Apps to distract you from the endless cycle of doomscrolling

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TLDR

  • TechCrunch rounds up seven apps offering creative, educational, or game-based alternatives to social media scrolling.

Key Facts

  • Apps covered: Dudel Draw (daily drawing), Radio Garden (25,000+ live radio stations), Elevate (cognitive games), Vocabulary, Seterra (geography), NYT Games, and Drops (language learning).
  • A 2025 survey found 64% of Americans report doomscrolling; researchers link it to brain fatigue, poor focus, and disrupted sleep.
  • Most apps are free or offer free tiers; paid plans range from $2.99/month (Radio Garden) to $79.99/year (Drops).
  • All apps are available on iOS; all except Dudel Draw also support Android.

Why It Matters

  • Doomscrolling is widespread enough that a broad consumer audience is actively looking for phone-based alternatives.
  • The list spans creativity, learning, and games, suggesting no single replacement category dominates attention as a substitute habit.

Aisha Malik, TechCrunch · 2026-04-25 · Read the original