When you think about aimlessly scrolling on social media, you likely immediately consider the risks and downsides of this time-consuming habit. However, there’s a massive difference between consuming negative, brain-rotting content and consuming positive, engaging content.The former is considered doomscrolling, while the latter is called bloomscrolling—which can actually be a positive habit.What Is Bloomscrolling?According to Ciara Bogdanovic, Psychotherapist, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and owner and founder of Sagebrush Psychotherapy, “Bloomscrolling is [the] intentional use of social media where you seek out uplifting and meaningful content.”“This directly contrasts with doomscrolling, which is getting stuck in consuming distressing content because of the attention-grabbing nature of this negative content,” she explains. For example, I sometimes scroll on TikTok to find inspiration from other writers, watching day-in-the-life vlogs of authors and learning more about the craft. This form of bloomscrolling fuels me, while doomscrolling does quite the opposite by depleting me. When I lose hours scrolling through negative, drama-filled content on my feed, I notice a major downward shift in both my energy and mental health.“Bloomscrolling is when we scroll through different posts and videos that are more positive or inspirational,” says Dr. David Timpanaro, PhD, CEO of New Jersey-based Step Up Family Services. “This can spread across so many different topics that include ‘warm fuzzy’ love stories, people doing good deeds, or just watching nature.”Can Bloomscrolling and Social Media Actually Be a Good Thing?Social media—and our aimless scrolling habits—often gets a bad rep, and for good reason. However, it’s the way in which we use social media that matters. Doomscrolling certainly has its downsides, but bloomscrolling can actually lead to positive impacts.“Social media is neither good nor bad, and there are incredible people doing incredible things,” says Bogdanovic. “There are people on social media sharing their creativity like art, dance, music, cooking, and countless other examples. There are also people using social media to make meaningful changes in their communities and the world. Tuning into this type of content can remind us of the beauty in humanity, help us feel connected to others, and give us hope.”The best way to determine whether your social media habits are hurting or helping you is to pay attention to how you feel post-scrolling. Are you inspired, hopeful, and full of energy? Or are you drained, anxious, and filled with dread? The context matters.“Bloomscrolling is about intentionally seeking out more of this content so that our time on social media can contribute positively to how we feel,” says Bogdanovic. If you can cater your emotional needs to your scrolling habits, you might just find social media to be a supportive tool in your creativity, energy, and mental health—so long as you’re intentional with it. Unfortunately, negativity can find you even on the more positive content.“Yes, you will always have the comments on the ‘warm fuzzy’ posts from the doomscrollers, but you don’t want to absorb the comments,” says Timpanaro. “You want to focus on the content.”The post Introducing ‘Bloomscrolling,’ the Social Media Trend That Could Improve Your Mental Health appeared first on VICE.