Nine apps to break the doomscrolling habit
You open your phone to check the time or a quick message. An hour later, you have scrolled through celebrity drama, cat videos, awful news stories and influencer rants. Even if you don’t want to keep wasting time on this content, you do it again the next day.
Doomscrolling — spending excessive amounts of time consuming content on social media — has become widespread. A survey from last year found that 64% of Americans say they doomscroll. Researchers have warned it can negatively affect several aspects of your well-being, including your mental health and attention span. Long scrolling sessions can lead to brain fatigue, difficulty focusing and disrupted sleep. If much of the content is negative or stressful, it can leave you feeling disheartened, anxious and emotionally drained.
Breaking the cycle is hard, but there are apps that offer content that is engaging and productive. You could always read a book or go for a walk, but this list is for spare minutes when you want something to do on your phone that isn’t endless scrolling.
Finch
Finch is a self-care pet app designed to help you build healthy habits. You care for a virtual pet by completing small daily goals, such as drinking enough water, going on a walk and practicing mindfulness. You can write about your day, complete a breathing exercise, or send good vibes to a friend by adding them to the app. The more self-care you do, the more your pet thrives. Finch is available for free on iOS and Android.
Libby
Libby is a free reading app that connects you to your local public library’s digital collection of ebooks, audiobooks and magazines. All you need is a library card to borrow thousands of titles. Libby is available for free on iOS and Android.
Dudel Draw
Dudel Draw gives you a random shape each day that you turn into a drawing. The shapes vary from basic geometrical forms to more complex and abstract designs. You can compare your creations with friends for some fun competition. Dudel Draw is available for free on iOS.
Radio Garden
Radio Garden lets you listen to over 25,000 live radio stations from across the globe. Green dots mark cities and towns; tap any dot to listen to stations broadcasting from that location. You can add favorites or search for radio stations, countries and places. Radio Garden is free, with an ad-free premium plan for $2.99 per month. It is available on both iOS and Android.
Elevate
Elevate is designed to help improve focus, memory, reading, math skills and other cognitive abilities. It includes over 40 games to train abilities you use in everyday life, from reading faster to comparing prices more efficiently. You can track training streaks and compare your mind’s performance over time. The app offers a free version with access to three games per day, or a yearly subscription of $39.99 for unlimited access. It is available on both iOS and Android.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary helps you learn new words every day. You can pick your difficulty level and choose categories that interest you, like emotions, the human body and business. Each word comes with a definition, example sentences and a pronunciation guide. The app also includes mini-games to review the words you’ve learned. You can set a weekly goal and create a regular learning routine. Vocabulary offers a free trial, then costs $4.99 per month or $59.99 per year. It is available on iOS and Android.
Seterra
Seterra features over 300 games to test your map skills. You can test your knowledge of world flags; discover oceans, seas and rivers; and explore mountain ranges and volcanoes across the globe. Seterra lets you track your progress across categories and see leaderboards for top scorers for each game. The app is free and available on both iOS and Android.
NYT Games
The NYT Games app offers several word, logic and number games that change every day. You can play the crossword, try Wordle, group words with a common theme in Connections, see how many words you can make from seven letters in Spelling Bee, and more. The app costs $5.99 per month for unlimited access and archives, but some games like Wordle, Strands and the Mini Crossword are available to play for free. NYT Games is available on both iOS and Android.
Drops
Drops uses visually engaging mini-games to help you build vocabulary and common phrases in more than 45 languages, with bite-sized lessons designed to be completed in about five minutes a day. It is designed for both beginners and experts who want to grow their foreign language vocabulary. The free version offers five-minute lessons per day. Unlimited access and premium features cost $11.99 per month or $79.99 per year. The app is available on both iOS and Android.
