How Does Doomscrolling Work?

episode is based on has to Work. Spoke by email with Jacob T. Fisher, Assistant professor in the College of Media at the University of Illinois and an affiliate of the Beckman Institute of Advanced Science and Technology and the

Illinois Informatics Program. He explained that the term doom scrolling describes quote a state in which someone feels an almost obsessive drive to continuously scroll through their social media feeds, paying at ten and to distressing, depressing, or generally negative information. Wild doomscrolling could involve a mix of good and bad news. It's usually the bad, negative, tragic, or sad news that

keeps us scrolling How stuff works. Also spoke by email with psychologist Joshua Claypo, PhD. He said, quote, we will bypass positive news when we are in a doomscrolling state of mind. Coincidentally or not, the rise of the term doomscrolling also coincides with the development of social media algorithms

to better understand the viewing habits of users. A Fisher said, it's pretty generally agreed on that it first started to become popular on Twitter in the late twenty teens, but the term didn't break out into general usage until the beginnings of the COVID nineteen pandemic. That said, doomscrolling is hardly a new concept. Remember nine eleven. If you remember nine eleven, millions of Americans sat glued to their televisions

watching the terrorist attacks against the United States unfold. And we've all seen the way traffic slows down to gawk at the aftermath of a car crash and play. Po pointed to the old headline news idiom If it bleeds, it leads. But now we're not restricted to news hours or even seven news channels. Smartphones give us notifications to tragedies in real time, providing both professionally produced news and running commentary from other media consumers at our fingertips. So

what makes us so curious? Clay Post said, it's borne out of a very primal evolutionary behavior. We are drawn towards sad, bad, dangerous, and tragic news because it serves a protective purpose. He explained that our brains are hardwired to be inquisitive about things we perceive as bad so that we can learn from them on a subconscious level.

Fisher said that social media companies know this and have created algorithms to keep people scrolling a The more you look at a certain genre of content, the more likely you are to get that content in your feed as you keep scrolling. Doom Scrolling is rarely an intentional action, though Clay Poe called it quote more of an obsession than an addiction. Obsessions are defined as ritualistic routines that

become a part of everyday life. They're generally rooted in fear that if the routine isn't followed, something bad might happen. So what might doom scrollers be afraid of? According to a University of Florida study, doom scrolling is often associated with the fear of missing out or FOMO, which results in a desire to remain constantly connected to one's smartphone.

They also found that men and young people were more apt to be doomscrollers, as were the politically engaged, but that left leaners and right leaners were equally prone to the obsession. The researchers weren't so much focused on the emotional effects of doom scrolling, so they couldn't conclude whether the action causes anxiety. However, they did suggest that doom scrolling and anxiety may feed off of each other regardless, Wallowing in negative information for hours on end can hack

away at your emotional well being. The clay Posts said this can lead to quote negative affect, cynicism about the world, irritation and anger, and an overall emotional state of negativity that often sticks for hours or days after doomscrolling. It clouds our perception of the world by drawing us into the real world, but only one part, the negative part. So how do we stop? Keep in mind that doomscrolling is an unconscious behavior, a clay Post said, we need

to be snapped out of it. Sounds competing behaviors, changes in our routine all will help prevent the situation where we find ourselves an hour later having scrolled and scrolled and scrolled. Some experts suggest setting an alarm that limits your scrolling time or leaving your smartphone in another room

for a while. However, Fisher said it's important to remember that social media sites are painstakingly designed by some of the world's brightest and most well paid people to be attention grabbing and attention keeping, so it may feel like

you're fighting an uphill battle. He continued, I believe social media and other big tech companies have a responsibility to ensure that their users have the ability to structure their digital lives in a way that lets them retain agency over their attention and focus on things that matter to them. A doom scrolling, like other potentially detrimental information seeking and sharing practices online, is often framed as individual responsibility, but it's important to see it as a natural outflow of

the business model that powers social media. Here's another idea. Add a couple of mobile games to the home screen of your phone and reach for those instead of your news or social media apps. A columnist for Wired found that this cure in her doom scrolling and didn't turn into another giant time Stuff. Today's episode is based on the article doom scrolling is messing with your mind, but you can break the habit on how stuff works dot Com,

written by Jennifer Walker. Journey brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.