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Writer's pictureCaroline Matthews

DOOMSCROLLING: ‘Constantly reading the deluge of bad news can take its toll on our mental health’

Updated: Jan 11, 2021




In case you haven’t heard of it, ‘Doomscrolling’ is the act of consuming large quantities of negative online news, even though that news is either saddening and depressing... or both!


For many of us, COVID-19 has made this a daily reality, blurring the line between being appropriately informed, and disappearing completely down the corona content rabbit hole!


When we constantly check online news and social media for updates, it is often under the misbelief that greater knowledge will lend a sense of preparedness and control. We are drawn to the promise of clarity and reassurance, believing this to always be just one more click or scroll away...which of course it never is.


The problem with doomscrolling on the regular, therefore, and constantly digging into the deluge of bad news at our fingertips, is that it ultimately takes its toll on our mental and physical health.


Being informed doesn’t stop world events unfolding, but the constant, low-level panic it creates CAN stop you from being psychologically prepared.


To this end, experts recommend that we limit our doomscrolling by setting a timer to restrict our access to the news. That, and taking a conscious backstep from social feeds for allotted times of the day, especially before bedtime, has been shown to help!


Given the importance of sleep as a coping mechanism for navigating today’s pandemic, it makes sense that this is the one time of day when no news...really is good news!


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