Defining Doomscrolling

Doomscrolling or doomsurfing, are new words used to describe the tendency to continue to surf or scroll through bad news, even though that news is saddening, disheartening, or depressing, Merriam-Webster says.

While doomscrolling existed—in practice, if not in name—before the pandemic hit, Merriam-Webster points out that it’s really taken hold lately. It’s not just about the virus, though: People can doomscroll through the news about racial injustice, or the unemployment rate. Basically, if the news is bad or depressing, you can doomscroll it.