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User:HamstersILY/Doomscrolling

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Doomscrolling or doomsurfing is the act of spending an excessive amount of time reading large quantities of negative news online.[1][2] Doomscrolling can also be defined as the excessive consumption of vertical, short-form videos for a long period of time, without knowing the amount of time passed. It may leave the person with a feeling of tiredness or unproductiveness after doomscrolling. This phenomenon is most seen in teenagers and kids.[3] This can also be considered as a form of Internet addiction disorder. In 2019, a study by the National Academy of Sciences found that doomscrolling can be linked to a decline in mental and physical health.[4]

History

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Origins

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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".[5] Studies show that seeing upsetting news leads people to seek out more information on the topic, creating a self-perpetuating cycle.[6]

In common parlance, the word "doom" connotes darkness and evil, referring to one's fate (cf. damnation).[7] In the early online days, "surfing" was a common verb used in reference to browsing the internet; similarly, the word "scrolling" refers to sliding through online content.[7] The complete word, "doomscrolling" had been recognized as an official word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, as of September 2023, after 3 years of it being on their "watching" list.[8] Dictionary.com chose it as the top monthly trend in August 2020.[9] The Macquarie Dictionary named doomscrolling as the 2020 Committee's Choice Word of the Year.[10]

Popularity

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According to Merriam-Webster, the term was first used in 2020.[11] The term then continued to gain traction popularity in the early 2020s[12][13] through events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the George Floyd protests, the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine since 2022,[14] all of which have been noted to have exacerbated the practice of doomscrolling.[7][15][16] As seen in a survey conducted by the Morning Consult, which 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%.[17]

Doomscrolling became widespread among users of Twitter (Currently known as X) during the COVID-19 pandemic,[18] and has also been discussed in relation to the climate crisis.[19]

The Infinite Scroll

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In the context of doomscrolling, a design feature known as the "infinite scroll" plays a pivotal role in perpetuating this behavior. This feature is a mechanism that allows a social media user to "infinitely scroll", as the software is continuously loading new content and creating an endless stream of information. Consequently, this feature can exacerbate doomscrolling as it removes natural stopping points that a user might pause at.[20]

Explanations

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Negativity bias

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The act of doomscrolling can be attributed to the natural negativity bias people have when consuming information.[21] Negativity bias is the idea that negative events have a larger impact on one's mental well-being than good ones.[22] 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.[23] 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."[24] 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.[25]

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.[23] 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."[25]

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)

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Doomscrolling can also be explained by the fear of missing out or FOMO. FOMO is a common fear that people experience that causes them to take part in activities that may not be explicitly beneficial to them but still partake in them due to their fear of missing out.[26] This fear is also applied within the world of news, and social media. In recent years, with the rise of social media, a large majority of people have begun to experience FOMO on social media platforms. This is seen in a research study conducted by Statista which found that more than half of Americans experienced FOMO on social media in 2013. In addition to 67% of Italian users in 2017, and 59% of Polish teenagers in 2021.[27]

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.[28]

Control Seeking

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Obsessively consuming negative news online can additionally be partly 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.[29] 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.[30]

Health effects

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Psychological effects

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Health professionals have advised that excessive doomscrolling can negatively impact existing mental health issues.[31][32][33] While the overall impact that doomscrolling has on people may vary,[34] it can often make one feel anxious, stressed, fearful, depressed, and isolated.[31]

Research

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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".[35][36] The study revealed that participants who watched the negative news programs showed an increase in anxiety, sadness, and catastrophic tendencies regarding personal worries.[35]

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.[36] Comparatively, the group who watched solutions-focused news stories reported a good day 88% of the time.[36]

References

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  1. ^ Leskin P. "Staying up late reading scary news? There's a word for that: 'doomscrolling'". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  2. ^ "On 'Doomsurfing' and 'Doomscrolling'". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  3. ^ Perez, Sarah (2022-07-13). "Kids and teens spend more time on TikTok than YouTube". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  4. ^ Soroka S, Fournier P, Nir L (September 2019). "Cross-national evidence of a negativity bias in psychophysiological reactions to news". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 116 (38): 18888–18892. Bibcode:2019PNAS..11618888S. doi:10.1073/pnas.1908369116. PMC 6754543. PMID 31481621.
  5. ^ "Doomscrolling Is Slowly Eroding Your Mental Health". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  6. ^ Park CS (2015-10-02). "Applying "Negativity Bias" to Twitter: Negative News on Twitter, Emotions, and Political Learning". Journal of Information Technology & Politics. 12 (4): 342–359. doi:10.1080/19331681.2015.1100225. ISSN 1933-1681. S2CID 147342965.
  7. ^ a b c "On 'Doomsurfing' and 'Doomscrolling'". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  8. ^ "We Added 690 New Words to the Dictionary for September 2023". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  9. ^ "The Dictionary.com Word Of The Year For 2020 Is ..." Dictionary.com. 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  10. ^ "The Committee's Choice & People's Choice for Word of the Year 2020". Macquarie Dictionary. 2020-12-07. Archived from the original on 2014-01-14. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  11. ^ "Definition of DOOMSCROLLING". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  12. ^ Leskin P. "Staying up late reading scary news? There's a word for that: 'doomscrolling'". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  13. ^ Rella E (July 2020). "Why we're obsessed with reading bad news — and how to break the 'doomscrolling' habit". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  14. ^ "Obsessed? Frightened? Wakeful? War in Ukraine sparks return of doomscrolling". TheGuardian.com. 6 March 2022.
  15. ^ Jennings R (2020-11-03). "Doomscrolling, explained". Vox. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  16. ^ Perrigo B. "The Doomscrolling Capital of the Internet". Time. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  17. ^ Briggs, Ellyn (2024-03-20). "How Americans Feel About Doomscrolling". Morning Consult Pro. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  18. ^ "Twitter sees record number of users during pandemic, but advertising sales slow". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  19. ^ Amanda Hess (3 February 2022). "Apocalypse When? Global Warming's Endless Scroll". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  20. ^ "Infinite Scroll Advantages & Disadvantages | Built In". builtin.com. 2022-11-22. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  21. ^ Rella E (July 2020). "Why we're obsessed with reading bad news — and how to break the 'doomscrolling' habit". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  22. ^ Baumeister RF, Bratslavsky E, Finkenauer C, Vohs KD (2001). "Bad is Stronger than Good" (PDF). Review of General Psychology. 5 (4): 323–370. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.5.4.323. ISSN 1089-2680. S2CID 13154992.
  23. ^ a b Megan Marples (26 February 2021). "Doomscrolling can steal hours of your time -- here's how to take it back". CNN. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  24. ^ Network, The Learning (2020-11-03). "'Doomscrolling'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  25. ^ a b Miller K. "There's a Reason You Can't Stop Looking at Bad News—Here's How to Stop". Health.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  26. ^ Przybylski, Andrew K.; Murayama, Kou; DeHaan, Cody R.; Gladwell, Valerie (July 2013). "Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out". Computers in Human Behavior. 29 (4): 1841–1848. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014.
  27. ^ "Social Media and FOMO". Social Media Victims Law Center. 2023-12-04. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  28. ^ Brenner, Carla Delgado, Brad (2022-05-06). "Why you can't stop doomscrolling and 5 tips to halt the vicious cycle". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ Satici, Seydi Ahmet; Gocet Tekin, Emine; Deniz, M. Engin; Satici, Begum (2023-04-01). "Doomscrolling Scale: its Association with Personality Traits, Psychological Distress, Social Media Use, and Wellbeing". Applied Research in Quality of Life. 18 (2): 833–847. doi:10.1007/s11482-022-10110-7. ISSN 1871-2576. PMC 9580444. PMID 36275044.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link)
  30. ^ Conversation, The (2022-09-09). "Doomscrolling Isn't Just Bad For Your Brain, Study Finds. Here's How to Stop". ScienceAlert. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  31. ^ a b Blades R (March 2021). "Protecting the brain against bad news". CMAJ. 193 (12): E428–E429. doi:10.1503/cmaj.1095928. PMC 8096381. PMID 33753370.
  32. ^ Sestir MA (2020-05-29). "This is the Way the World "Friends": Social Network Site Usage and Cultivation Effects". The Journal of Social Media in Society. 9 (1): 1–21. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  33. ^ "Website reports only good news for a day, loses two thirds of its readers". The Independent. 2014-12-05. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  34. ^ "The Mean-World Syndrome". Thought Maybe. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  35. ^ a b Johnston WM, Davey GC (February 1997). "The psychological impact of negative TV news bulletins: the catastrophizing of personal worries". British Journal of Psychology. 88 ( Pt 1) (1): 85–91. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1997.tb02622.x. PMID 9061893.
  36. ^ a b c "Consuming Negative News Can Make You Less Effective at Work". Harvard Business Review. 2015-09-14. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
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