Doomscrolling

The practice of doomscrolling can be compared to an older phenomenon from the 1970s called the mean world syndrome, described as "the belief that the world is a more dangerous place to live in than it actually is as a result of long-term exposure to violence-related content on television".^[6] Studies show that seeing upsetting news leads people to seek out more information on the topic, creating a self-perpetuating cycle.^[7]

In common parlance, the word "doom" connotes darkness and evil, referring to one's fate (cf. damnation).^[8] In the internet's infancy, "surfing" was a common verb used in reference to browsing the internet; similarly, the word "scrolling" refers to sliding through online content.^[8] After 3 years of being on the Merriam-Webster "watching" list, "doomscrolling" was recognized as an official word in September 2023.^[9] Dictionary.com chose it as the top monthly trend in August 2020.^[10] The Macquarie Dictionary named doomscrolling as the 2020 Committee's Choice Word of the Year.^[11]

According to Merriam-Webster, the term was first used in 2020.^[12] The term continued to gain traction in the early 2020s^[13][14] through events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the George Floyd protests, the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the storming of the U.S. Capitol in 2021, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine since 2022,^[15] all of which have been noted to have exacerbated the practice of doomscrolling.^[16][17][18] Doomscrolling became widespread among users of Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic,^[19] and has also been discussed in relation to the climate crisis.^[20] A 2024 survey conducted by Morning Consult, concluded that approximately 31% of American adults doomscroll on a regular basis. This percentage is further exaggerated the younger the adults are, with millennials at 46%, and Gen Z adults at 51%.^[3]

Infinite scrolling is a design approach which loads content continuously as the user scrolls down. It eliminates the need for pagination thereby encouraging doomscrolling behaviours. The feature allows a social media user to "infinitely scroll", as the software is continuously loading new content and displaying an endless stream of information. Consequently, this feature can exacerbate doomscrolling as it removes natural stopping points that a user might pause at.^[21] The concept of infinite scrolling is sometimes attributed to Aza Raskin by the elimination of pagination of web pages, in favor of continuously loading content as the user scrolls down the page.^[22] Raskin later expressed regret at the invention, describing it as "one of the first products designed to not simply help a user, but to deliberately keep them online for as long as possible".^[23] Usability research suggests infinite scrolling can present an accessibility issue.^[22] The lack of stopping cues has been described as a pathway to both problematic smartphone use and problematic social media use.^[24][25]

Social media companies play a significant role in the perpetuation of doomscrolling by leveraging algorithms designed to maximize user engagement. These algorithms prioritize content that is emotionally stimulating, often favoring negative news and sensationalized headlines to keep users scrolling. The business models of most social media platforms rely heavily on user engagement, which means that the longer people stay on their platforms, the more advertisements they see, and the more data is collected on their behavior. This creates a cycle where emotionally charged content—often involving negative or anxiety-inducing information—is repeatedly pushed to users, encouraging them to keep scrolling and consuming more content. Despite the well-documented negative effects of doomscrolling on mental health, social media companies are incentivized to maintain user engagement through these methods, making it challenging for individuals to break free from the habit.^[26]

The act of doomscrolling can be attributed to the natural negativity bias people have when consuming information.^[27] Negativity bias is the idea that negative events have a larger impact on one's mental well-being than good ones.^[28] Jeffrey Hall, a professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, notes that due to an individual's regular state of contentment, potential threats provoke one's attention.^[29] One psychiatrist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center notes that humans are "all hardwired to see the negative and be drawn to the negative because it can harm [them] physically."^[30] He cites evolution as the reason for why humans seek out such negatives: if one's ancestors, for example, discovered how an ancient creature could injure them, they could avoid that fate.^[31]

As opposed to primitive humans, however, most people in modern times do not realize that they are even seeking negative information. Social media algorithms heed the content users engage in and display posts similar in nature, which can aid in the act of doomscrolling.^[29] As per the clinic director of the Perelman School of Medicine's Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety: "People have a question, they want an answer, and assume getting it will make them feel better ... You keep scrolling and scrolling. Many think that will be helpful, but they end up feeling worse afterward."^[31]

Doomscrolling can also be explained by the fear of missing out, a common fear that causes people to take part in activities that may not be explicitly beneficial to them, but which they fear "missing out on".^[32] This fear is also applied within the world of news, and social media. A research study conducted by Statista in 2013 found that more than half of Americans experienced FOMO on social media; further studies found FOMO affected 67% of Italian users in 2017, and 59% of Polish teenagers in 2021.^[33]

Thus, Bethany Teachman, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, states that FOMO is likely to be correlated with doomscrolling due to the person's fear of missing out on crucial negative information.^[34]

Obsessively consuming negative news online can additionally be partially attributed to a person's psychological need for control. As stated earlier, the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the popularity of doomscrolling. A likely reasoning behind this is that during uncertain times, people are likely to engage in doomscrolling as a way to help them gather information and a sense of mastery over the situation. This is done by people to reinforce their belief that staying informed, and in control will provide them with protection from grim situations.^[35] However, while attempting to seize control, more often than not as a result of doomscrolling individuals develop more anxiety towards the situation rather than lessen it.^[36]

Doomscrolling, the compulsion to engross oneself in negative news, may be the result of an evolutionary mechanism where humans are "wired to screen for and anticipate danger".^[37] By frequently monitoring events surrounding negative headlines, staying informed may grant the feeling of being better prepared; however, prolonged scrolling may also lead to worsened mood and mental health as personal fears might seem heightened.^[37]

The inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) plays an important role in information processing and integrating new information into beliefs about reality.^[37][38] In the IFG, the brain "selectively filters bad news" when presented with new information as it updates beliefs.^[37] When a person engages in doomscrolling, the brain may feel under threat and shut off its "bad news filter" in response.^[37]

In a study where researchers manipulated the left IFG using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), patients were more likely to incorporate negative information when updating beliefs.^[38] This suggests that the left IFG may be responsible for inhibiting bad news from altering personal beliefs; when participants were presented with favorable information and received TMS, the brain still updated beliefs in response to the positive news.^[38] The study also suggests that the brain selectively filters information and updates beliefs in a way that reduces stress and anxiety by processing good news with higher regard (see optimistic bias).^[38] Increased doomscrolling exposes the brain to greater quantities of unfavorable news and may restrict the brain's ability to embrace good news and discount bad news;^[38] this can result in negative emotions that make one feel anxious, depressed, and isolated.^[31]

Health professionals have advised that excessive doomscrolling can negatively impact existing mental health issues.^[37][39][40] While the overall impact that doomscrolling has on people may vary,^[41] it can often make one feel anxious, stressed, fearful, depressed, and isolated.^[37]

Professors of psychology at the University of Sussex conducted a study in which participants watched television news consisting of "positive-, neutral-, and negative valenced material".^[42][43] The study revealed that participants who watched the negative news programs showed an increase in anxiety, sadness, and catastrophic tendencies regarding personal worries.^[42]

A study conducted by psychology researchers in conjunction with the Huffington Post found that participants who watched three minutes of negative news in the morning were 27% more likely to have reported experiencing a bad day six to eight hours later.^[43] Comparatively, the group who watched solutions-focused news stories reported a good day 88% of the time.^[43]

Some people have begun coping with the abundance of negative news stories by avoiding news altogether. A study from 2017 to 2022 showed that news avoidance is increasing, and that 38% of people admitted to sometimes or often actively avoiding the news in 2022, up from 29% in 2017.^[44] Some journalists have admitted to avoiding the news; journalist Amanda Ripley wrote that "people producing the news themselves are struggling, and while they aren't likely to admit it, it is warping the coverage."^[45] She also identified ways she believes could help fix the problem, such as intentionally adding more hope, agency, and dignity into stories so readers don't feel the helplessness which leads them to tune out entirely.^[45]

In 2024, a study by the University of Oxford's Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism indicated that an increasing number of people are avoiding the news.^[46] In 2023, 39% of people worldwide reported actively avoiding the news, up from 29% in 2017. The study suggests that conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East may be contributing factors to this trend. In the UK, interest in news has nearly halved since 2015.^[47]

•   The dictionary definition of doomscrolling at Wiktionary
• Article on Medium.com
• Article on Metro News
• Article on The Star