The trend of Doom scrolling.

Doomscrolling, to put it simply, is the act of spending an excessive amount of screen time devoted to absorbing dystopian news. After the rollercoaster of 2020, I can say with confidence that many of us have spent longer than we’re proud to admit participating in this act. From news of the election and the fallout afterward to the current state of world health our Twitter feeds and various timelines have been flooded with thousands upon thousands of points raised and very few of them inspire confidence. But is this a new phenomenon or have we been down this path before?

These tweets show the power of dystopian news as it can easily take over what is supposed to be a normal social media check, turning what could have been an enriching few minutes filled with memes and something that is actually interesting into a minefield of conspiracy theories or reasons to never leave your house again.

Doomscrolling is by no means a new thing, while it has gone by different names in the past, Mean World syndrome, the belief that the world is a violent and dangerous place due to televised violence, was the previous version of doomscrolling. The thread made by Ellen Muehlberger explores the beginnings of doomscrolling in 2020 as she claims to be the creator of the term.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doomscrolling-and-how-to-avoid-it/#:~:text=Doomscrolling%20can%20reinforce%20negative%20thoughts,%2C%20stress%2C%20anxiety%20and%20sadness.

Unsurprisingly looking at excessive amounts of negative information is bad for your mental health. The article from the Cleveland Clinic discusses strategies that can be used to minimize doomscrooling in your life as well as some insight into why we as humans find it so compelling to do. The video from CBS Pittsburgh serves as a general discussion on the topic but offers an insight into the dangers of doomscrolling and brings in self-proclaimed “doomscrollers” for discussion.

I think after a topic as depressing as doomscrolling we all deserve some cuteness, enjoy this good dog.

Doomscrolling will be something we always deal with as humans. It will go by many different names and evolve as technology and social media does. Hopefully with the information presented you have a better understanding of what doomscrolling is, why it can be so dangerous, and some strategies you can use to limit the amount of time you spend looking at negative news.