Photos Bring Hope: Battling Doomscrolling With Memories | News | northstarmonthly.com

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The habit of doomscrolling—endlessly consuming negative news on our phones—has become a serious issue for many people seeking to stay informed while protecting their mental health and finding healthier ways to engage with current events.

I’ve found my antidote for doomscrolling, but it’s just one element in my struggle to stay positive these days.

For Mother’s Day, my daughter and son-in-law gave me a Skylight, a frame with a rotating series of digital photographs. I’ve loaded it with my favorite pictures and shared access with family members to add photos. Some evenings after work, I’ll turn it on to find my sister has added family photos from North Carolina, or my daughter has added photos of my grandson. Another daughter contributes photos of her hairless cat—not as cute, but I’m grateful for the connection.

Doomscrolling had become serious, so this photo frame arrived just in time for me to memory-scroll with photos of happy moments instead. These days, it’s easy to scroll on my phone or laptop and read about one political crisis after another. Reporting on wildfires burning out of control in Canada and California isn’t as newsworthy as the “wildfires” within our government. I’m not alone in my dire news consumption, as it’s the topic of the majority of my conversations with friends and family lately.

There’s a lot going on, and we’re facing true threats to our democracy. This makes it hard to know how much news to consume and how to effectively react to it. Like others, I live in a privileged situation where my financial benefits aren’t threatened—yet. I don’t have children in college whose attendance is being challenged, and my citizenship isn’t being questioned. Yet we are affected.

I’m not alone in my worries about current threats. A quick online review shows “how to not be overwhelmed by the news” lists. The lists are similar—limit consumption, unsubscribe from news alerts, take breaks from screens, choose podcasts carefully, focus on self-care. However, limiting what I read or listen to won’t change what’s happening, and neither will indulging in self-care.

While searching for better suggestions, I found an interview with Bryan McLaughlin, an associate professor at Texas Tech researching “problematic news consumption.” His key point: “Real-world behavior affects political change, not getting anxious in front of a screen.” The other solid advice I found came from an older source, from the sacred text of the Jewish Talmud. The translation reads: “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”

We have excellent examples of people doing the work. In East Burke and St. Johnsbury, local chapters of the nonpartisan organization “Indivisible” are leading a grassroots movement to rebuild our democracy. Along with others, leaders encourage people to write letters and rally in person to show our leaders—and the world—that we’re willing to protest against threats to democracy that have denied people their constitutional rights and access to due process.

When checking in with family about their response to the government’s actions over the past 250 years, some similar themes emerged. Most are writing letters to state and national officials, participating in rallies, and being selective about their news sources. Caring for another generation provides a welcome distraction and motivation. My cousin Amy, with six grandkids under age 4, said her crew reminds her daily “that humans are good.” Like me, my sister Kate, who cares for her two young granddaughters, struggles with how involved to be in staving off the authoritarianism threatening our country. She believes participating in the rallies at the very least “keeps evil from being normalized,” and explains that her granddaughters’ “direct take on the world is refreshing and amusing. It reminds me of what we have to fight for, even if I haven’t found my battlefield yet.”

Our battlefields are becoming more obvious. I’ll search for ways to battle peacefully, while watching the family photos scroll through my frame at the end of the day—for comfort and motivation.

Abby, a native Vermonter, has written for newspapers in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. She is currently the interfaith chaplain at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital.

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