Life · Social comparison gauge
Social Comparison Damage Gauge
How much is comparing yourself to curated social media lives costing your mood, decisions, and sense of progress? Get an honest score.
Instant result
Plain-English why
Copyable takeaway
What this means
No waffle. Just the number and how it was worked out.
Formula used
Damage score weighted by platform intensity, comparison direction, frequency, mood impact, and decision interference.
Worked example
Daily heavy use of Instagram, upward comparison, mood consistently deflated, and major purchases influenced by comparison: score 12/14 — high damage.
Common questions
Is all comparison harmful?
No — lateral comparison with people in similar situations can be motivating. Upward comparison with curated, unrealistic content tends to be consistently deflating. The direction and the platform both matter.
Plain-English summary
The result summary for this calculator will live here.
This section translates the result into a short, direct takeaway rather than leaving the page at a bare number.
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Keep going
Doomscrolling Damage Estimator
Enter your daily scroll time, platform, timing, and mood-after to get an annual time cost and a damage verdict — from Casual Use to Dependency Territory.
Open verdict