Each day, the average person spends about 108 minutes scrolling on social media. In that time, one’s thumb travels approximately 38,880 centimeters, roughly the height of the Empire State Building.

In our digital age, many of us succumb to the modern malaise of “doomscrolling.” A term that emerged during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, doomscrolling describes the compulsive activity of pursuing negative news online. This behavior can leave us more fearful than informed and may be detrimental to our health.

Negativity Incentivized

Anxiety and fear direct our attention. Media leverages these emotions to drive consumption. An analysis published in 2023 in Nature Human Behaviour demonstrated that headlines with negative words were directly correlated to increased open rates. The researchers determined that each additional negative word increased the click-through rate by 2.3 percent.

Further, negatively toned articles tend to spread. They travel quickly across networks and are far more likely to be shared on social media, where they garner more impressions and traction.

Why do we feel so drawn to negativity, and why are we prone to share it?

The Illusion of Control

The human brain has a natural negativity bias, meaning it is more attuned to negative stimuli—a trait that once helped our ancestors survive by prioritizing potential threats and danger in their environment.

Social media platforms exploit these instincts.

Today, the same mental circuits that helped us notice a rustling bush are hijacked to direct our attention to our screens.

“With the help of behavioral scientists, sites have made it easy to tumble down the rabbit hole of gloom and doom by making it difficult to resist doomscrolling yet another upsetting topic,” Larry Rosen, professor emeritus and past chair of the psychology department at California State University, Dominguez Hills, told The Epoch Times.

Sometimes, reading news can create an illusion of control. “[K]eeping our fingers on the pulse of bad news may trick us into feeling more prepared,” Cecille Ahrens, clinical director of Transcend Therapy in San Diego, California, was quoted as saying in a study published in CMAG.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when the public was sequestered at home, gripped by anxiety and apprehensions about the future, many people inadvertently coped by trying to stay “in the know.” This was the substrate in which doomscrolling spawned and blossomed. Yet studies confirm that exposure to crisis-related news—whether it is a pandemic or a natural disaster—correlates with higher levels of immediate and lingering stress and depression.

“If the perception and prediction of problems are higher than the actual risk, then that’s when we label it as anxiety,” Dr. Marlynn Wei, a holistic psychiatrist and psychotherapist, told The Epoch Times in an interview.

When the Distant Becomes Personal

It may seem innocuous to absorb troubling news from afar, as it feels distant and impersonal from immediate life. Yet, regardless of proximity, the negativity of news penetrates the personal domain and feeds negativity inside us.

The phenomenon can be likened to the well-known “Two Wolves” story. The parable recounts the story of a grandfather teaching his grandson about life. “Inside each of us are two wolves,” he explains. “One is full of fear, anger, and despair. The other is full of hope, peace, and love. The two wolves are always fighting.” The grandson asks, “Which one wins?” The grandfather replies, “The one you feed.”

A 2013 study followed nearly 5,000 Americans in the weeks following the Boston Marathon bombings.

The results showed a direct correlation between the amount of media exposure and acute stress symptoms. According to the study, those who watched more than six hours of media coverage daily “were nine times more likely to report high acute stress than respondents reporting minimal media exposure.”

In a controlled experiment, researchers divided participants into three groups and showed them a 14-minute TV news bulletin featuring positive, neutral, or negative material.

Those exposed to negative news experienced increased anxiety and sadness. More critically, those individuals began catastrophizing personal worries—magnifying concerns in their lives like academics, relationships, and finances and imagining worst-case scenarios.

Even if people are geographically distant from events—for example, 9/11 or the Iraq war—they can still experience increased stress and even post-traumatic symptoms from taking in related media.

Meanwhile, the effect of social media can be even stronger. In studies involving social media users in Iran and the United States, doomscrolling was linked to existential anxiety, pessimism, and a grim outlook on one’s life and future. Individuals expressed hopelessness about the purpose, importance, and meaning of life.

As a psychiatrist, Wei echoed that the effects of doomscrolling extend beyond the individual, significantly disrupting relationships.

She pointed out that social media shrinks our attention spans and robs our attention from families and friends. As people become absorbed in their screens, they naturally feel less connected to those around them, she added.

The Doom to Your Health

Beyond its psychological toll, doomscrolling takes a physical one, frequently starting with sleep disruption.

It’s only natural to have trouble sleeping after watching triggering news before going to sleep, said Wei.

The impulse to remain updated can lead to late-night browsing, what researchers call “bedtime procrastination,” and even “tomorrow aversion”—feeling apprehensive about starting the next day after using technology before bed.

Blue light emitted from screens further disrupts melatonin production, hampering our ability to rest and leaving us fatigued, irritable, and more vulnerable to stress. Such impairments are similar to those experienced during alcohol intoxication.

Not All Scrolling Is Bad

“Try putting away your phone, and you will see how hard it is to survive even a short time without ‘checking in’ with your all-consuming virtual world,” Rosen told The Epoch Times.

Indeed, abstaining from technology is difficult—algorithms manipulate emotions, headlines command attention, and a constant fear of missing out dominates our sense of belonging.

However, “not all social media exposure is detrimental for well-being,” concluded a study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The experiment had participants engage in “kindness-scrolling,” which had content that showcased positive and heartwarming stories, such as a 99-year-old great-grandmother recovering from COVID-19 and a daughter making a bow tie for her parent’s online meetings.

On the other hand, the doomscrolling group watched distressing content such as coverage of rising death tolls, long-term complications from COVID-19, and stories of overwhelmed hospitals and health care workers.

The experiment found that, compared to doomscrolling, kindness scrolling increased positive mood and optimism while reducing negative feelings.

With this in mind, research suggests that the most effective strategies to manage doomscrolling include time-based avoidance and content-based filtering by focusing on credible sources and avoiding sensationalist content.

Surrounding yourself with content that displays good deeds such as generosity and kindness—what researchers have called “kindness media”—can help you feel happier, calmer, more grateful, and less irritated.

Other suggestions to prevent doomscrolling, as highlighted in the International Journal of Nursing Research, include:

1. Turn off news and social media app information
2. Set a timer to limit scroll time
3. Keep track of  your screen time
4. Read positive newsfeeds
5. Spend more time with family and friends
6. Start a new hobby or revisit an old one
7. Exercise
8. Practice meditation
9. If you find you can’t stop doom scrolling, it is okay to seek help.

Experts echo these suggestions. Wei suggests developing habits to unwind, such as blocking out an hour or two before bed to engage in a screen-free activity.

Rosen suggests a simpler and more old-fashioned method: If personal restraints don’t work, give your phone to someone when you’re not supposed to use it.

Graham Davey, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Sussex, recommends preparing activities that uplift your mood. Listen to music, exercise, or, if all else fails, have a good soak in a relaxing, warm bath.

Wei shared that putting your legs up against a wall for a few minutes can help reduce tension. She also recommends rhythmic breathing exercises—inhale for four counts, hold for four, and exhale for four, repeated several times—to help calm the mind.

By consciously curating our content, taking mindful breaks, and proactively seeking “kindness media,” we can avoid succumbing to doomscrolling malaise.