How to Stop Doombuying

Leave the phone downstairs and buy a bedside alarm clock. We are more likely to 'doomscroll' at night. This is because our decision-making skills tire over the course of the day. Before sleep, our brains should be shutting down for some rest. Smartphones make it easier for us to ignore the need to rest because they are designed to capture and retain our attention, and if we are tired, we lack the control to resist this urge.

If you feel like you need your smartphone for getting up in the morning, then think again. Humans have been waking up for millennia. Purchase a cheap bedside alarm clock and save money by ignoring midnight advertisements and cravings.

Your bedroom is a sacred space. Do not let your smartphone invade your privacy and your connection to rest and intimacy.

As the saying goes, alcohol can be a great servant but a poor master. In this case, alcohol abuse can lead to unwanted and unbeneficial phone use. Alcohol works on the brain by disrupting neurotransmitters, especially those in our 'frontal lobes', which are important for our decision-making abilities.

Drinking too much makes us more likely to be drawn into unhealthy phone use as our ability to direct our attention away from the screen is disrupted. If drinking alcohol, one safe rule is to consume it with others, never alone. Drinking with loved ones acts as safety-valve on problematic drinking habits that we may get into if consuming alcohol alone.

In moderation, alcohol acts as a social lubricant, and can enable friendly chatter and be socially rewarding. However, when you retire to bed…remember rule number one!

It can be hard these days to give up a smartphone completely. We need social media functions to communicate with colleagues at work, keep in touch with distant family and friends, and listen to our favourite music and podcasts.

There is nothing inherently negative about having a very sophisticated computer in your pocket. The problem is our attention and the companies attempting to capture it. One solution is to delete the applications which you know take too much of your time and money. If it is harder to access the marketplace, it is harder for them to haggle you.

If you want to take an extra step, there are dumbphones out there that can transport you to the days where phones were for calling, texting, and playing 'snake'.

Part of what makes doombuying so pernicious is the ease with which we can buy something without actually seeing what is being exchanged. Unlike paying for an item in a shop, with cash, online shopping is 'abstract': we pay using invisible money for items and services that we cannot touch.

Remove your card details from your smartphone 'wallet' and make sure that online vendors do not have your card details saved on their account for you. If you need to remove your card from your real wallet, you may take an extra moment to consider whether you want to spend your money.