Ditch Doomscrolling: Turn Mindless Scrolling into Productive Learning

 Do you ever catch yourself endlessly scrolling through your phone, only to feel guilty afterwards? One news headline leads to another, one funny video turns into ten, and suddenly an hour (or two) is gone. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. The average person spends about 2.5 hours per day on social media – time that often slips away at the expense of studying, working, or even sleeping. This habit of obsessively consuming negative news and content has a name – “doomscrolling” – and it can leave us feeling drained. In fact, constant scrolling of distressing news has been called an “insidious threat to our minds and bodies” by experts . It’s linked to worse mental well-being and life satisfaction , and can lead to isolation, anxiety, stress, and even disrupted sleep . Simply put, mindless scrolling isn’t doing us any favors.

The Doomscrolling Dilemma: Distraction, Misinformation, and Mental Drain

 It’s not just our mood that takes a hit – our productivity and learning suffer, too. Digital distraction is rampant: about 77% of employees admit to using social media during work hours, which unsurprisingly hurts their focus and productivity . One Forbes report noted the average worker spends over 2.5 hours of the workday scrolling feeds . All that “quick checking” adds up, leading to missed deadlines and lost efficiency. (No wonder studies found that employees who doomscroll at work become less engaged in their tasks .) Students struggle as well: those who frequently sneak peeks at social apps while studying scored 20% lower on exams, on average . In one survey, over half of students even admitted losing at least an hour per day to social media distractions instead of studying . That’s precious time that could’ve been spent acing assignments or picking up new skills.

 And then there’s the misinformation problem. We’ve all seen dubious “facts” circulating on our feeds. Two-thirds of Americans feel that most news on social media is biased , and it’s no surprise with anyone able to post anything, platforms are rife with misleading info and clickbait. Almost 38% of U.S. news consumers have unknowingly shared fake news on social media , meaning nearly 4 in 10 people spread misinformation without realizing it! The result? It’s hard to trust what we read online, and doomscrolling through alarming (and sometimes false) content only heightens our anxiety. Excessive social media use has been linked to higher anxiety and depression levels , creating a vicious cycle where the more we scroll, the worse we feel, and yet we keep scrolling. This is the doomscrolling trap: it eats up our time, misleads us with questionable content, and leaves us stressed out.

 If you’re aware of these issues and thinking “Yep, this is me. I really should change my habits,” you’re already on the right track. The question is how to break free from the doomscrolling doom-loop. Quitting cold turkey is tough – after all, we scroll for a reason. It’s entertaining, it’s habit, and sometimes we do stumble on useful tidbits. What if instead of fighting the urge to scroll, we harnessed it for good?

From Procrastination to Productivity: Introducing Hyk

 Imagine if every time you opened your favorite social app, you actually learned something useful. That’s the idea behind Hyk – a new social EdTech platform built to turn your procrastination into productivity. Hyk offers a familiar scrolling feed, but with one big twist: everything in your feed is educational (and engaging!) content from verified industry experts. In other words, you still get the fun bite-sized videos, but now without the guilt or the “garbage” content. Hyk basically takes the “mis” out of misinformation by ensuring what you see comes from credible educators and professionals, not random internet randos.

 So how does it work? Think of Hyk as a cross between your favorite short-form video app and an interactive micro-learning platform. You follow the topics that interest you – anything from quick Excel tricks to marketing case studies, coding challenges, or productivity hacks. Hyk’s algorithm then personalizes your feed based on your interests and goals (no more endless cat memes; you’ll see content that actually matters to you). Each video is just a couple of minutes long – perfect for a study break or a commute watch. And after you watch, there’s usually a bite-sized game or quiz to help reinforce what you just learned, so it actually sticks in your brain. (Research shows active recall boosts retention, so those tiny quizzes mean you’re far more likely to remember that Python tip or historical fact you just learned.)

 Picture this: You’re a university student waiting for class to start. Instead of doomscrolling through scary news, you scroll Hyk and find a 2-minute video clarifying a concept from last lecture – boom, instant revision! Later, over lunch, you catch a quick career advice clip from a recent grad (who you know is legit because Hyk verified their expertise). On your way home, you watch a fun coding challenge that f its your skill level, and even comment to help someone who had a question (yes, you can discuss and ask questions on Hyk – it’s a community, not a one-way street!). By the end of the day, you’ve maybe spent 20 minutes scrolling, but instead of feeling guilty, you feel accomplished – you picked up new knowledge and still got that satisfying scroll fix.

Whether you’re a student like the one above, a busy young professional squeezing in learning on the go, or a lifelong learner craving more meaningful screen time, Hyk is built for you. It’s about making your downtime count. No more wading through political rants or dubious clickbait to find a gem of info– with Hyk, the gems are all you get. And because our content creators are vetted experts, you can trust what you’re watching (so long, misinformation!). Hyk gives you that sense of productivity that’s been missing on traditional social media – you’re scrolling, but now you’re actually preparing for your future.

Join the Journey: Sign Up for Early Access

We know the pull of doomscrolling is strong, and changing habits isn’t easy. That’s why we built Hyk to make it fun and easy to do better. We’re currently in early development (MVP stage), and we’d love for you to be part of Hyk’s founding community. If you’re excited to turn doomscrolling into learning, or simply curious to see how social media can be done right, sign up on our landing page to get early updates! By signing up, you’ll stay in the loop with our journey, get first dibs on our beta, and help us shape Hyk with your feedback.

Don’t let doomscrolling steal any more of your time or sanity. Together, let’s reinvent the feed and make your screen time work for you, not against you. Join Hyk today – and turn those idle scrolling moments into opportunities to grow. Your future self will thank you! 2 Ready to scroll smarter? Sign up here to be an early adopter of Hyk and start changing the way you scroll. Let’s turn procrastination into knowledge, and doomscrolling into done-scrolling (as in “I’m done with that old habit!”).

Stay tuned, stay curious, and welcome to a new era of productive scrolling with Hyk.

Sources: Social media usage & distraction stats ; Doomscrolling effects on mental health ; Workplace productivity impact ; Misinformation on social media ; Social media use and anxiety .

Social Media Distraction Statistics: How It Affects Work, Study & Daily Life [2025] https://cropink.com/social-media-distraction-statistics

Doomscrolling dangers - Harvard Health https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/doomscrolling-dangers

The effects of ‘doomscrolling’ and social media on students - The Boar https://theboar.org/2021/02/effects-doomscrolling-social-media-students/

Insta-somnia, doom-scrolling and influencers hurting you? Here’s how to bounce back - 041online https://041online.co.za/insta-somnia-doom-scrolling-and-influencers-hurting-you-heres-how-to-bounce-back/

The average worker spends more than 2½ hours per day using social platforms, according to research from GWI. | Jack Kelly https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jackkellywecruitr_the-problem-with-scrolling-through-social-activity-7084179431337943040BjD3

Social media cited as largest source of procrastination - The Huntington News https://huntnewsnu.com/36142/campus/nu-students-admit-social-media-as-largest-source-of-procrastination/

Fake News Statistics & Facts (2024) — Redline Digital https://redline.digital/fake-news-statistics/