Scrolling with Boundaries: Protect Your Peace and Align with Your Values

As we begin yet another in a long line of unprecedented years, it’s important to be deliberate about the boundaries we maintain in our lives. I have the privilege of providing therapy, psychological assessment, clinical supervision, and consultation to dozens of people every week. As much as I want to help, I also want to learn. Through my work I have the opportunity to learn a lot about how people are managing their mental health and engaging with the world. This allows me to see firsthand the impact of our always-on culture. The constant stream of information, opinions, and breaking news can leave us feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and hopeless. The effectively programmed news and social media apps we use are not designed to keep us informed, but to keep us plugged in. Dragging down from the top of your screen to refresh your app has a very similar impact on the human brain as pulling the lever on a slot machine, and that is exactly how it’s designed.

One thing I’m glad about is that I hear more people talking about being deliberate with how and when they engage with the news and social media. It’s important to stay informed, but it’s equally crucial to set boundaries with your social media and news consumption to protect your cognitive bandwidth and overall well-being.

In the not-too-distant past, you had to turn on a TV, radio, or computer to learn what’s happening. Earlier still, people would engage with the news in the morning and maybe the evening. Now we’re alerted by default and have to proactively set limits to keep from getting overwhelmed. This is driven by profit motives, and it’s reinforced by societal pressures to sacrifice our wellbeing to remain on the bleeding edge of information and outrage. We’re bombarded with notifications, headlines designed to trigger emotional responses, and a sense of obligation to stay in the know and ready to fight.

In reality, we all probably recognize that consuming more news doesn’t necessarily make us more informed or effective. In fact, given the power of algorithms successfully predicting what will keep us doom-scrolling, it can often lead to information overload, compassion fatigue, and a distorted view of the world. When we’re constantly exposed to negativity and crisis, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless. It’s harder and harder to hear what really matters amidst all the noise, but many of us stay tuned in regardless.That’s largely because we’re allowing our amygdalas to be hijacked, and when the amygdala is in charge, the prefrontal cortex, where most of our reasoning is managed, is taking a backseat.

Our brains have limited capacity for processing information. When we overload our cognitive bandwidth with an endless stream of news and social media, we deplete our mental resources. This can have significant negative impacts on our ability to focus, problem-solve, make decisions, and even regulate our emotions. By setting boundaries with your news and social media consumption, you can reclaim your cognitive bandwidth and direct your energy towards what truly matters. This means being intentional about the information you consume, setting limits on your screen time, and creating space for activities that support your wellbeing.

It’s easy to feel pressured to engage with every social issue that comes across our screens. As much as we may want to see an immediate difference in the many injustices around the world, sustainable change usually happens gradually and it is driven by individuals working consistently behind the scenes. Social problems are ongoing and complex. Both traditional and social media often focuses on these issues in waves, creating a bandwagon effect. While this can bring much-needed attention, it’s important to remember that real change requires sustained effort beyond these periods of heightened awareness. Sustained attention requires focus and boundaries.

If you are motivated to make meaningful changes, shouting into the void of social media, or staring straight at it while it shouts at you, is not likely to give you what you want. The day after the election, I heard an interview with a man on his way to a food pantry where he volunteers weekly. He was not happy about how the vote turned out but he didn’t sound hopeless or defeated. His personal mission and sense of purpose had not changed. There were hungry people yesterday and there will be hungry people tomorrow regardless of who is in charge.  

Before and during the pandemic, the rates of volunteerism in our country were steadily declining. That trend has reversed, and in 2023, 28.3% of Americans engaged in some form of formal volunteer work as compared to 23.2% in 2017. Even more people engaged in informal service to others. Volunteering in your local community or with organizations can provide a sense of belonging and values-aligned living while making an undeniable impact on the well-being of your neighbors and retaining your energy and drive.

You have the power to choose how you engage with the world, and the mere act of suffering isn’t actually changing anything. By setting healthy boundaries, you can protect your mental well-being and make a real difference to the causes you believe in.