Doomscrolling Isn’t Helping Our Well Being Warn Experts

Do headlines such as “Covid-19 Cases on the Rise,” “Election Meddling Likely” or “Flesh Eating Bacteria in the Long Island Sound” make you want to read more on social media? For many people such dark and seemingly depressing headlines have become “must reads.” Even before bedtime!

Admit it, during the pandemic reading bad news, especially on social media, has become almost addictive.

The practice, known as “doomscrollling” isn’t good for one’s mental health however. The term “doomscrollling” was coined by New York University clinical psychiatrist Ariane Ling, and it refers to the “act of endlessly scrolling down one’s news apps, Twitter and social media and reading bad news.”

If this is so bad, why do we do it?

News in many ways has conditioned us to want the details on seemingly horrible events. As the old saying goes, “if it bleeds, it leads.” However, social media has allowed the bad news to follow us, meaning it is likely among the first content we see each morning and last stories we see before we go to bed.

“I have certainly been guilty of doomscrolling,” admitted Dr. Nathaniel Ivers, department chairman and an associate professor in the Online Master’s in Counseling Program at Wake Forest University.

“There are a number of reasons why we fixate on negative events and treacherous possibilities,” explained Ivers. “One such reason is that doom and gloom stories elicit intense emotional reactions in us, at least at first. Human beings are drawn to strong emotions – be they positive or negative in nature.”

Moreover, these strong emotions in many ways make us feel alive and connected to others in a very profound way.

“In some instances, they also make us feel more meaning in our lives,” added Ivers. “Doomscrollling provides all of these feelings and thoughts, but it does so in a very fleeting way. We get a quick emotional jolt from an initial headline or story, and we try to replicate that jolt with additional tweets, headlines, videos, or stories. Unfortunately, rather than feel invigorated, after scrolling for a while, we often are left feeling mesmerized, melancholic and, sometimes, nihilistic.”

Blame the Pandemic

It isn’t just human nature that seeks out the “bad stuff” however. The pandemic has certainly brought out the worst news – even if not the worst in us. For every story of good deeds, there has simply been so much bad, and in many ways the media’s spin has been to accentuate the negative.

This includes highlighting the “bad behavior” when people have a good time – and while there is no denying that social distancing should be encouraged, the pandemic has literally taken fun out of the equation.

This is coupled with the fact that social distancing has meant social media has been the main social interaction for many people.

“During the pandemic, many people are interacting with the world in ‘real time’ less often,” said Dr. Catherine McKinley, associate professor in the School of Social Work at Tulane University.

“The things we read, consume, and are exposed to in our homes can take on a greater focus than if we were conducting our life ‘business as usual,'” she added. “Rather than doomscrolling leading to an ability to socially act on negative events or news in a constructive way, more often than not, it can cause a downward spiral of lost time and peace of mind without enhancing our resilience or our ability to deal with actual threats.”

Mean World Syndrome

Because there is so much negativity in the world people may in turn think it is all bad news – and social media certainly can reinforce that things are terrible.

“People might be experiencing increased anxiety and stress by obsessively scrolling through their phones since they are experiencing the ‘Mean World Syndrome,'” warned Dr. Mai-ly Nguyen Steers, assistant professor in the School of Nursing at Duquesne University.

This Mean World Syndrome can impact one’s health to the point that some even feel sick from it, while it can increase paranoia in others – certainly not ideal in normal times and even worse in a pandemic.

“That is, the more bad news they consume through social media, the more likely they are to think situations are worse than they are and the more likely they are to experience anxiety, depression, and difficulty sleeping as a result,” added Nguyen Steers. “For instance, reading about more and more people contracting Covid could lead you to be hyper-vigilant and not want to leave your house, even to take a walk.”

Stopping The Doomscrolling

While the obvious solution to doomscrolling is to simply tune out from social media –that is far harder than it sounds, and for those who are isolated with little contact with friends or family due to the pandemic the treatment can be as bad as the problem it is treating.

Instead, perhaps it is better to consider the context of the messages and try to see the positive in the stories. Or use social media for things other than reading news headlines.

“Some ways to combat the mental stress of doomscrolling would be to limit the amount of time you spend reading the news on social media,” suggested Nguyen Steers. “For instance, read the content on your social media feed for a half an hour each morning and do not check it again until the next day.”

McKinley shared similar sentiments to combating the affects of doomscrolling.

“It’s likely that people are checking their phones especially during transition times – in the morning, before bed, and during planned or unplanned work breaks,” she noted. “During these predictable transition times, we can replace doomscrolling with positive coping skills, like reading something positive, engaging in meditation, listening to music, taking positive social action, helping others, exercising, cooking meals, being with loved ones ore pets, or simply sitting with stimuli.”

Of course tuning out all the news isn’t advisable, and unfortunately part of life is accepting that bad things to happen. However, in those cases we shouldn’t strive to read every bad thing that happened during the day.

“If you ‘must’ doomscroll, set a timer on your phone with a time limit (e.g., 10-15 minutes) to remind you when you have reached your preset limit,” suggested Ivers. “After completing the exercise, write down what you learned and how you felt after the exercise.”

Then read something like an old Calvin and Hobbs comic to feel better!