You Want to Feel
13:40 Stop Doom Scrolling to Reclaim Your Life
Hey, hey, welcome back to Next Act Ninjas, the number one podcast for mastering your health and wealth longevity. I'm your host, Rachael Van Pelt. Today, I want to talk about how doom scrolling is stealing years from our lives.
You know how it goes. You pick up your phone to check something real quick, just a quick news update, maybe a weather report, and then suddenly 45 minutes have vanished. You've scrolled through a bunch of terrifying news headlines, felt the FOMO of social media, maybe watched a few videos that were supposed to be entertaining, but somehow it left you feeling drained. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. The average American spends over seven hours a day looking at their screens. Seven hours! Over the course of a lifetime, that adds up to more than 20 years spent staring at a device. Two whole decades. More than a quarter of our life.
And if you're over the age of 55, that number hits even harder. If you have, let's say, 20 good years left, do really want to spend a quarter of your life glued to a screen? Those are good years that could be spent traveling, building something meaningful, connecting with people you love.
I think it's time that we have an honest conversation about doom scrolling and what it's doing to our health, our longevity, and most importantly, the quality of our remaining years. That's why today I'm going to break down what all that screen time is really costing you. Not just in lost time, but in lost health, lost vitality, lost years. And of course, we're going to also talk about how to take back control because you're not meant to spend your best years watching other people live out their lives on a screen. You're meant to be out there living your own life.
Let's crunch the numbers though because I think they're staggering. Those of us over the age of 50, we may spend less time on our screens than the average American, but we're still on our devices five to six hours per day. That includes everything, your phone, your computer, your tablet, your TV. And sure, some of that screen time is necessary. We check emails, we pay bills, we use those devices for work, of course, but news and social media account for more than two hours per day for most people. So a lot of it is still just mindless scrolling.
When you extrapolate that out, five hours a day on screens comes to 35 hours a week, nearly a full-time job. That's over 2,000 hours per year. And if you continue at that pace, for the next 20 years, that's at least four years of your life spent on a device.
So let me ask you this, if you knew you only had 20 years left, would you be willing to hand over four of those years to your devices? Would you be okay knowing that instead of traveling, learning, experiencing, laughing, creating, connecting, that you spent four full years watching the latest political scandal unfold or scrolling through social media posts from people you don't even know. That's the reality of where we're at. And the sad truth is for many people, those numbers are actually much worse.
Now, if wasted time was the only problem, that might be okay. I mean, maybe you don't mind giving up four out of 20 years of your life to your devices. Because you're feeling entertained, right? And you still have 16 years left, so who cares? But the truth is doom scrolling isn't just stealing those years. It's actively speeding up the aging process and it's worsening your healthspan, probably even shortening your lifespan.
Accelerated aging starts with stress. Your brain is wired for negativity, meaning it naturally pays more attention to bad news than good news. It's a survival mechanism. Your brain, it's just trying to keep you safe. It's staying alert to threats. But in today's world, that means your brain is constantly being bombarded with bad news. Crisis after crisis, headline after headline, story after story designed to grab your attention and keep you hooked. And that constant exposure to negativity, fear, uncertainty, it keeps your body in a state of perpetual stress. Your stress hormone cortisol stays elevated and that leads to chronic inflammation. And chronic inflammation is at the root of almost every major age-related disease, including heart disease, diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer's, you name it.
And then there's sleep. If you're scrolling through distressing news before bed or even just wasting time on your phone playing a game when you should be sleeping, you are disrupting your circadian rhythm. That's the natural sleep-wake cycle that keeps your brain and body healthy. Poor sleep is directly linked to heart disease, diabetes, dementia, rapid cognitive decline, and a shorter lifespan.
And let's not forget about physical activity. Every hour you spend scrolling is an hour you aren't moving. And sedentary lifestyle is one of the biggest predictors of age-related decline. It leads to more aches and pains, disease, immobility, disability, and ultimately a shorter, less vibrant life. So let's call it what it is, doom scrolling isn't just a bad habit, it is an aging accelerator.
It's also an unhealthy addiction, by design. Most of the headlines that we encounter online are crafted as clickbait. They're engineered to grab your attention. They have inflammatory language and sensational images. You've probably heard the phrase, "if it bleeds, it leads" and that couldn't be more accurate. Whether it's a shocking headline or a controversial trending topic, every piece of news is designed to spark an emotional reaction, a mini dopamine hit. And the repeated dopamine hits keep you coming back for more.
But it's not just the clickbait headlines on social media that are to blame, major mainstream media outlets like the New York Times or CNN, they're also in the attention-seeking game. Their goal isn't necessarily for you to even read an entire article or listen to a full newscast anymore. Their goal is much simpler. They just want to keep you scrolling, to keep you engaged, to keep you coming back for more. Because your attention is the commodity.
The algorithms that run these platforms are built to keep the dopamine hits flowing, to keep you hooked on an "infinite scroll". Every short clip, every headline, every meme is meticulously placed to capture your interest for just a few more seconds. And before you know it, those seconds add up to hours. Those hours add up to days and then decades, don't they?
And while social media influencers and advertisers are clearly competing for your attention, it's that whole media ecosystem, from the biggest news outlets to your favorite meme page, that's fighting for a minute of that attention. Businesses and politicians, they simply then exploit this ecosystem. They use it to subtly influence your buying decisions or to manipulate your political beliefs, simply by the headlines that they put in front of you day after day. It really is a well-oiled machine, and it's designed to perpetuate a loop that's incredibly hard to break free from.
Once we fully comprehend just how addictive doom scrolling is and how awful the health consequences are, it becomes obvious that we need to break the habit. We need to reclaim our attention. But I know breaking the cycle's not easy, it? Once you're in it, it's hard to break. So prevention is key. We have to make a conscious decision not to get sucked into the vortex in the first place.
The reality is once you start scrolling, it's hard to stop. These platforms are designed with one goal in mind, just to keep the dopamine hits coming so you stay on the platform, you stay engaged. That's why they serve up headline after headline, video after video and a constant stream of notifications that lure you back in. That's why prevention is critical. We have to recognize the urge to scroll even before it starts, rather than try to rely on sheer willpower to pull us out afterwards.
At the core of reclaiming control is retraining your brain. Retrain it to seek healthier dopamine hits somewhere else. Instead of mindlessly diving into the endless scroll of sensational headlines and viral clips, pause, give yourself a moment to just notice the pull. When the urge to pick up that phone or click on the website hits, just acknowledge that craving do it without judgment and then consciously choose an alternative. Choose something that genuinely enriches your day. It could be as simple as taking a few deep breaths or it might require a much bigger distraction like stepping outside for a brisk walk or engaging in a creative pursuit. Whatever you choose, these mindful actions help break the cycle of immediate gratification.
When you deliberately replace the quick dopamine rewards from doom scrolling with more fulfilling experiences, you're going to retrain your brain's reward system over time. Set structured boundaries around use of your device. Reprioritize activities that leave you feeling more alive. That might be reading, exercising, connecting with loved ones. Whatever it is, this intentional shift not only is going to diminish the addictive pull of those digital distractions, but it's also going to empower you to build a much richer, more satisfying lifestyle. A daily routine that aligns with your vision of a vibrant purpose-driven next act.
Now, what do I mean by setting structured boundaries? I mean, put some obstacles between you and that endless scroll. Our phones, and maybe even our laptops, are often within arm's reach. And that makes it far too easy to dive into that vortex of negativity. But you can create barriers and obstacles that purposefully slow you down. Go into the settings and use tools like Focus Mode or Do Not Disturb during key parts of your day. That's going to keep disruptive notifications at bay. Remove social media and news apps from your home screen. So it takes more work for you to open them. You can set firm screen time limits or app use limits and stick to them. Leave your phone in another room when you engage in deep work and when you go to bed. All of these little things add up to reduce your daily screen time.
It's also important to set intentional boundaries around the news and social media you do consume. I realize that completely cutting these things out is probably not realistic, but you can manage what, when, and how much time you spend on different platforms. For example, decide to check the news and social media just once a day. Give yourself a very narrow time window, say 15 to 20 minutes, and pick a time when you're less likely to be negatively impacting your sleep or productivity.
Also be highly selective about the actual content you consume. You can curate your feed by only following sources that inspire or educate you rather than instill fear or outrage. The goal isn't just to reclaim your time and attention, but to reclaim the emotional home you choose to live in. I mean, seriously, would you rather feel hopeful or fearful? Would you rather feel inspired or outraged?
And be honest with yourself. There's a fine line between feeling "informed" and simply feeding the flame of outrage. Outrage is that tantalizing mix of anger and moral disgust that the media algorithms just love to amplify. Do you really want to live in that emotion? Of course not. So choose how you want to feel. Don't leave it up to the algorithms. Be intentional about what you read or you listen to. The bottom line, breaking free of doom scrolling is about more than just managing your screen time. It's about choosing to reclaim your life.
I don't know how much time you have left, but I know it isn't unlimited. And every hour you spend lost in the scroll is an hour you'll never get back. I say this as much for myself as for you. So let's ask ourselves, what's more important? Another hour of mindless scrolling or another hour of truly living, laughing, moving, connecting, creating our best next act?
We always have a choice. We can spend our time watching life happen on a screen or we can live it. We can spend our best years lost in a new cycle that never ends and always feels apocalyptic, or we can spend our remaining years fully engaged, present, alive.
So I leave you with this challenge. Try cutting your screen time out just one hour this week. Notice I didn't say one hour per day. Just cut out one hour this week. Use that hour for something that makes you feel more alive. Spend some time outdoors. Move your body. Listen to uplifting music. Have an intimate conversation with a loved one. And then pay attention to how it makes you feel. Notice how much better it feels than doom scrolling. And when you do sit down to enjoy a bit of screen time, really be selective about what you choose to read or listen to. Instead of the news, maybe you find an inspirational podcast or a TED Talk to feed your mind.
Your Next Act is too important, too precious to be wasted mindlessly on a screen. Don't let your attention and your emotions be manipulated by the media. Make the conscious choice to protect your time, your health and your beautiful mind. Enjoy the added years and higher quality of life that you get back in return.
Thank you for joining me today. I fully appreciate your precious attention. If you made it through an entire episode, you're the type of person who consciously chooses content that inspires and educates. Please be sure to share today's episode with a like-minded friend. And together, we'll keep learning how to master our health and wealth longevity. Until next time, live well, love more, age less, my friends.