‘Doomscrolling’ During COVID-19: What It Does to You and How You Can Avoid It
“I am a doomscroller,” admits Katie, a 26-year-old speech therapist living in Columbus, Ohio. She checks Twitter, Facebook, and Google news around ten times daily. It’s a habit that has “increased significantly” since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For Katie, her doomscrolling is linked to a need for reassurance.
If the actions of doomscrolling sound familiar, you are not alone.
Doomscrolling is “the act of endlessly scrolling down one’s news apps, Twitter, and social media and reading bad news,” explained Ariane Ling, Ph.D., a psychologist and clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at NYU Langone Health in New York.
“The pandemic has exacerbated these habits in many ways, including the fact that there is no shortage of doomsday news,” she said.
Unfortunately, bad news scrolling habits have increased significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Twitter’s daily use numbers jumping 24 percent and Facebook numbers up 27 percent according to data analysis.
Physical and psychological effects
Previous research has shown a link between excessive social media use and increased feelings of depression and loneliness. With the pandemic, people are already experiencing higher than normal levels of stress and depression, with 49 percent of adults self-reporting depression symptoms, which is an increase, according to data, from the historical norm of 37 percent.
“Many individuals experience cognitive distortions such as catastrophizing, and doomscrolling could lead to an increase in ruminative thinking and panic attacks,” Dr. Leela R. Magavi, a psychiatrist and regional medical director at Community Psychiatry, a psychiatric care network based in California, told Healthline.
“In the long term, doomscrolling can increase levels of cortisol and adrenaline, both of which are stress hormones. Research routinely shows that chronic levels of elevated stress hormones are associated with many physical health issues, including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity,” Dr. Magavi advised.
Not all gloom and doom
“Doomscrolling is an escape from the drudgery of work,” stated Brett, a 49-year-old retail manager living in southeast Louisiana. “I’d rather worry about bigger problems on a national or global scale than think about how I might lose my job based on poor sales metrics or a complaint that I didn’t smile.”
Staying informed without the doom
The first step in staying informed is to create boundaries and cut back on social media use.
“This is an evolutionary habit, as we like to familiarize ourselves with dangers in order to gain a sense of preparedness and control,” Dr. Patricia Celan, a psychiatry resident at Dalhousie University in Canada, stated.
“Instead of trying to stop doomscrolling, limit it,” Celan said. “Set yourself a timer every time you decide you’re about to start scrolling for updates, stopping at 5 to 15 minutes. That way, you can feel informed while letting go before you begin to feel overwhelmed.”
Listen to your body and emotions, and when you slow down, your body and mind will tell you when you have absorbed enough.
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