There is a new addiction called Doomscolling. This modern malady describes a person who “continuously checks new apps and social media for updates and then is left feeling overwhelmed”.
This newly coined word sounds like the title for a vampire romance television series or a video game with a muscular woman welding a saber transported on the back of a dragon. In all likelihood, the word was created by a group of bored influencers trying to identify a new personal problem to promote on their channels.
But here is the irony—I have become a declared Doomscroller because watching the commercial news has become unbearable. At least when I am scrolling on social media, it feels like I can have an impact either by sending a heart to an abandoned dog or signing a petition against offshore oil drilling in Australia. Perhaps, I can do some good while still enjoying a group of attractive young fathers harmonizing together while they cradle their babies. Sweet!
Did I know when I started scrolling this morning that I would need to send a heart to another mistreated dog or would care to listen to a group of young men singing acapella? No. But the news is so dire with our world tottering on complete chaos through the actions of a madman in the White House that Doomscrolling feels very soothing and a long away from the heartlessness, rapacity and stupidity of the human race.
I was already feeling completely overwhelmed before I turned to Doomscrolling, so perhaps it is more a symptom of our times (and is the equivalent of overeating or chain smoking) in the face of so much uncertainity.
