People who feel marginalized appear more likely to doomscroll

What is it about?

The news media works hard to grab viewers’ attention, sometimes through exaggeration of upsetting content. The term doomscrolling describes compulsively scrolling through news stories that are upsetting, and it is linked to poor mental health. People who feel marginalized, perceiving stigma and prejudice simply for being who they are, are more likely to be on the watch for discrimination. Our study found that marginalized people are also more likely to doomscroll, and that this vigilance for discrimination may motivate this problematic behavior.

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Photo by Obi - @pixel9propics on Unsplash

Photo by Obi - @pixel9propics on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Doomscrolling appears to be a form of mental self-harm. Unlike physical news sources, digital devices allow for related content to be displayed endlessly. This requires the user to stop themselves from looking at feeds of upsetting media. Our study found that those who are most vulnerable in society are also more likely to doomscroll. Interventions to help marginalized people stop doomscrolling may be needed to reduce their stress.

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