doomscroll

English

Etymology

From doom +‎ scroll, probably a back-formation from doomscrolling.

Pronunciation

  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈdumˌskɹoʊl/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Verb

doomscroll (third-person singular simple present doomscrolls, present participle doomscrolling, simple past and past participle doomscrolled) (ambitransitive, social media)

  1. (neologism) To continually read Internet news about catastrophic events. [from 2020]
    • 2020, Robert West, chapter 1, in Stop Doomscrolling: How to Break the Cycle to Relieve Stress, Decrease Anxiety, and Regain Your Life, Annus Mirabilis Publishing:
      You doomscroll about all kinds of things including pandemics, racial injustice, natural disasters, wars, and political unrest.
    • 2021, Jesse Gordon, “We’re All in This Together”, in El Cassetto, Cream-Colored Coffee Cup:
      “Why are you doomscrolling?” I ask. ¶ “I’m not doomscrolling.” Swipe, swipe...
    • 2022 January 1, “100 ways to slightly improve your life without really trying”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:
      Keep a book in your bag to avoid the temptation to doomscroll.
      (Can we archive this URL?)
    • 2025 September 15, Rebecca Liu, quoting Sandra Oh, “‘The old white patriarchy isn’t knocking on my door!’ Sandra Oh on joy, despair – and going viral with a euphoric dance”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:
      “The world is burning!” she says, imagining their [20-year-olds] dark thoughts. “There’s wars all over! My heart is so heavy, so all I’m going to do is doomscroll.”
      (Can we archive this URL?)
    • 2026 June 14, Eli Saslow, Erin Schaff, “The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes”, in The New York Times‎[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
      “You might think you can look and tell the difference while you’re sitting there doom scrolling,” he said. “Believe me, you can’t. That’s where our methods come in.”
      (Can we archive this URL?)
  2. (by extension) To excessively and unproductively consume Internet posts.
    It sucks that I can't even open my phone and check my emails without doomscrolling social media for an hour!

Translations

This page is issued from Wiktionary. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.