Doomscrolling

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The habit of endlessly browsing social media or news sites to read distressing or upsetting content
2. Engaging in prolonged viewing of negative or troubling online information without stopping
3. Persistently consuming a stream of pessimistic or harmful digital information through scrolling

Etymology: Doomscrolling is a compound of two ordinary English words, and the second one is a modern coinage. "Doom" goes back through Middle English to Old English "dōm," meaning judgment or decree, a sense it still carries in phrases like "doom and gloom." "Scrolling," from the old idea of rolling up a long strip of parchment or paper, took on its screen sense only with the arrival of computer and phone interfaces that move text up and down a window. The combination describes the habit of endlessly scrolling through timelines and news feeds, absorbing one grim headline after another. The term was popularized and surged in use during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people spent long hours reading alarming news on their devices.

Synonyms: news fatigue, negative scrolling