Key points
Doomscrolling hooks us through craving, not connection.
Naming your feelings when you want to scroll is a critical step toward changing your screen use.
Soothe (don't criticize) your urges to use your phone.
This is Part 2 of a series on breaking free from doomscrolling. Read Part 1 here .
Co-authored by Alicia Del Prado and Bette Maisel
Back in 2011, Apple’s iPhone ads plastered billboards with glossy images of people traveling, celebrating milestones. The message was seductive: This device is your ticket to belonging and intimacy .
And in many ways, those ads weren’t wrong. Smartphones made it easier to FaceTime across continents and capture memories—but they also planted a subtle belief: that closeness itself lived inside the device.
When Cutting Back Feels B