doomscroll

/ˈduːm.skroʊl/
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To get caught in a long, hard-to-stop search through upsetting online content.

Examples

  • Are you doomscrolling again, or are you actually reading the article?
  • He deleted the app because he could not stop doomscrolling.
  • Don't doomscroll before bed if it leaves you anxious.
  • I started to doomscroll after seeing one alarming headline.
  • She doomscrolled until two in the morning.

Similar words

get lost in bad news
spiral through the news
obsessively check the news
scroll compulsively
doomsurf

Meanings

Keep scrolling through distressing content

verb
technology
informal
To keep looking through bad or upsetting online content for too long, even though it is making you feel anxious, angry, or sad.

Examples

  • I started to doomscroll after seeing one alarming headline.
  • She doomscrolled until two in the morning.
  • Are you doomscrolling again, or are you actually reading the article?
  • He deleted the app because he could not stop doomscrolling.
  • Don't doomscroll before bed if it leaves you anxious.
  • We joked about doomscrolling, but the mood in the room grew heavy.

Similar words

Etymology

A blend of doom, the feeling that something terrible is coming, and scroll, the action of moving through content on a screen. The verb became widely used around 2020.

FAQ

What does doomscroll mean?

To doomscroll is to keep reading upsetting online content for too long, even while it makes you feel worse.

Is doomscroll informal?

Yes. Doomscroll is informal and often carries a lightly humorous or self-critical tone.

Can doomscroll take an object?

Yes. Someone can doomscroll social media or simply doomscroll without naming the site or content.

How is doomscroll pronounced?

In General American English, doomscroll is pronounced /ˈduːm.skroʊl/.

What is the difference between doomscroll and scroll?

Scroll only describes moving through screen content. Doomscroll adds distressing content, excessive time, and difficulty stopping.

Where does doomscroll come from?

It combines doom, a sense of coming disaster, with scroll, moving through content on a screen.

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