doomscroll

or doom-scroll

[ doom-skrohl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with or without object)

Digital Technology.

to obsessively check online news for updates, especially on social media feeds, with the expectation that the news will be bad, such that the feeling of dread from this negative expectation fuels a compulsion to continue looking for updates in a self-perpetuating cycle.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of doomscroll¹

First recorded in 2015–20; doom ( def ) + scroll ( def ) (in the sense “to move text up, down, or across a display screen”); influenced by doomsday ( def )

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Or maybe do some journaling or doomscrolling in bed, depending on what my mood is.

From

You know the feeling: a doomscrolling blur of vacation flexes, political spirals and the neverending discourse about “White Lotus.”

From

I could spend my free time doomscrolling, or I could challenge myself to a higher pleasure.

From

“We’ve been doomscrolling. It was like, what can I do? I can make posts on Bluesky or Instagram, but I wanted to take action.”

From

As our brains struggle to process information related to major threats, it's natural to feel completely drowned in anxiety, frozen and unable to do anything except keep doomscrolling.

From

doomsayer doomscrolling

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