It may be surprising for some people to hear this, but there are folks out there who are addicted to bad news. They crave to find out about accidents, catastrophes, natural disasters, and so on. Despite how sinister such behavior is, we all have to admit that it has a cool name: doomscrolling.
Obviously, those who are into the doomscrolling business sure have a lot of sources for bad news. Unfortunately, the world is far from being all sugar, spice, and everything nice. Wars, poverty, corruption, crimes, thefts, disease, rapes, natural disasters, and more are all part of the planet we all live on, whether we like it or not.
A connection between doomscrolling and poor mental and physical health exists
According to The Guardian, a new study led by Prof Bryan McLaughlin from Texas Tech University reveals that the consumption of bad news by participants led to greater levels of anxiety, stress, and poor health. 1,100 people were surveyed for the study.
McLaughlin stated about those who are addicted to bad news, as The Guardian quotes:
For these individuals, a vicious cycle can develop in which, rather than tuning out, they become drawn further in, obsessing over the news and checking for updates around the clock to alleviate their emotional distress,
But it doesn’t help, and the more they check the news, the more it begins to interfere with other aspects of their lives.
17% of the participants are dealing with the highest level of bad news consumption, which might indicate that the problem is more widespread than previously thought.
Of those participants who were into consuming severely problematic news, the majority of them admitted that they are dealing with mental health problems – 75%, to be more precise. 61% of them even reported dealing with physical problems.
The new study was published in Health Communication.
