Doomscrolling – threat to Mental Health and Well-being: A Review

Abstract

In the early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged as a global threat to health and social stability were in the headlines of the news agenda. 24/7 news coverage was dominated by reports from collapsing hospitals and closed down cities, grave government officials announcing drastic counter-pandemic measures, shifting predictions for a vaccination timeline, and statistics of infected, hospitalized, and deceased in various countries around the globe. COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all aspects of our lives. One such effect is doom scrolling/doom surfing which is the tendency to continue to surf or scroll through bad news, even though that news is saddening, disheartening or depressing, practice researchers found has boomed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a myriad of reasons as to why endlessly looking for bad news feels so strangely fulfilling-a way of feeling in control in a world that feels so out of control all the time, the sense of safety in knowledge or curiosity of the human mind. Studies have shown that doom scrolling has negative impact on mental health, triggering, and worsening one’s mental and neurological health. . It also has impact on physical health, and increase in cases of cervical spondylosis, and posture related issues and joint arthritis. The habit also is not an easy one to break, but thankfully human brain quickly can divert their minds. Generation of awareness and adoption of digital hygiene strategies will contribute toward better affective regulation, mental well-being, healthy use of technology minimizes the experience of anxiety, fear apprehension hopelessness, and intolerance of uncertainty.