We’ve all found ourselves in a doom scroll. Whether it be on Instagram, TikTok, or whatever other social media outlet that benefits from the consumer’s time on the app. As a result, they push short videos with lots of stimulation to keep you engaged, and before you know it, you’ve found yourself behind the screen for much longer than you intended. I have often found myself being enraptured in this escape of a world. Where the real-world lies, I have many responsibilities; school, work, soccer, Mandarin classes, etc. It is a constant battle of what homework or what task I must complete next. The stress builds and builds, and throughout the day, I want nothing more than an escape from reality. A world where no homework needs to be done, a world where no task needs to be completed. As I know, this escape of a world is accessible to me in the palm of my hand. Who am I? But a mere mortal, I crumple like a crouton in a bowl of Caesar salad. The urge to open the app for just one second, maybe to check what Ryan’s daily NNN post is: “I wonder if he’s posted something strange about his balls today”. After I check Ryan’s post, I check to see what my other close friends are doing, and with the brittleness of a crouton I crumble, and I find myself on the explore page. I start with just a couple of short videos, but then I’m hooked, and just like croutons, you can’t have just one, you need a lot to make your salad a delectable treat. (Except this isn’t like a salad, because a salad leaves you feeling fulfilled, doom scrolling leaves you feeling empty) have guessed) then I need not worry about the possibility for me to pick up the phone.I check the time after ten minutes: “I have time to do homework, just a couple more minutes”. I look up after twenty-two minutes, “Ehh, I can keep on going until thirty, plus I need a little brain break”. Before I know it, it’s been three hours, and I’ve done absolutely nothing that I consider productive. The phone is a short-term relief, but the instant gratification takes the reigns on my conscious. It’s a battle between me, myself, and I, and if there’s one thing I know about myself, it’s that I can’t win against myself. It’s like boxing a mirror, there is no good outcome. To get rid of this crumpling crouton syndrome. I’ve found that the best solution is to completely get rid of the “other me”, I must defeat the “other me” and to do this I read a quote from “The Art of War by Sun Tzu” which states “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” This implies that if I know my enemy (me) and know myself (me, again) and recognize their weakness (me, again, bet you couldn’t My own weakness is my height, and as a result, I have devised a master plan. I use a step ladder to put my phone on the top cabinet above my fridge, sitting next to this random duck where it is out of reach. I keep it there until I have done a significant amount of work that I feel content about, and then I allow myself to grab the “stairway to heaven”, and employ it to reach my escape world.
Though this may seem extreme, the consequences of doom scrolling can be fan-fucking-not-tastic, especially in my world of Asian grades, university applications, and overall overachiever-like syndrome in everything. I know many people like myself suffer from crouton syndrome, and if you’re having problems mediating your enemy (yourself) I highly suggest this method. I found it extremely effective, and I hope you will too. Here are a couple of links in case you wish to dive deeper into the psychology of crouton syndrome, or if you’d like to take a less extreme approach.
Lianne L-Z
16 Comments
I have a bad habit. Whenever I have to do an assignment or project which I can predict that I would have difficulty with, I easily get distracted. Then I procrastinate and end up choking myself at the last minute. I usually escape to my phone, visit Instagram or open other social media and come back to Instagram. This cycle over and over again even there is no notification. Or worse, start watching movies or go to Youtube until I realize it has been two hours and feel so terrible. I don’t want to spend time like this. Especially during this limited three years of high school here outside of my home country, I want to focus on what I am supposed to or explore more about things that actually will benefit me. Browsing on phone make time passes so fast, but I would never feel fulfilled. Some major causes lead to a lack of concentration; are stress and anxiety. The biggest one for me, are phone and my soft tofu-mental which farther myself from things I have to do. They are a huge distraction not only while studying but also my daily life. I wake up and check notifications. I sometimes eat and look at the screen at the same time. When I take a shower, I again bring my phone to listen to music. I hardly can spend any minute without my phone, and the one letting these happen is me. It is beyond the addiction, it is more becoming a lifestyle. I didn’t have my phone when I was young, even after I got my first smartphone, I still could spare my time for the priorities than my temporary interests unintentionally. Since when do I have to think not to let myself slide thoughts of resting than keep going? I needed to do something with this bad habit so I tried screen timer on iPhone or deleting social media app, Youtube or Netflix, yet I always come back to bad routine Finally, a great opportunity appeared. Since my phone screen cracked when I dropped it on May 1st, and it completely untouchable so I haven’t used my phone. It hurts looking at the broken phone, but this incident was what I needed. I did not have to conflict with self, because the solid object was simply not working. Also as I actually experienced phone-free school days, I found out that it is inconvenient obviously, but I could feel less suffocated and controlled. It could be the totally same thing for any other that leads to a lack of concentration. Just try to spend a day without whatever trapping you. Forcibly put yourself in a situation or space where you cannot reach them, other than cracking the screen. Not every time I have a broken phone. It would be great if I had strong mental and with perseverance, I could prioritize tasks and then don’t have to have a hard time struggling to concentrate. A similar trait one person could have is grit. Angela Lee Duckworth explained, “It is to have passion and perseverance for long-term goals, having the stamina, sticking with future for years and working really hard to make that future a reality”. She also said “Grit is usually unrelated to talent, or even inversely related to measures of talent”, which could mean it is a trait we can develop. I am sure grit is not something we gain overnight, coming over hard times and gradually acquire a strong mindset. Time is always passing equally to everyone, how to spend is all different. Let’s have one however you want to spend that makes you fulfilled.
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