Fatal scrolling, that is, the endless scrolling of bad and depressing news, has a tragic effect on us. Scientists are concerned that the use of such messages is associated with a deterioration in physical and mental health.
The coronavirus pandemic, inflation, the war in Ukraine, the coal crisis – there have been a lot of depressing topics in the media lately. And as it turns out, the habitual consumption of negative media is harmful to our body and mind.
Scientists have published the result of a new study in which they look at the impact of the so-called fatal scroll on our lives. This phenomenon manifests itself in the fact that “continuing to view negative information, despite the fact that it upsets us, upsets, depresses or lowers our mood,” they define.
Doomscrolling related to health and mental issues
The study was published in the scientific journal Health Communication. The article was written after studying and drawing conclusions from the answers of about 1100 respondents.
More than 16.5 percent of those surveyed rated media consumption as “extremely problematic”, causing them to complain of increased levels of stress, anxiety, and feeling unwell. Another 27.3%. these are people with “moderately problematic” facial features.
Chairman of the research group prof. Brian McLaughlin notes that the current 24-hour cycle of new news can leave readers in a “permanent state of alertness” and make others believe that the world is “a dark and dangerous place.”
- Such people can form a vicious circle. Instead of shutting themselves off from the news, they may dig deeper into the information, obsessively looking for new updates and news. In this way, they try to alleviate their heightened emotional state, explains McLaughlin.
As he adds, this method just doesn’t work. The more news we view, the greater the risk that our stress will increase and this will affect our daily life.
Are you doomscroll media?
There is a group of compulsive news viewers who can’t cut themselves off from the wave of news and breaking news. Behaviors associated with problematic media consumption highlighted by scientists include:
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be deeply absorbed in the news;
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Often thinking about already read messages;
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Attempts to reduce anxiety by reading subsequent posts;
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With difficulty avoids reading messages, cuts off;
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Consumption of news affecting daily life and responsibilities.
The researchers argue that people who exhibit these behaviors frequently may have “significantly higher chances” of simultaneously struggling with lower mental and physical health.
As many as 74 percent. people from the “highly problematic” media consumption group complained of mental health problems. 61 percent and reported problems with the health of the body. For the rest of the respondents, it was 8 and 6.1 percent, respectively.
However, there are also people who consume bad information without being negatively influenced. 27.5 percent of respondents were classified as having “minimally” problematic ways of watching the news. Another 28.7%. reported no problems.
Dr. Kate Mannell, from Deakin University in Australia, notes that her previous research has shown effective methods for dealing with fate scrolling. The experiment showed that people who deliberately limited their access to information (not completely or partially) later reported improved well-being, increased concentration and reduced anxiety.
Source: Wprost
