“Doomscrolling,” a compulsive binge-reading of bad news, is real, and men and younger people are more likely to be affected.
This is what a current study by the University of Florida (UFL, see HERE ) says. The fear of missing something and being constantly online thanks to smartphones are likely to encourage such behavior. But this shouldn't lead the media to create even more negative headlines on social media. Because if those affected notice their problem, they could punish sources with a surplus of disaster headlines.
Real negative compulsion
The UFL team first wanted to clarify whether doomscrolling really exists or whether it might just be a new clickbait phrase. “It's an obsession to make sense of all our crises,” says Benjamin K. Johnson, professor of advertising. The combination of crisis and smartphone with a never-ending news feed is fatal for those affected. “It keeps going, so we keep scrolling.” However, what exactly triggers such behavior remains unclear. The fear of missing out often seems to play a role.
Whether someone tends to doomscrolling is apparently independent of their political views; However, a greater interest in politics promotes the behavior. In addition, it is younger people who binge bad news. Men are more prone to this, which was a surprising finding, said UFL research assistant Bhakti Sharma. “I didn't think gender played a role.” According to the researchers, doomscrolling and anxiety seem to reinforce each other, but it wasn't initially clear what was the cause and what was the effect. Further research needs to clarify this.
Danger for negative media
According to Johnson, those affected notice over time that they are consuming too much negative news and react to it. “They realize: 'This makes me feel bad' and they can work on developing new media habits.” Specifically, the study shows that such users can develop a distrust of social media accounts that contain a disproportionate amount of negative content post - and therefore ultimately avoid media that rely too much on negative headlines on social media.
News media should therefore focus on a balanced mix of good and bad news in their social media presence, says Johnson. He also hopes that platforms will respond to the doomscrolling phenomenon by giving users more control over the news feed - which would make it easier for users to block out negative media.
Source: PT
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