doomscrolling
nounUS /ˈdumˌskɹolɪŋ/
Etymology From doom + scrolling, from the practice of scrolling through timelines and news feeds on a computer or mobile device; originally in a context of being dissatisfied with current socio-political conditions and headlines. Popularized and surged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Step 1 is to acknowledge the burden that doomscrolling creates for our health, Dr. Gazzaley said. “You have to realize you don’t want to live your life in a hamster wheel of complete news consumption,” he said.2020 July 15, Brian X. Chen, “You’re Doomscrolling Again. Here’s How to Snap Out of It.”, in New York Times:
- I assured them that while doomscrolling was a difficult online pitfall, it wasn't one they needed to fall in to^([sic]).2020, Tanya Goodin, My Brain Has Too Many Tabs Open: How to Untangle Our Relationship with Tech, page 167:
4 more examples
- It would be easy enough to say just stop doing it, but with everything happening in the world right now, it’s impossible to completely avoid doomscrolling.2021 January 24, Tallie Proud, “Twitter accounts to follow to break up the doomscrolling”, in Tallie Proud, archived from the original on 20 May 2021:
- But this is 2021 and after a year and a half of COVID-19, of racial and socioeconomic unrest, viewers may be tuning in for a respite from doomscrolling daily news.2021 July 30, “Editorial: Welcome to the 2021 Pandemic Games: Thrills, spills and COVID”, in Boston Herald:
- Now doomscrolling is back in ways not seen since the beginning of the Covid pandemic.2022 March 6, James Tapper, “Obsessed? Frightened? Wakeful? War in Ukraine sparks return of doomscrolling”, in The Guardian:
- There is only so much negativity you can absorb before you have to take a deep breath and ask yourself, Do I really need to spend all day doomscrolling? Where is my joy?2025 November 4, Alexandra Petri, “Mike Johnson: I Am Tuning Out the News Cycle to Focus on Self-Care”, in The Atlantic:
- Derived terms
- bloomscrolling, doomjobbing, doomscroll, doomscroller