As an L&D professional, you know how important it is to keep your employees engaged, motivated, and productive. But what if there’s a hidden factor that’s sabotaging your efforts? A factor that's affecting your employees’ mental health, performance, and learning outcomes?
We’re talking about doom scrolling - the act of spending an excessive amount of time reading large quantities of negative news online. It’s a phenomenon that has become more common in the digital age, especially during times of crisis and uncertainty.
But why do we do it? And more importantly, how does it affect our professional productivity and learning?
In this blog, we’ll explore the dangers of doom scrolling and how custom e-learning solutions can help you counter them. We’ll also share some tips for designing engaging and effective e-learning experiences that can boost your employees’ morale, creativity, and resilience thereby, replacing the act of Doom Scrolling.
So, buckle up and get ready to learn how to combat doom scrolling with custom e-learning solutions!
What is Doom Scrolling?
The term doom scrolling was coined in 2018 on Twitter, but it gained popularity in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It refers to the compulsive habit of scrolling through endless streams of negative news on social media platforms or news websites.
Doom scrolling can be attributed to our natural negativity bias, which is the tendency to pay more attention to negative information than positive information. This bias stems from our evolutionary survival instincts, which alert us to potential threats and dangers.
However, in today’s world, we are exposed to more negative news than ever before, thanks to the internet and social media. And unlike our ancestors, we don’t have an immediate way to deal with these threats or escape from them. Instead, we get stuck in a loop of seeking more information, hoping to find some clarity or closure.
But instead of finding answers, we often find more questions, more confusion, and more anxiety. And that’s not good for our mental health or our productivity.
How Doom Scrolling Affects Our Professional Productivity
You might think that doom scrolling is just a harmless personal habit that doesn’t affect your work performance. After all, you’re just checking the news for a few minutes during your break or lunchtime, right?
Wrong.
Doom scrolling can have a significant impact on your professional productivity and learning in several ways:
It wastes your time: A “quick 5-minute scroll” can easily turn into an hour or more of mindless browsing. The average person spends about 3 hours and 15 minutes on their phone every day. That’s a lot of time that could be spent on more productive tasks or learning activities.
It distracts your attention: Doom scrolling can make it harder for you to focus on your work or learning goals. Every time you check your phone or open a new tab, you interrupt your flow and lose concentration. This can reduce your efficiency and quality of work or learning outcomes.
It impairs your memory: Doom scrolling can also affect your ability to process and retain new information. When you’re constantly exposed to negative news, your brain releases stress hormones that impair your cognitive functions. This can make it harder for you to learn new skills or concepts or recall them later.
It lowers your motivation: Doom scrolling can also sap your energy and enthusiasm for your work or learning. When you’re constantly bombarded by bad news, you might feel hopeless, helpless, or pessimistic about the future. This can lower your motivation and engagement levels and make you less likely to pursue your professional or personal growth.
The Paradox: We Know It’s Bad, Yet We Do It
If doom scrolling is so bad for us, why do we keep doing it? Well, there are several reasons why we might justify our doom scrolling behaviour:
We want to stay informed: We might think that doom scrolling is a way of keeping up with current events and being aware of what’s happening in the world. We might also feel guilty or irresponsible if we don’t follow the news.
We want to feel connected: We might also think that doom scrolling is a way of connecting with others who share our concerns or opinions. We might seek validation or support from our online communities or networks.
We want to feel in control: We might also think that doom scrolling is a way of gaining some sense of control over the situation. We might hope that by knowing more, we can prepare better or take action.
However, these reasons are often based on false assumptions or illusions. In reality, doom scrolling often does the opposite of what we intend:
It makes us less informed: The sheer volume and variety of information available online can overwhelm us and make it hard to distinguish between facts and opinions, or between reliable and unreliable sources. We might also fall prey to confirmation bias, which is the tendency to seek out or interpret information that confirms our existing beliefs or expectations.
It makes us less connected: The negative news we consume can make us feel more anxious, depressed, or angry, which can affect our mood and relationships. We might also become more polarised or intolerant of different views or perspectives, which can create conflict or division.
It makes us less in control: The constant exposure to negative news can make us feel powerless or hopeless, which can affect our self-efficacy and agency. We might also become more passive or fatalistic, which can prevent us from taking positive action or making changes.
Make Way for Custom e-Learning Solutions
Now that we’ve doom-scrolled our way to the problem, let’s e-learn our way to the solution!
One of the challenges that L&D professionals face is how to keep their employees focused and interested in learning in a world full of distractions. Doom scrolling is one such distraction that can affect the employee’s mental health and performance. Custom e-learning solutions are a great way to overcome this challenge.
Custom e-learning solutions are online learning services that are designed to meet the specific needs and goals of an organisation or individual learners. Unlike generic ready-made, one-size-fits-all courses, custom e-learning solutions are designed by keeping the employee’s role, background, and preferences in mind.
It has been on the rise in recent years, thanks to the advances in technology and the increased demand for flexible and accessible learning options.
Do you know? The global custom e-learning market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.7% from 2020 to 2025.
But what makes custom e-learning solutions so appealing and effective? And how can they help L&D professionals combat doom scrolling among employees?
How Custom e-Learning Counters Doom Scrolling
Custom e-learning solutions offer several benefits that can help L&D professionals overcome the negative effects of doom scrolling. Here are a few:
Focused Learning Environment
Custom e-learning solutions provide a focused and distraction-free learning environment that eliminates the temptation of doom scrolling. Unlike social media platforms or news websites that constantly bombard us with negative news, custom e-learning solutions are tailored for specific content consumption that is relevant and constructive.
This can help us concentrate on our learning objectives and achieve better results. For example, if a salesperson needs to learn about a new product, you can use a solution and build a course that provides them with interactive modules, videos, and quizzes that cover the product’s features, benefits, and best practices.
This way, they can avoid wasting time and energy on doom scrolling and focus on improving their sales performance.
Gamified Learning
Custom e-learning solutions also incorporate gamification elements, such as points, badges, leaderboards, and challenges, that make learning fun and engaging. Gamification can redirect our attention from doom scrolling by tapping into our innate desire for achievement, competition, and feedback.
For example, for your sales teams, you can deploy a custom e-learning solution that gamifies the process of learning how to handle customer complaints effectively. Employees can play a scenario-based game where they have to interact with a virtual customer who is unhappy with their purchase.
They have to choose the best responses from a list of options and earn points for each correct answer. This way, employees can learn the best practices for customer service while having fun and staying focused.
Controlled Content
Custom e-learning solutions also allow L&D to control the content employees consume. Unlike doom scrolling, which exposes them to random and unfiltered information, custom e-learning enables L&D to curate and customise the content employees want to learn.
This can help employees avoid information overload and focus on quality over quantity. It can also help employees avoid negative or biased content that might affect their mood or mindset.
For example, L&D professionals can use custom e-learning solutions to create courses that are relevant, accurate, and up-to-date for their employees. Various types of e-learning content, such as videos, simulations, quizzes, and games, can also be used to suit different learning styles and preferences.
This way, you can provide employees with a controlled and positive learning environment that fosters their growth and development.
Flexible & Personalized Learning
Custom e-learning solutions enable L&D professionals to design flexible and personalized learning paths for their employees. Instead of following a fixed or generic curriculum, employees can choose what, how, and when they want to learn.
This can help employees learn at their own convenience and comfort level. It can also help them learn according to their own goals and interests.
For example, if your employee wants to learn how to improve their presentation skills, you can create a custom e-learning course that is specially designed to their skill level and learning style.
This way employees can learn at their own pace and review their performance with quizzes and feedback.
Tips for L&D Professionals
As an L&D professional who wants to design custom e-learning solutions that counter doom scrolling, here are some tips to keep in mind:
Make It Fun
Incorporate interactive elements, quizzes, and challenges that make learning fun and engaging. Use humour, storytelling, and multimedia to keep employees hooked and entertained.
For example, you can use animations, videos, or podcasts to deliver your content in a more lively and dynamic way. You can also use scenarios, simulations, or case studies to make your content more realistic and relevant.
Stay Current
Update your e-learning content regularly to keep them relevant and fresh. Use current events, trends, or examples that relate to your employees’ work environment or industry.
You can use rapid e-learning tools to create courses fast, so that you can deliver the latest information and knowledge to your employees. This way, they can stay updated and informed without resorting to doom scrolling, which can be stressful and unproductive.
For example, a bank needs to update its employees on regulations. One option is to send an article link that covers the topic. The employees click on the link and start scrolling through the news feed, looking for more information or opinions on the issues that affect them.
However, the employees end up spending hours on doom scrolling, feeling anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed by the negative news. Another option is to use rapid e-learning to create a course from a PDF in minutes, with interactive elements and assessments. This leads to effective learning and compliance.
Employees can access the course anytime, anywhere, and learn at their own pace with mobile learning. With a course filled with pertinent and valuable content, employees can concentrate on their learning instead of getting sidetracked by doom scrolling.
Be Positive!
Avoid using negative or pessimistic content that might trigger doom scrolling behaviour. Instead, use positive or optimistic content that inspires or motivates your employees. Highlight success stories, best practices, or opportunities for improvement.
For example, you can use testimonials, reviews, or ratings to showcase the benefits or outcomes of your course. You can also use praise, recognition, or rewards to acknowledge your employees’ achievements or efforts.
Be Supportive
Provide feedback and support to your employees throughout their learning journey with effective instructional design strategies. Encourage them to ask questions, share their opinions, or seek help when needed. Create a supportive online community where employees can interact with each other and with you.
For example, you can use chatbots, emails, or calls to provide timely and personalised feedback or guidance to your employees. You can also use social media platforms, groups, or forums to facilitate peer-to-peer learning or collaboration.
Conclusion
Doom scrolling is a common but harmful habit that can affect an employee's mental health and productivity. It can also interfere with an employee's learning goals and outcomes.
Fortunately, custom e-learning solutions can help you counter doom scrolling by providing focused, gamified, controlled, and flexible learning experiences that are tailored to our needs and preferences.
Custom e-learning solutions can help you concentrate, engage, curate, and personalise our learning content, while avoiding the distractions and negativity of doom scrolling.
If you’re an L&D professional who wants to design solutions that counter doom scrolling, remember to make it fun, stay current, be positive, and be supportive. These tips can help you create effective and enjoyable e-learning experiences that inspire and motivate your employees.
So, next time you feel the urge to doom scroll, why not try some custom e-learning instead? You might be surprised by how much your employees can learn and grow in a positive and constructive way. And who knows, they might even have some fun along the way!