How To Bloom-Scroll 💐
Bloomscrolling: is a joyful way to use social media, intentionally scrolling for inspiring, uplifting, and positive content that nourishes your mind & mood
This voiceover is an audio version of my Slow Sunday Letter below. It is unedited, so may have some stutters, imperfections, and background noise. I hope you enjoy listening to it anyway!
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Welcome back to another Slow Sunday Letter! I hope you have had a slow and gentle week.
In this week’s Slow Sunday Letter, we are going to dive into the phrase bloom-scrolling, you may have seen it popping up online recently. Essentially, it is a way of interacting with social media more intentionally. Creating a happier, safer, and more nourishing place to be online. In today’s letter, we will explore simple ways you can begin curating your digital spaces, so that when you do spend time online it feels more joyful, inspiring, and uplifting, rather than overwhelming or draining.
So, grab a cuppa, get cosy, and let’s explore what it might look like to start bloom-scrolling 💐
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Bloom-Scrolling 💐
Reclaiming social media as a place of inspiration, creativity, and calm
I shared this image last week, and the response to it has been really inspiring. Like so many of us, I’ve been wanting to use my phone and digital devices less, and I’m making variable progress with that intention. Some days I manage it well, and other days there I am, scrolling away on social media. We are only human after all, and this is a tough habit to shift.
What I discovered, and what I think many of us already suspect - is that I have a real pull towards scrolling. And what’s harder to sit with is that so often, time on social media leaves me feeling anxious, stressed, and at times, with the state of the world, quite hopeless.
For me, it wasn’t enough to simply scroll less. I also wanted to create a gentler, happier place to be online when I was online. I wanted to limit my exposure to upsetting images, videos, and constant news. Curating a positive, nourishing feed takes time, but it is so worth it.
I truly believe that both using our phones more intentionally, and creating a healthier relationship with social media, is the answer. We live in 2026 and realistically, most of us aren’t going to turn away from technology altogether. So instead, we can begin thinking about how to use these tools in ways that genuinely support us, our peace, and our wellbeing.
How To Bloom-Scroll 💐
Step One
Examine your digital habits
Before changing anything, it helps to simply become aware. I will admit - I was nervous about this step, but it had to be done. I needed an honest look at just how much time I was spending on my phone, and particularly which apps were dominating my attention.
It is easier to find this information than you may think. Most phones now have built-in wellbeing or screen time tools in settings that show:
How long you spend on your phone each day
Which apps you use the most
How often you unlock your phone
You might notice:
certain apps dominating your time
times of the day when you are more likely to be scrolling (when you’re tired, bored, or overwhelmed)
patterns you hadn’t realised were there
Please remember, to be kind to yourself here, there is no shame or judgement, we are not doing this to make ourselves feel bad - but it is very important to take an honest look at how you are using your devices. Once you understand where your time is going, you can begin to choose differently.
Step Two
Creating boundaries with technology
Technology truly sits at the centre of modern life. It is a powerful and wonderful tool, one that can create ease, connection, and open up incredible spaces for learning, sharing, and inspiration. Realistically, most of us aren’t going to turn away from technology or social media altogether. But what we can do is begin to create gentle boundaries, and make small, intentional changes that better support the life and balance we are craving.
Some ideas:
Use focus modes or app timers to block certain apps during parts of the day
Try phone-free mornings or evenings
Use an alarm clock, instead of your phone to wake up
Leave your phone in another room while you read, journal, or rest
Turn off non-essential notifications
Step Three
Replace scrolling with hobbies and real connection!
This is the really fun part, with all that time you are saving staring at a screen - you will find you have more time for hobbies, and people that matter to you. Spend some time thinking about how you would prefer to spend your time. What hobbies have you wanted to try? After dinner, could you go for a walk or play a game instead of sitting on the sofa with your phone or laptop? Could you start that art project? Sign up to that yoga class? Be open to all the possibilities and choices you have, when you put down your phone and look around you!
Some ideas:
Reading
Journaling or morning pages
Art
Plan a walk or hike
Call a friend
Play a game with your family
A date night
An exercise class
Crafting - like knitting or crochet
Listening to music or podcasts
Step Four
Begin bloom-scrolling 💐!!!
Okay, so now we have examined our digital habits, created some boundaries and small changes around our technology and started to explore hobbies and real connection - we can start to bloom scroll. When you do choose to use social media, or spend time online, we are going to take our time to create a place online that feels good so that we are intentionally using our time. Curating your online world, will take time, but it will be worth it.
Start by gently unfollowing or muting accounts that:
Make you feel anxious
Trigger comparison
Leave you feeling heavy or drained
Encourage constant productivity or perfection
Then, slowly seek out content and people that feel nourishing to you … each of our lists will be different, but for me it is more of this …
✨ Creativity boosts
✨ Books and writing
✨ Slow living Inspiration
✨ Long form content and writing
✨ Nature and nature writing
✨ Writing vlogs
✨ Learning spaces (like skillshare)
✨ Learning around my interests (philosophy and English literature)
✨ Videos and images of the countryside
✨ Hygge and creating a mindful home
✨ Youtube Vlogs
✨ Joyful content (mostly featuring dogs and cats!)
It takes time, and that is okay. Be patient, and curate your feeds little and often. Gradually, you will see your social media spaces begin to transform. They can become hubs of inspiration, creativity, and joy. Places that leave you feeling uplifted rather than drained.
Remember, to truly bloom-scroll we first need to create a healthier relationship with social media, through steps one to three. From there, we can begin to enjoy our time online in a more intentional, nourishing way.
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Some Recommendations: Lovely Spaces online
One of the best parts of bloom-scrolling is discovering spaces online that feel calm, thoughtful, and inspiring to you. Again, what you gravitate towards will be different to me, but I wanted to make some recommendations if you were unsure where to begin…
A few ideas:
Substack - you know it, you love it! There are far too many to mention, but here are a few of my favourite writers here on Substack - guaranteed to inspire!
Skillshare for learning slow creative skills at your own pace my Skillshare referral link ...
The Pluviophile Papers Ruby Granger’s Substack and new YouTube channel The Pluviophile Papers
Beth Kempton Soul Circle Writing Community and Do What You Love
Selina Barker Project You Club
Chapter 25 Book Club online and in person book club
Hannah Adkins Youtube “born and raised in The Cotswolds, I make lifestyle videos celebrating each season in the countryside that I am lucky enough to call home”.
Morgan Long Youtube “For cozy souls, book lovers & big feelers ❤️“.
There is so much beauty online, we just have to take control, be intentional and carve out our spaces with care.
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I really hope this week’s Slow Sunday Letter, has inspired you to try bloom-scrolling. We can choose content that aligns with our values, and use technology in ways that support peace rather than pressure. Remember that we are always in control of what we consume. With a little time and care, social media can become a more intentional space for creativity, learning and inspiration.
I’d love to know… have you discovered any corners of the internet that feel especially calm or uplifting? Any favourite creators, spaces, or habits that help you build a gentler relationship with your phone?
I would really love to know your thoughts - If you feel able, please do share in the comments.
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Thank you so much for sharing this! There is so much truth within this post. I really love this (and we absolutely need more of it):
“For me, it wasn’t enough to simply scroll less. I also wanted to create a gentler, happier place to be online when I was online. I wanted to limit my exposure to upsetting images, videos, and constant news. Curating a positive, nourishing feed takes time, but it is so worth it.”
Sharing this article with my clients! 🌸
I absolutely love this opposite to doom scrolling. Xxx