Experts have highlighted the detrimental effects on both physical and mental health caused by excessive exposure to negative content on digital platforms, a phenomenon known as "doomscrolling" or "doomsurfing."
Professor Kemal Sayar, a psychiatrist, explained to Anadolu Agency (AA) that the habit of constantly consuming negative news on social media – particularly intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic – has been conceptualized as "doomscrolling." Although this behavior has existed since social media became part of daily life, the pandemic amplified both the scale and intensity of such content, with people tracking virus-related death tolls much like stock market indices.
Sayar emphasized that humans have evolved an acute sensitivity to threats and dangers due to historical and societal conditions. While short-term cortisol release helps the body respond to acute stress, prolonged exposure to a continuous sense of disaster causes chronic stress, leading to physical and psychological illness. He noted that many autoimmune diseases have psychosomatic roots linked to this heightened stress and inflammatory response.
The widespread presence of depression and anxiety disorders today, along with increased panic attacks, correlates with the rise in doomscrolling. Extended screen time has also exacerbated sleep problems, contributing to a collective risk of mass hysteria and delusional thinking.
Sayar pointed out that the relentless flood of information and manipulation makes individuals feel increasingly helpless and exhausted. Citing philosopher Byung-Chul Han’s concept of the "performance society," he noted how people feel compelled to constantly be active – especially digitally – despite limited capacity to do so. This pressure worsens sleep disturbances and mental fatigue.
He also explained why optimistic and positive content often remains overshadowed by negative news. “We find what we seek,” he remarked, referencing a saying by Rumi: "those who seek beauty inherently have the capacity to find it." However, modern algorithms prioritize content that captures attention through negativity or sensationalism, creating a feedback loop that draws users further into doomscrolling.
To counteract this negative spiral, Sayar suggested narrowing the scope of followed accounts and deliberately seeking hopeful content, a practice dubbed "hopescrolling." He underscored the need for deeper awareness about news consumption and stressed the importance of media literacy in helping individuals navigate digital content more healthily.
Ihsan Eken from Medipol University’s Faculty of Communication added that humans naturally pay more attention to negative events due to survival instincts, which explains why disaster-related content tends to dominate news feeds. He referenced academic studies conducted after the devastating Febr. 6, 2023 earthquake in Türkiye, which showed a link between intensive social media news consumption and increased secondary traumatic stress and anxiety.
Eken warned that constant exposure to negative content erodes societal trust, reduces empathy and fosters persistent pessimism. He argued that media outlets bear responsibility not only to report the truth but to do so ethically and for the public good.
Highlighting that people often turn to social media to alleviate anxiety triggered by worries about the future, Eken pointed out that platform algorithms exacerbate these anxieties by promoting content that fuels negative emotions. Since social media companies prioritize engagement metrics like clicks and reactions for economic gain, Eken advocated for alternative evaluation methods that consider users' long-term well-being and satisfaction.
