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The Dangers of Doom Scrolling

Doom scrolling is linked to worse mental health and life satisfaction.

Key points

  • Oxford Dictionary's word of the year is brain rot, which is related to excessive doom scrolling.
  • The term was originated by Henry David Thoreau.
  • Doom scrolling poses negative consequences for mental and physical health.

The Oxford Dictionary's Word of the Year is “brain rot.” Their website defines this as the “supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, primarily viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered trivial or unchallenging. Also, it is something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration.”

Sounds gross, right? However, this decision was based on the consensus of over 37,000 votes, worldwide public discussion, and data analysis. This term is not new, despite its recent resurgence in our vernacular. In Henry David Thoreau’s 1854 book Walden, he wrote, "While England endeavors to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavor to cure the brain rot, which prevails so much more widely and fatally?" Thoreau used the term as a backlash against oversimplification. He described brain rot as the consequence of suppressing our natural curiosity and instead becoming preoccupied with chasing profits, fitting in, and devolving into the latest news or fads. Although Thoreau's definition may differ from what we refer to in modern times, the Oxford Dictionary defines rot as "a process of deterioration; a decline in standards." Brain rot is not a medical diagnosis but refers to cognitive decline, including attention, memory, and worsening mood.

What Is Doom Scrolling?

Doom scrolling is the act of binging on news or social media content that involves disturbing issues such as a tragedy, crisis, or disaster. According to Harvard Health, doom scrolling can lead to several negative consequences, including poor mental health, disturbed sleep, and increased stress. The media tends to favor negative news because, as the saying goes, “If it bleeds, it leads.” Our brains and bodies are equipped to handle short bursts of bad news, but our world has been filled with chronic frightening and demoralizing news. During the COVID pandemic, tracking the ongoing health crisis worldwide was natural. Dr. Kate Mannell, a media studies researcher at Deakin University in the Australian state of Victoria, said COVID-19 made the public “more inclined” to engage in doom scrolling because of the amount of bad news and extra spare time. However, since the end of the pandemic, the world has witnessed a war in Ukraine, an attack by Hamas on Israel with hostages still being held, the assassination of a health insurance CEO, climate disasters, repeated school shootings, and other events. It seems the stress never ends; the doom scrolling increases. And because devices such as smartphones are ever-present, there are endless opportunities to engage in this behavior.

Adverse Effects of Doom Scrolling

Since the pandemic, the adverse mental health effects of doom scrolling have been researched more closely. One study published in 2023 linked doom scrolling to worse mental health and decreased overall satisfaction with life. Doom scrolling reinforces negative thoughts and feelings and can worsen pre-existing depression and anxiety. In addition, the time you spend doom scrolling can make you irritable, fatigued, and less productive at work or school. A study published in Health Communication found that in a survey of over 1000 participants, almost 17 percent who admitted to “severely problematic” news consumption reported higher stress levels and worse physical health. One of the lead authors, Dr. Bryan McLaughlin, said that bingeing on the 24-hour news cycle can make some people feel like the world is a “dark and dangerous” place because it stimulates the limbic system, as Harvard Medical School lecturer Dr. Aditi Nerurkar found in her research. Unfortunately, because this behavior can make us feel unsafe, instead of tuning out the bad news, we continually seek it out to alleviate our fears that the worst scenario is happening. This perpetuates a self-destructive cycle.

In Dr. McLaughlin’s research, the participants who struggled to detach themselves from the negative news they read scored high on five problematic dimensions: They became absorbed in news content, preoccupied with thoughts about the news, attempted to reduce anxiety by consuming more news, and admitted that news consumption was interfering with their daily lives. Importantly, those with higher levels of problematic news consumption had much higher levels of mental and physical health problems than those who did not report problematic behavior.

What About Direct Effects On The Brain?

Doom scrolling can have multiple effects on your brain. Nerurkar explains the biological basis of doom scrolling as arising from an area of the brain called the amygdala. This part of your brain is designed to promote self-preservation and is intimately involved in the fight or flight response to danger. In a threatening environment, it predisposes us to be hypervigilant to threats and, as a result, perpetuates doom scrolling. Nerukar says endless doom scrolling can give us a “popcorn brain,” which she describes as feeling like your brain is popping because of overstimulation from extensive online periods. The counterpart to the amygdala is your prefrontal cortex. This area of the brain is what we count on for higher-level cognitive functioning, such as decision-making and impulse control. As your amygdala becomes hyperaroused, the dominance of your prefrontal cortex decreases.

Neuroplasticity refers to your brain's capacity to change and rewire in response to learning and experience. Doom scrolling is a vicious feedback loop and can affect your brain's wiring by creating new neural pathways resulting from repetitive behavior. This way, doom scrolling can condition your brain to expect and find negative news, which ingrains the cycle.

A 2021 study in Molecular Psychiatry reviewed structural brain changes in individuals defined as "problematic users" (PUI) of the Internet. PUI encompassed problematic behaviors related to the Internet, irrespective of modality or type of activity. The researchers found significantly decreased gray matter in multiple brain areas of PUI subjects compared to controls.

What Are Some Ways to Decrease Doom Scrolling?

Dr. Mannell studied the impact of news consumption during Australia’s lockdown. She found partial news avoidance helpful; the participants in her survey who limited their news consumption reported less distractibility and anxiety. They didn’t avoid the news entirely but made conscious decisions to limit their consumption.

Unfollowing or muting accounts that persistently post negative news can help you reduce your exposure. There are steps you can take to break the doom-scrolling habit.

  • You can set a timer on your watch to limit how long you will be online daily.
  • Instead of negative news, focus more on healthy activities such as exercise, mindfulness, or getting outside in nature.
  • Track your usage and screen time with apps that will remind you how long you have been on the screen.
  • Be selective about where you get your news. Adjust your feeds to show more positive content that may be educational, inspirational, or include accessible calls to action.

References

Cassidy, Caitlin. “Doomscrolling Linked to Poor Physical and Mental Health, Study Finds.” The Guardian, 5 Sept. 2022.

Chappell, Bill. “Writer Thoreau Warned of Brain Rot in 1854. Now It’s the Oxford Word of 2024.” NPR, 2 Dec. 2024.

“Generation Z AND Mental Health.” The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 12 May 2024, https://www.aecf.org/blog/generation-z-and-mental-health.

“Oxford Word of the Year 2024 - Oxford University Press.” Oxford University Press, Dec. 2024, https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year.

Paulsen, Paige, and Daniel Fuller. “Scrolling for Data or Doom during COVID-19?” Canadian Journal of Public Health, no. 4, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, July 2020, pp. 490–91.

Rajeshwari, S., and Meenakshi S. “The Age of Doom Scrolling – Social Media’s Attractive Addiction.” Journal of Education and Health Promotion, no. 1, Medknow, Jan. 2023.

Satici, Seydi Ahmet, et al. “Doomscrolling Scale: Its Association with Personality Traits, Psychological Distress, Social Media Use, and Wellbeing.” Applied Research in Quality of Life, no. 2, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Oct. 2022, pp. 833–47.

Jeremy E. Solly, Roxanne W. Hook, Jon E. Grant, Samuele Cortese, and Samuel R. Chamberlain. "Structural gray matter differences in Problematic Usage of the Internet: a systematic review and meta-analysis." Molecular Psychiatry (2022) 27:1000–1009;

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