{"id":78715,"date":"2025-10-27T00:02:48","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T04:02:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=78715"},"modified":"2025-10-27T00:02:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T04:02:48","slug":"what-is-anxiety-scrolling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-is-anxiety-scrolling\/","title":{"rendered":"What is \u201canxiety scrolling\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

The term “doomscrolling,” which\u00a0first appeared in\u00a0<\/span>2018 , gained currency during the Covid pandemic. In the scientific literature, it refers to a digital habit: compulsively checking news feeds, often on smartphones, with a <\/span><\/a>focus on worrying, depressing, or negative content<\/span><\/a>\u00a0.<\/span><\/p>\n

How can this phenomenon be explained? First, through\u00a0<\/span>negativity<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, which focuses our human attention on harmful content and therefore prompts us to scroll through anxiety-inducing information without noticing the passage of time. Second, on a cognitive level, through\u00a0<\/span>uncertainty<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, which activates an emotional mechanism of searching for reassuring information among negative content. But this quest, far from reducing anxiety, tends to reinforce it by maintaining vigilance and doubt.<\/span><\/p>\n

This scrolling practice is\u00a0<\/span>reinforced, on the one hand, by technology<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that offers an unlimited flow of news and, on the other hand, by the recommendations of algorithms that increase our exposure to salient, often negative, information.<\/span><\/p>\n

A transformation of the relationship to information<\/span><\/h2>\n

Using a\u00a0<\/span>scale for measuring anxiety-inducing scrolling<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, it was observed that this digital habit is associated with psychological distress, lower life satisfaction and problematic use of networks \u2013 without being able to conclude on a causal link.<\/span><\/p>\n

The links between anxiety-inducing scrolling and negative emotions could be partly explained by intolerance for uncertainty. According to one\u00a0<\/span>study<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, this predicts an increase in anxiety-inducing scrolling and a decrease in well-being. Furthermore, intolerance for uncertainty would explain the\u00a0<\/span>link between state anxiety<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(a stable tendency to feel anxiety more frequently or intensely than average) and anxiety-inducing scrolling. This practice would therefore be a way of coping, of\u00a0<\/span>regulating one’s emotions<\/span><\/a>\u00a0without being an effective strategy since it would not provide calming.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, anxiety-inducing scrolling isn’t just an individual practice. It also reflects a relationship with the world, how digital technologies and attention-grabbing design can transform our relationship with information, with real-time access to negative events. Alongside this passive anxiety-inducing scrolling,\u00a0<\/span>doomsurfing<\/span><\/em>\u00a0(active exploration of a topic) and\u00a0<\/span>doomchecking<\/span><\/em>\u00a0(returning to reliable sources to verify)\u00a0<\/span>can have knowledge and information value<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, if they don’t exceed our emotional limits.<\/span><\/p>\n

This distinction reminds us that our goal is not just to “feel better,” but also to be well-informed. Yet, from a knowledge perspective, anxiety-inducing scrolling is the least desirable, as it exposes us to misinformation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Understanding the term anxiety-inducing scrolling and the associated individual and algorithmic mechanisms is already a way to begin to thwart it, by transforming passive scrolling into a more conscious, more chosen information practice that is less harmful to well-being.<\/span><\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Marie Danet is a Lecturer in Psychology – HDR at the University of Lille<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The term “doomscrolling,” which\u00a0first appeared in\u00a02018 , gained currency during the Covid pandemic. In the scientific literature, it refers to a digital habit: compulsively checking news feeds, often on smartphones, with a focus on worrying, depressing, or negative content\u00a0. How can this phenomenon be explained? First, through\u00a0negativity\u00a0, which focuses our human attention on harmful content […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109017],"tags":[435555],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-78715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-care","tag-anxiety-inducing-scrolling"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is \u201canxiety scrolling\u201d? - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/what-is-anxiety-scrolling\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is \u201canxiety scrolling\u201d? - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The term “doomscrolling,” which\u00a0first appeared in\u00a02018 , gained currency during the Covid pandemic. 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