How much time do you usually spend online? And how often do you read the news? According to a study by Hi-Tech Mail.ru (VK project), the majority of Russians (40%) spend about 3-5 hours a day on the Internet. Just like residents of the United States, who spend about 4-5 hours a day on their gadgets every day. As a rule, most of the screen time is spent on «doomscrolling» – that is, immersion in a news feed where bad news predominates. Essentially, doomscrolling is aimlessly scrolling on your phone, reading too much news, and watching videos on social media. The term refers mainly to negative content. But how does this behavior affect mental health? The results of a new study give a disappointing answer – it turned out that doomscrolling causes people to feel stress, anxiety, despair and even leads to a loss of meaning in life.
A new study has shown that «doomscrolling» may have a negative impact on mental health. But what is it? Image: media.wired.com
Doomscrolling and its consequences
When people spend a lot of time watching traumatic news on social media, such as shootings, terrorism, and conspiracy theories, it becomes addictive. In fact, scientists have long known about this, as well as the negative impact that excessive content consumption has on mental health.
The results of a new study, however, may upset news lovers – scientists from Flinders University in Australia found that doomscrolling has “dire consequences for our mental health and well-being.”
Reading the news for several hours a day is fraught with serious health problems. Image: www.sciencedirect.com
Viewing negative news on social media has become a source of vicarious trauma, where someone experiences negative psychological effects even if they themselves have not experienced the traumatic events, say the authors of a study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior Reports.
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The study involved 800 university students to find out if there was a relationship between mental health and excessive phone use. Note thatall subjects come from completely different culturesthe USA and Iran. Participants were first asked about their views on humanity and its future, and whether they believed the world was a fair place, and were then asked to report the amount of time they spent doomscrolling.
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The results showed that those who experienced more fatal events experienced more severe existential anxiety. In some cases, people have shown symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD, a disorder that develops in some people after experiencing a shocking, frightening, or dangerous life event).
You need to take a break from gadgets and the constant flow of information. Image: www.verywellmind.com
«We wanted to see if there was any connection between traumatic events and subsequent thoughts about humanity and the meaning of life. The results of the work showed that there is a connection, and doomscrolling itself often causes feelings of stress, anxiety and despair,” said the study authors.
Read also: How does reading bad news affect your health?
Read also: How does reading bad news affect your health?
Read also: How does reading bad news affect your health? p>
The end of the world and the meaning of life
Existential anxiety– a feeling of anxiety about the meaning of life and one’s existence. Imagine that you suddenly begin to doubt your goals in life and the meaning of your existence.
Another interesting finding was the story of the coming end of the world – its prediction in the news turned out to be directly related withexistential anxiety – worry about one’s own existence. Note that in both the Iranian and American samples it was the expectation of the apocalypse that became an important predictor of misanthropy– dislike of people.
Moreover, it turns out that when we are constantly exposed to negative news and information on the Internet, they begin to threaten our beliefs, especially when it comes to our own mortality and control over life. In short, doomscrolling negatively affects the way we perceive people, ourselves and the world around us.
Information hygiene is the key to health. Image: www.insidehook.com
The findings of the scientific work were disappointing – viewing negative news on social networks, especially videos and images, leads most people to despair. At the same time, the results are a timely reminder that we all need to regularly take a break from gadgets, the Internet and reading the news. Note that this scientific work is the world's first study of doomscrolling from an existential point of view.
Don't miss: Taking care of mental health: how not to go crazy in dark times
What to do ?
To minimize the negative effects of doomscrolling, scientists suggest paying attention tohow much time you spend on social networksand being aware of the impact it has on your emotions, thoughts and feelings , especially when it comes to negative news and events.
It's a good idea to track how much time you spend scrolling through your news feed and make changes to reduce that time. Becoming more aware of our online habits, such as viewing scary stories, and taking small steps to eliminate them can significantly improve our overall mental well-being, the study authors note.
Doomscrolling is spending a lot of time watching traumatic news on social networks, such as shootings, terrorism and conspiracies, often to the point of becoming addictive. Image: media.wired.com
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Interestingly, when fighting such a bad habit as doomscrolling, many Americans decided to give up smartphones and switched to good old push-button phones. This is because these devices perform a minimum of functions and do not provide the ability to install modern applications. Apparently, people are beginning to realize the dangers of social networks and smartphones. As they say, everything is good in moderation.
