World Mental Health Day: Doomscrolling, comparison, anxiety - Is your phone affecting your mental health?

With smartphones coming into the picture, life has never been the same. It is an intrinsic part of our lives that not only keeps us connected to others, but is also our gateway to news and entertainment. While the importance of the phone can't be denied, an excessive use of smartphone, especially doomscrolling, is impacting mental health, experts point out.  So what exactly is doomscrolling? It is the habit of spending too much time reading negative, upsetting, or alarming news and digital content online, even when it makes you feel worse.  

On World Mental Health Day 2026, Zee News Digital reached out to experts as to how dommscrolling, excessive mobile screen time and comparisons on social media can take a toll on mental health.

Dr Gorav Gupta, Senior Psychiatrist & CEO - Tulasi Healthcare New Delhi, shares that too much use of the phone may negatively influence mental health, "especially if it leads to doomscrolling, which in turn leads to continuous comparison to others and exposure to negativity. Doomscrolling fosters feelings of anxiety and powerlessness."

Dr Biplab Das, Director – Neurology & Interventional Neuroradiology, Batra Hospital, points out that the brain's attention and emotion-regulating functions may be affected by excessive smartphone usage. "The continuous notifications, constant switching between different types of content, and endlessly scrolling disturb some people's minds and limits their ability to focus on tasks that require lengthy concentration. The process of doomscrolling may activate the threat-monitoring function in a person’s brain and keep it excessively focused on negative information, leading it to the feelings of anxiety and pressure," Dr Das shares. 

Social media may lead to unhealthy comparisons as well. A lot of people share only a selected number of important life messages such as professional success, vacations or personal events. It may lead to the feeling of inadequacy and loss of self-esteem if a person keeps comparing himself or herself to others, says Dr Gupta.

Dr Das says the constant comparison of oneself in social media increases negativity; "being susceptible to the idea of comparing oneself to the perfect model from social media leads to poor emotional state. If one is habituated to this act, it results in being sleepless, irritable, unable to concentrate and tired on the emotional level."

Long hours spent in front of the screen can negatively influence sleep and concentration, as well as social interactions. Constant checking of notifications prevents the mind from relaxing and using smartphones at night disrupts the sleep pattern.

Experts say that while technology can be a boon, it is essential to cultivate a healthy relationship with it. For that, it is important to limit the amount of time spent on the screen, unfollow negative influencers, avoid exploding content right before going to bed and take digital timeouts. "Most importantly, if technology-related behaviours have a noticeable effect on mood, sleep and normal functioning, seeking professional help may be of great significance," shares Dr Gupta.