Congratulations! You’ve arrived at a digital rest stop.
Need a break? Take one with this digital rest stop.
These dreamy wallpapers and videos are your antidote to doomscrolling.
This phenomenon is offered as a counter to doomscrolling — the compulsion to absorb bad news on social media. And as we reach the dog days of summer, we found ourselves needing a break. We thought you, our readers, might too. With this in mind, we asked artists we admire to create moments of rest, joy and delight. Below, you’ll find downloadable wallpapers, photos that inspire reflection and moments of comfort and meditation.
Enjoy this moment of stillness, and of course, stay as long as you’d like.
Download a soothing wallpaper
Experts say technology is addictive by design. Features like infinite scroll exploit our psychological instincts to keep us online — often before we know what we’re doing. We hope these wallpapers can disrupt that automation and encourage moments of intention as you go about your day.
Download the woman floating in water wallpaper here.
Download the open window wallpaper here.
Download the “all timing is perfect timing” wallpaper here.
Download the koi fish wallpaper here.
Download the hands and mug wallpaper here.
Download the “never grow up” wallpaper here.
Watch a soothing video
We asked animators and videographers to create media that will inspire moments of meditation, comfort and reflection.
Sit with a peaceful comic
Right now, take a big belly breath and let it out slowly. Conscious, controlled breathing is a science-backed way to ease tension and calm down your nervous system. Sit with this comic by Kat Schneider as you take a few mindful breaths.
Sit with these beautiful images
Gender and Identity editor Lena Felton took these photos on opposite ends of the world: The first two on Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, Calif., and the last in Santorini, Greece.
“Places like these (one very close to home, another a faraway destination) make me wonder at the world — they make me feel infinitesimally small, and so privileged to bear witness,” she writes. “I get lost in the muted colors, the muddled sky and sea.”
We hope they remind you to do the same.
We’ll be posting more of these rest stops on our Instagram in the coming days. Follow us to see them in your feed.