Click, scroll, sigh. Everyone does it, right? My thoughts wander as I lie in bed, mindlessly scrolling through negative news and social media content on my phone.
This habit, known as “doomscrolling,” draws us deep into the internet, trying to find answers, solutions, or distractions that strain our mental health.
Often we are exposed to bad news and distressing content and find ourselves falling into an abyss of negativity. But have you ever stopped and wondered about the impact this habit has on your mental health?
The term “doomscrolling” describes this very pattern of digital consumption, where we seem to constantly search for negative information or become addicted to heartbreaking news and dark content. Despite causing negative emotions, we can’t seem to escape this temptation.
but why? What causes it? Have doomscrolling become inadvertently intertwined with our attempts to make sense of an increasingly chaotic world?
A team of researchers from University College London (UCL) An investigation has begun. The results of their exploratory study paint a rather disconcerting picture.
Not only are people with poor mental health drawn to negative content online, but this habit appears to amplify symptoms of depression.
The UCL team assessed the mental health of more than 1,000 participants, who were then asked to browse the internet for 30 minutes. Subsequent mental health assessments and examination of search history revealed a clear pattern.
Those with the lowest mental health scores searched the greatest amount of websites with negative themes.
it’s a two-way street
Subsequent experiments aimed to discern whether doomscrolling is due to our mental and emotional state or to the influence of the Internet.
In other words, were participants driven to depressing content because they were already feeling depressed, or did their foreboding mood arise as a result of their online activities?
Tali Shalot is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL and has contributed significantly to this debate.
“Many people say there is a correlation between poor mental health and internet use,” says Shallot. “We spend hours online, but as humans we only started doing so in the last few years. Is it causing a problem?
And that irony applies to us too. We choose to step into this muddy waters knowing that we will feel depressed. Isn’t it time we reevaluated our digital habits?
Impact on mental health
Our insatiable appetite for terrible news is more than just a strange habit. It has serious implications for public health. This topic is especially important as digital consumption is exploding more than ever.
Health professionals and policy makers are advocating for comprehensive digital literacy, which aims to educate individuals about the link between internet habits and mental health.
Ideal scenario? People would learn how to identify their own negative behavior online, which would help end the downward spiral of doomscrolling.
Additionally, experts are calling for a break from screen time. They promote environments that promote mental health to offset the negative effects of excessive digital consumption.
conscious digital consumption
How can we navigate this digital labyrinth without getting swallowed up by the darkness it so often creates? Conscious digital consumption may be the answer.
Adopting a balanced media diet, moderating screen time, and using mindfulness techniques such as meditation can help combat the anxiety associated with continued exposure to dark information. .
In other words, we need to reimagine our relationship with technology. The key is to ensure that technology serves us, not the other way around.
Recent UK research has highlighted the potential negative effects of smartphone obsession, particularly among young people.
Teens who reported having trouble with their relationships with their smartphones were three times more likely to be anxious, depressed, and suffer from insomnia.
Our digital habits have a huge impact on our mental health. The Internet has the potential to be a great resource, but it’s up to us to make the most of its power.
If you consciously choose to feed your mind with positive content, you have a chance to protect, if not improve, your mental health.
So the next time you find yourself doom scrolling, remember this. Your mental health is worth far more than any viral tweet, inflammatory post, or alarming news article.
The research will be published in a journal nature human behavior.
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