Doomscrolling is the use of the Internet or other news resources to seek out ever more negative news, which in turns leads to anxiety and mental health issues.
During the pandemic, I observed many on social media who were terrified of Covid spent their time constantly seeking out ever more negative perspectives. I theorized they did this as a way to justify their fears. They then, in turn, shared their scary observations on line – and soon formed social groups of like minded individuals who mutually reinforced their fears and anxiety.
This behavior is not limited to Covid – but is also prevalent in climate change conversations and other areas.
In the world of doomscrolling, good news is seen as bad news! Good news goes against the individuals current thinking that everything is awful, which suggests their thoughts might not be accurate. Thus, they discard good news and seek out more bad news to justify their anxiety. This becomes a self perpetuating cycle of negativity.
Additionally, a supplier’s market of negativity develops – many “news” sources focus on negative stories. Only bad news is reported, never good news. On social media, some “experts” establish themselves as purveyors of fear and paranoia – Eric Feigl-Ding is an example of that. He soon had, apparently, millions of followers tracking his every word as he made wild pronouncements and spread fear about Covid. The more fear he spread, the more goupie followers he obtained, giving him greater influence.
