Text by Corina Tan
It’s close to midnight and we should really turn off our phones and go to bed, but somehow, we can’t seem to stop scrolling through social media, news articles, and reading about everything from inflation to global injustices. On top of that, there’s climate change and new stories about the evolving pandemic. There is no doubt that the past few years has caused an overload of information on almost every media site we engage in, but why do we insist on continuing this habit of doomscrolling when it makes us feel so bad?
The word still hasn’t made it into the dictionary, although Merriam-Webster has named it one of the “words we’re watching,” with a definition of “the tendency to continue to surf or scroll through bad news, even though that news is saddening, disheartening, or depressing.” The term first appeared around 2018 but has gained popularity since the tumultuous year of 2020; it can also be called “doomsurfing.”
“Many who experience these scrolling behaviours find there’s an urgency to look, learn, and understand the sensational issues going on in the world,” says Deborah Serani, PsyD, a psychologist and professor at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. “However, the constant hypervigilance we engage in by doomscrolling is exceedingly harmful.”
Furthermore, a 2022 University of Florida study published in the American Psychological Association journal Technology, Mind, and Behaviour found that doomscrolling was linked to anxiety as well as problematic use of the Internet and social media. Evidently, this obsessive habit is neither helpful nor good for health.
With many of us becoming so addicted to all the dramatic news out there, how can we limit our consumption of information so that it doesn’t start affecting us in a negative way?
1 – Give yourself a time limit of an hour each day to scroll through any important information and then be disciplined enough to stop and cut off the scrolling. Set a timer if you need to.
2 – Simply avoid picking up your phone, tablet or switching news channels on the TV before bed.
3 – Manage notifications on your phones so that you don’t get alerts from news or social media apps. This way you will only have access when you intentionally go in.
4 – Take time away from all modern gadgets by engaging in other real-world experiences like talking with a friend, cuddling a pet, cooking, exercising or listening to some music.
5 – Search for good and positive news instead. Wilfully find uplifting stories, humour, a human-interest story and anything upbeat and hopeful.
6 – Practice self-care by including relaxation and mindfulness in all your activities, living in the moment and giving your full attention to family, friends and activities you enjoy.
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