Is the anecdote to doomscrolling finally here?
Meet "bloomscrolling," a social media trend encouraging people to intentionally curate their feeds with positive, uplifting and educational content. The idea is that scrolling through this content can leave users feeling better than they did before they opened the app.
Sreela Roy-Greene, a licensed mental health counselor and therapist at BetterHelp, says bloomscrolling through moments of awe, gratitude and connection can help calm the nervous system and widen one's perspective, which makes it easier to cope with stress and think more flexibly.
"For young people in particular, seeing examples of hope and resilience can push back against the message that the world is only getting worse and nothing they
do matters," Roy-Greene says. "When someone starts asking 'How does this make me feel?' instead of scrolling on autopilot, that’s a meaningful step toward self-awareness, and self-awareness is where a lot of lasting change begins."
What is 'bloomscrolling?'
Catherine Johnson, 29, started "bloomscrolling" after she realized that instead of making her feel inspired and or uplifted, scrolling on social media was making her more tired.
"It made me feel drained instead of like giving me the break that I wanted it to be," Johnson says. "It's like, why am I even on here anyway?"
Instead, she’s started curating her feed, filling it with landscapes of mountains and waterfalls and intentionally following creators in the writing and art space.
It’s one of the ways young people are moving toward intentional social media use. While some have embracedflip phones and landlines in place of their smartphones, others want to remain on social media, but are looking for ways to do so with more thought.
There are influencers who have posted about attention span rehab. And during the summer, analog bags — tote bags filled with items like leather-bound journals, paperback books and mini watercolor palettes — trended on social media as a way to embrace offline hobbies.
While the conversation around phones has sometimes centered around screen time limits and deleting apps, Roy-Greene says these approaches aren’t realistic for many people, especially young people whose friendships, school lives and sense of identity are intertwined with their devices.
"Bloomscrolling… shifts the focus from how much we scroll to what we’re actually taking in. It recognizes that content matters and that we have more say and control over our feeds than we often realize," Roy-Greene says.
As a mom of four, Johnson says she wants to model intentional social media use. She stays off her phone in the morning and is trying to avoid it before bed. Still, she’s found helpful journal prompts, recipes and life hacks on TikTok, and she’s not ready to delete the app.
"I don't think I'm the type of person who's going to delete everything, even though there have been times when I've thought of it," Johnson says. "I think 'bloomscrolling' is the better way to use social media because there is a lot of good out there."
Why we get caught in the 'doomscroll'
Our brains are wired to pay close attention to potential threats, according to Roy-Greene. While this negativity bias once helped us survive, it can keep us stuck in a negative feedback loop online, where alarming headlines and upsetting videos register as danger, causing us to keep scrolling in search of a sense of resolution or more information.
"The body’s stress response stays switched on. Over time, that can show up as anxiety, irritability, trouble focusing, and a low-level sense of dread," Roy-Greene says.
Algorithms amplify this behavior, with the possibility of a new notification or a funny post making it hard to put our devices down. Over time, technology addiction rewires the brain to expect higher dopamine, depleting the brain’s cognitive patience and threshold for tolerating frustration in the process.
Nearly half of teens say they’re online constantly, according to 2024 data from the Pew Research Center, and 72% of teens say they sometimes or frequently check their notifications as soon as they wake up.
"Young people can be especially vulnerable, since the parts of the brain responsible for impulse control and emotional regulation are still developing into the mid-twenties," Roy-Greene says.
How to practice 'bloomscrolling'
Want to "bloomscroll?" Start by paying attention.
"After you scroll, pause and notice how you feel. Are you calmer, more connected and energized, or tense and drained? That quick check-in tells you a lot about what your feed is doing for you," Roy-Greene says.
From there, curate a media diet and feed with purpose.
That means intentionally following accounts that inspire you, teach you something or make you laugh, and unfollowing accounts that leave you feeling worse off. Roy-Greene recommends especially trying to implement these habits at the start and end of the day.
"Let bloomscrolling be a bridge back to your offline life," Roy-Greene says. "If something inspires you, act on it: send it to a friend, step outside, try the recipe."
And Roy-Greene cautions that "bloomscrolling" isn’t a cure-all tactic.
"It’s not a substitute for sleep, movement or real world relationships," Roy-Greene says. "It's one way to make the time we already spend online work for us instead of against us."
Rachel Hale’s role covering Youth Mental Health at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. Reach her at rhale@usatoday.com and @rachelleighhale on X.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is 'bloomscrolling'? The social media trend flipping doomscrolling
