Staying glued to our screens for the latest political news and searching for celebrity gossip, often called “doom scrolling,” is not just a time suck but has a significant environmental impact. With every refresh and scroll, data centers around the world work overtime, consuming energy and increasing carbon emissions. The rise of 24/7 news cycles, amplified during major events like election season, has made doom scrolling—compulsively checking updates and social media feeds—a common habit. The term describes a cycle of repetitive, often anxious scrolling through endless feeds, where each swipe and refresh contributes to a growing digital carbon footprint. While email use and video streaming have long been associated with high energy demands, the environmental impact of social media and high-frequency news apps is gaining attention. Each gigabyte (GB) of data transfer uses energy, often derived from carbon-intensive sources, creating emissions that accumulate as millions engage in real-time online activity.
Carbon Emissions from Digital Consumption
To understand the environmental toll of doom scrolling, we must first consider the data centers that power online activity. Data centers are large facilities housing the servers that manage social media, email, and video streaming. According to CyberNews, every hour spent on social media generates around 6g of CO₂ emissions, adding up as users worldwide engage in hours of daily scrolling.
These centers draw significant energy for data storage, cooling systems, and processing. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that data centers alone account for 1% of the world’s electricity consumption, a figure that is expected to rise as online activity grows. Social media, email servers, and news apps require constant processing power, emitting CO₂ with every refresh and message. For instance, using Instagram for one minute produces around 1.5g of CO₂, which accumulates rapidly during hours of doom scrolling. If you are curious about your personal doom scrolling carbon footprint, “Compare The Market” has a calculator you can use.
Comparing Carbon Footprints Of Different Technologies
How does doom scrolling compare to other forms of digital consumption? While an hour of video streaming produces approximately 55g of CO₂, doom scrolling is often a prolonged, repeated behavior that can add up to similar emissions over time. According to The Shift Project, an organization focused on reducing the environmental impact of technology, digital activities now contribute to 4% of global CO₂ emissions—a figure that rivals the aviation industry’s footprint. As the number of internet users grows and online activity intensifies, these emissions are projected to increase by 6% per year.
Tech companies are increasingly aware of this impact. For example, Microsoft has committed to reducing emissions in its cloud services by improving data center efficiency. Other companies like Google are investing in carbon-efficient technologies to power their servers with renewable energy sources. However, the need for consumer awareness and behavior change is equally important in reducing overall emissions.
Behavioral Insights and Sustainable Tech
Given the cumulative effect of individual online habits, both users and companies can make a difference. On the consumer side, limiting screen time and being mindful of energy usage—such as downloading news articles instead of constantly refreshing feeds—are small yet impactful ways to reduce a personal digital footprint. Social media platforms are also exploring ways to help users adopt greener habits, including features that track online time and encourage periodic breaks.
On the corporate front, companies can do more to mitigate the environmental impact of online platforms. There are numerous reports encouraging tech companies to improve their data centers’ energy efficiency and adopt carbon-offsetting measures. Some platforms have begun to introduce low-energy modes that decrease data transfer rates for users, which can cut emissions by up to 20%.
Solutions and Future Outlook
Innovative technologies are emerging to support a sustainable digital landscape. Carbon-efficient cloud solutions, such as those developed by Microsoft and Google, aim to reduce data center emissions by powering servers with renewable energy. CloudZero’s recent findings indicate that tech companies investing in renewable energy sources and server efficiency could reduce their emissions by up to 80%.
With a combination of tech industry initiatives and user awareness, reducing the carbon footprint of doom scrolling and its harm to the planet is achievable. “As consumers and businesses increasingly aim to reduce their carbon footprint, optimizing technology use presents a powerful opportunity for positive change,” CloudZero’s SVP of Engineering Bill Buckley notes, the collaborative approach to solutions has the most potential for sustainable impact.
