The following piece is an opinion and does not reflect the views of The Eagle and its staff. All opinions are edited for grammar, style and argument structure and fact-checked, but the opinions are the writer’s own.
Homework assignments, papers, exams: the semester has begun to take off. The transition from summer to the fall semester can be a shocking one. It’s too easy to forget how much work the fall entails after a long, school-free summer. At this point in the semester, classes and other commitments can start to feel overwhelming — spending seemingly all of your time in class, doing schoolwork or doomscrolling.
During this time of year, I spend a lot of time on my daily screen, using both my laptop and my phone. I’m either taking notes in class, studying, doing assignments or — when I feel drained by academics — mindlessly scrolling on social media. One of my main summertime habits that feels impossible to keep up during the semester is reading for fun. I can devote a few hours a day to looking at Instagram or TikTok, yet I cannot pick up a light, easy read.
Academics, burnout, and doomscrolling go hand-in-hand. A 2024 article published by Texas Tech University sums up the common pattern around doomscrolling. In short, after a long day of school, work, and other responsibilities, people tend to turn to mindlessly scrolling on social media as it is perceived as an effortless activity that does not require fatiguing brainpower. However, as the article concluded, doomscrolling can actually increase our anxiety and feelings of fatigue, making it harder to relax.
Dr. Balachundhar Subramaniam likens college students’ relationship to doom scrolling to a “digital pacifier” and categorizes it as a “temporary distraction from boredom, stress, loneliness and difficult emotions.” With the average college student having upwards of seven hours of screentime each day, it is easy to see why the negative impacts of doomscrolling — anxiety, restlessness, and burnout — are so prevalent.
At an academically rigorous school such as American University, do we really have that much time to devote to our screens? To be candid, at the time of writing this article, I have had a weekly screentime of over five and a half hours each day for the past week just on my phone. Yet, I have been stressing about my two upcoming papers all week. It seems like every moment I’m not spending in class, at practice or doing homework, I am on my phone.
With so much time I apparently can devote to being on my phone and doomscrolling on various social media sites, you would think I would have other free time to do an array of activities. However, during the school year, I find it nearly impossible to keep up one of my favorite summer hobbies: reading.
During the summer, I read upwards of 15 books. Yet, when the semester starts up, I gravitate towards my phone, watching a seemingly endless amount of Instagram Reels and barely picking up any books for fun. As my staggering screentime shows, I obviously have time for it. Reading for recreation has a plethora of positive effects, many directly opposing the negative effects of doomscrolling. Anxiety reduction, improved cognition, and relaxation are a few of the many benefits recreational reading provides.
For many college students, it is still much easier and more accessible to decompress by scrolling on socials than it is to pick up an exciting new book. Simply understanding the benefits of reading and the drawbacks of screentime and doomscrolling is likely not enough to create an immediate switch from one to the other.
I urge my peers to start small and change their habits. Pick up a short, easy read and try replacing 15 or 30 minutes of screentime a day with a few chapters here and there. Do not worry about picking the most challenging, academic-based book (this is not a performative male competition); instead, find a genre, author, or series that you like and can get captured into easily. Utilize the available resources, such as the AU Library and consortium and the D.C. Public Library.
Above all, do not feel bad about your screentime. Schoolwork and other responsibilities are hard to balance, and there is no one correct way to unwind — although some are healthier than others. Start small, try to be mindful of your screentime and try to unwind with a good book.
Addie DiPaolo is a senior in the School of Public Affairs and a columnist for The Eagle.
This article was edited by Quinn Volpe, Alana Parker and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting, Ariana Kavoossi and Emma Brown.
