doomscrolling

or doom-scroll·ing

[ doom-skroh-ling ]

noun

, Digital Technology.

1. the practice of obsessively checking online news for updates, especially on social media feeds, with the expectation that the news will be bad, such that the feeling of dread from this negative expectation fuels a compulsion to continue looking for updates in a self-perpetuating cycle.

Word History and Origins

Origin of doomscrolling¹

First recorded in 2016; doomscroll ( def ) + -ing ¹( def )

Example Sentences

I’ve been thinking about the importance of commemoration, and how scarce it’s been in the age of doomscrolling, the days stressful and monotonous without the rituals to mark birth and death and so many milestones in between.

From Time

It’s no wonder, then, that recent research suggests there’s a link between cognitive overload during this pandemic and the spread of misinformation and unproductive doomscrolling.

From FiveThirtyEight

It’s easy to get caught up in a doomscrolling cycle of despair, even as we feel that we should do something.

From Time

If you need all that power for something other than gaming, you can use your Shadow PC for tasks ranging from music production to image editing to doomscrolling, without worrying about losing your progress when you’re done for the day.

From Time

Combine that with a high volume of politically-inclined folks and an algorithm that promotes controversy, and you’ve got a recipe for endless doomscrolling.

From Popular-Science