What Is Doomscrolling?

This is a question that I have been asking myself almost every day for the last several years.

Photo credits — (Fausto Sandoval at Unsplash) CC-BY-SA

The term has gained popularity as social media apps have evolved over the course of the last two decades. What started as a fun way to connect with friends on a public message board has become a way to profit off of the way that others view your content. The changes are noticeably drastic. Friend requests are a thing of old. Now it is all about your follower count and how many likes you can get from complete strangers on the web. What better way to boost analytics than to create content that is mind-numbingly entertaining?

Doomscrolling

According to Oxford Dictionary, doomscroll is a verb meaning to continually scroll through and read depressing or worrying content on a social media or news site, especially on a phone.

It is possible to scroll through media on any computerized device, but it is becoming more and more common for individuals from across multiple generations to scroll mindlessly through obscenities and “brain rot” on their smartphones. This can include blogs such as this one, viral videos, and even pornography. The effects are well known and they have been studied extensively. Some say that the results of these experiments and surveys are illegitimate, while others back the claims wholeheartedly.

It should be relatively easy to formulate your own opinion on this subject. For years, mothers everywhere told their children not to sit too close to the television. In more recent times, mothers everywhere have blamed their children's behavior on how much time they spent on their phone. This is not exactly new. When I was young, I did not have a smartphone. There was no such thing, yet. I was still told not to spend so much time texting my friends or playing the simple games — like chess or Tetris — that were available on such devices.

Trolling & Hate Speech On The Web

One of the greatest (or worst) ways that people are inducing this kind of behavior from their viewers is by using drama to catch their attention. If a video or an article about a fight or someone getting hurt on a sport bike can make the audience cringe just enough to keep watching or reading, then two things happen. One, the viewer is witnessing something negative without a second thought. Two, the viewer wants to know what happens at the end of the story. Think about it! When was the last time you decided to stop watching a movie because the main character was about to die? Never. There is something about Human nature that makes us wonder what is going to happen.

Trolling, which you can learn more about here, is basically cyberbullying with a twist. It involves baiting the target with negativity or counterarguments that simply do not make sense. Once they are hooked, the trolls take action. They screenshot messages and leave hateful comments on someone’s posts. This is usually done when a post contains sensitive subjects such as the loss of a loved one or heavily debated politics. Hate speech is plain and simple. It involves prejudice towards a particular group of people based on their origin or their beliefs. These two methods of dramatization can draw an audience faster than any other kind of online activity.

How Do I Beat It?

You don’t! The best thing to do in this situation is to simply exit the conversation. Don’t watch the clip. Don’t read the messages. Avoid it at all costs. You can raise awareness for those around you and let them know that you do not wish to be a part of anything to do with it. It may seem extreme to say that you want to be excluded from online communities, but you have to remember, there are extreme behaviors in many of these communities. Keep your head up and forget the haters! I hope that this article has given you some valuable insights into the new trend of doomscrolling and what it really means for everyday people. Thank you for reading!

[embed]Zayne Harbison is Blogger I am a volunteer beta-tester, student, and aspiring founder. My life experiences are lower Priesthood, retail…www.buymeacoffee.com

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