Disclaimer: This story contains sensitive content and descriptions of violence.
“Fascism experts are leaving the country amid ICE crackdowns.” *Scroll* “U.N. says Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza.” *Scroll* “Microplastics are everywhere, even in your body.”
*Sigh*
You close the app. You stare blankly at the wall, letting the bitter tang of existential dread settle in your stomach. You go on about your day, before the cycle inevitably repeats.
If this sounds relatable, welcome to the 2025 edition of doomscrolling. No, you’re not alone, and it’s about time we start talking about it.
Doomscrolling is nothing new; the term originated in 2020 before officially entering the dictionary in September 2023. If you have been living under a rock, however, it refers to excessive consumption of “bad news” on social media, often resulting in anxiety, anger, sadness and even paranoia.
According to a survey by Payless Power, 64% of Americans and 81% of Gen Z describe themselves as doomscrollers. These findings align with another study from the University of Arkansas, which revealed that 75% of college students engage in doomscrolling.
As if today’s national and global political turmoil wasn’t enough, social media algorithms have been squeezing our last few breaths of hope by bombarding our feeds with the most vile and cruel facets of humanity.
When the Israeli-Hamas conflict turned into a full-blown military invasion of Gaza two years ago, I remember seeing raw footage displaying the brutality of the war. One video in particular is forever ingrained in my mind: a Palestinian man carrying the headless body of a child who could not have been older than five.
A beheaded baby, on the screen of my iPhone. On Instagram – an app created for selfie filters and silly cat photos.
Sadly, this experience is far from an isolated one. According to a peer-reviewed article from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “the widespread death and destruction in Gaza have been prominently shown in the media,” including frequent “images of dead Palestinian civilians of all ages” on social media.
San Diego State University Journalism and Media Studies Professor Nathian Rodriguez said college students are especially vulnerable to these images because they are eager to learn more about world issues and seek out this kind of information.
“[Doomscrolling] plays on your emotions. Whether that’s sympathy, whether it’s anger or whether it’s fear,” Rodriguez said. “And I think because of that, people just want to know more. Like, is this war really happening? Are these people really getting killed? Are they really taking my rights away? … And then before you know it, there’s like five different issues that you’re dealing with. You’re anxious, you’ve already spent five hours, you didn’t do your homework. So now you’re suffering.”
This pain is unique to modern doomscrolling; beyond the anxiety and depression caused by traditional news, it also fosters shame, guilt-tripping and hopelessness. It dumps the weight of the world on our shoulders and urges us to take action while simultaneously draining the last bit of our energy.
This all sounds very depressing – and it is! However, there is something important to note here: It is depressing by design. Rising authoritarian regimes around the world are using information overload to suffocate people by design. Social media algorithms thrive on users’ inability to look away, by design.
The peer-reviewed Sage article “Obedient attention: Doomscrolling and the production of authoritarian subjectivity” perfectly encapsulates this idea, claiming that “as a pervasive habit, doomscrolling produces a subjectivity that is information-saturated, hyper-engaged, paranoid, inert, and ripe for authoritarian capture.”
So the looming feeling of existential dread that keeps you up at night isn’t accidental. It was carefully crafted, manufactured and force-fed to your brain. To keep you scared, to keep you confused.
To keep you still.
Now is a good time to wake up and be anything rather than still. And the great news – finally – is that there are so many different ways to act.
Sara Wiles on Instagram is a feminist business owner who also finds the time to be an influencer for her 213,000 followers. Her videos helped me regain a glimmer of hope.
Wiles breaks down her master plan in three steps. Step one is to “pick one cause, just one.” Step two is to go local through grassroots campaigns and community-led organizations. Step three is to sit the f*** down when you need to, instead of burning yourself out for good.
This master plan is empowering and, most of all, it’s sustainable. It encourages us to have the headspace to focus on one issue at hand. It helps us create a deeper impact that we can see in our own community and it reminds us that we are humans, full of empathy.
The hurt and pain we feel from doomscrolling may seem like a weakness, but truly, it’s a superpower. Because it means we care. And care is the most solid foundation for a powerful movement.
Whether it’s babysitting the children of organizers during meetings, designing graphics for a local campaign, or baking cookies for a fundraiser, everyone has a skill to offer.
“Movements just need movement,” Wiles said in her Instagram video. “We don’t win by doing it all, we win by not quitting.”
So before you let doomscrolling take you to the dark side, remember this: Joy, too, is an act of resistance.
