When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the globe, we all got stuck inside the four walls of our homes. Since internet is getting convenient over television and print media, we found ourselves consuming news and numbers through various mediums of different platforms. The posts of social media continuously feeds our eyes, ears and mind with all sorts of information available. The videos, memes, reels etc are short in length and so we keep scrolling without interruption for a long period of time.
The pandemic related news initially induced fear and uncertainty and so it became an instant instinct to keep tracking the latest happenings and number of cases. This habit or act is called "doomscrolling" or "doomsday scrolling". The tendency to endlessly scroll or surf through the bad news even if it is saddening or depressing is known as Doomsday surfing. This induces a bogus dilemma and changes our mindset to think everything in a negative perspective. Doomsday scrolling make us feel and think exaggeratedly about the outer scenario.
Doomsday surfing leads us to keep consuming the bad news even if it is disturbing and saddening. It paralises our working capability in a way and also disturbs our sleep cycle heavily. Dr. Siddharth Chowdhury, Consultant Neuropsychiatrist at Delhi’s VIMHANS (Vidyasagar Institute of Mental Health, Neuro & Allied Sciences) said that most of the people are affected by this. "The millennials are searching for help, the adults are usually in a critic mode and blames the authority and the old ones believes in spirituality" he added.
As per experts on the topic, it is a double-edged sword as aggressive searching for information can keep us updated and help summon resources, but on the other hand, it jogs us towards an exaggerated sense of gloom and doom.
Behavioral scientists says that the dopamine high is not only induced by happy feeds but also by consuming negative news and informations. The social media is designed in a way to grab our attention and retain it for as long as possible. So it becomes very hard to pull away from this addictive behaviour.
For some people, doomsday scrolling may become an unwanted addiction that usually makes them feel safe, secure, or informed but it does the opposite in actual sense. It causes a continuous mild panicking that is difficult to let go and so they fall prey and gets trapped.
Psychiatrists and consultant psychologists says that excessive doomsday scrolling can lead to anxiety and depression. In this pandemic, people should give importance to mental health along with the physical health. Exposure to screens of devices for long duration also affects the health of our eyes.
In the long run, doomsday scrolling can increase the secretion of cortisol and adrenaline, which are stress hormones. This will lead to health related problems such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
The chronic attention of doomsday scrollers is utilised by many political IT cells and advertisement platforms. Many fake news are also being circulated which adds up to the overall harm of the situation. So the people should fact-check any information before blindly believing it. The misinformation often make people believe into illogical things and this also leads to creation of a polarised mindset.
Everyone should be aware about the consequences that occurs by doomsday scrolling and should restrict themselves from excessive use of social media and consumption of negative and sensitive news. Well, in this information age we won't be able to completely cut off from the news and everyday data. So, we should minimise the use of any platform and only consume the necessary information to be updated and informed. Self control is the key to counter this phenomenon. Yoga and meditation can also help in keeping our mind at peace and increases the self control power. We should keep track of the time while using our mobile phones and tablets. We should uninstall or delete apps that is not necessary and which kills most of our time. We should also limit the use of any app for long duration and avoid using the platforms which are addictive and spreads negativity.
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