doomscroll

Or doom-scroll

[doom-skrohl]

verb (used with or without object)

Digital Technology.

1. to obsessively check 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 doomscroll¹

First recorded in 2015–20; doom ( def. ) + scroll ( def. ) (in the sense “to move text up, down, or across a display screen”); influenced by doomsday ( def. )

Example Sentences

Drop the doomscrolling for a day, make the time to read them all and become a better Southern Californian in the process.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“I do not want her to grow up on algorithmically-fed pieces of content, doomscrolling.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Whether it’s doomscrolling through endless social-media feeds or turning to AI to complete tasks in seconds that once took hours, efficiency has become our default expectation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It’s for the reasons we expect: financial uncertainty, doomscrolling, general malaise.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Here’s the catch: School usually ends around 3 p.m., but doomscrolling doesn’t.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal