Done with doomscrolling? Gen Z is now tracking what they watch and read instead

For years, doomscrolling has been the internet’s favourite bad habit. Endless swiping, short videos, breaking news loops and algorithm-driven content have turned scrolling into a reflex. But now, some Gen Z users appear to be pushing back.

Across platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Discord, young people are sharing something surprisingly simple: lists of everything they watched, read or listened to in a week. The posts often appear under titles like “media I consumed this week instead of doomscrolling”.

And the message behind the trend is clear. Instead of letting algorithms decide what fills their attention, they are trying to take control of it.



The idea of tracking media is not exactly new. Readers have been logging books for years through platforms like reading journals or apps that catalogue literature.

However, the motivation behind the trend feels different today.

Many young users describe the practice as a conscious decision to step away from endless scrolling. By documenting films, podcasts, articles or books, they are turning passive consumption into something more intentional.

The lists themselves are often shared publicly online, almost like digital diaries of attention.



Short-form content has shaped how people spend time online, but it has also raised concerns about shrinking attention spans. Many Gen Z users openly joke about struggling to focus on anything longer than a few minutes.

Tracking media consumption has become a small act of rebellion against that idea.

Instead of endless scrolling, people are deliberately choosing long-form articles, documentaries, books or podcasts and recording them as proof that their attention span still exists.



This trend is also part of a wider shift toward slowing down online habits.

Social cataloguing apps that track books, films and music are becoming more popular again. At the same time, physical media journals and handwritten lists are gaining attention on social platforms.

For a generation raised on screens, the goal is not necessarily to abandon the internet completely. It is simply to interact with it in a more mindful way. In a world designed for endless scrolling, choosing what you consume might be the real flex.