In recent years, a new behavioral pattern has emerged in people’s daily lives: doomscrolling. This concept refers to the act of continuously scrolling through negative content and bad news on social media and news platforms. In Turkish, it is often translated as “felaket kaydırması” (disaster scrolling) (Anadolu Ajansı, 2025).
Today, the global agenda is largely shaped by crises. Wars, economic crises, natural disasters, and political tensions circulate constantly on digital platforms. In recent years, for instance, the global public has been repeatedly confronted with events such as the Russia–Ukraine war, conflicts in Gaza, geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Iran, and Israel, global economic fluctuations, as well as large-scale wildfires and earthquakes related to the climate crisis. These developments do not only produce political or economic consequences; they also influence people’s psychological perceptions and emotional states.
In the digital age, individuals are exposed to such events not only occasionally but at all hours of the day. It is precisely in this context that doomscrolling emerges as a distinctive behavioral pattern.
Orientation Toward Negative Information: The Evolutionary Bias Of The Brain
The human brain is naturally inclined to notice negative information more readily than positive information. In psychology, this tendency is referred to as negativity bias. From an evolutionary perspective, this bias has helped human survival. Individuals who were able to detect threats quickly had a greater chance of survival.
The modern digital environment, however, has created a structure that amplifies this tendency. Social media algorithms tend to prioritize content that generates the strongest reactions from users. Research shows that emotionally intense—and particularly negative—content spreads more rapidly across social networks (Brady et al., 2017).
The Negative News Cycle and Anxiety
The psychological effects of doomscrolling have increasingly become the subject of academic research in recent years. Numerous studies indicate that the constant consumption of negative news is associated with anxiety, stress, and psychological fatigue (Satici et al., 2022; Yousef et al., 2025).
For example, a study conducted in 2024 found that doomscrolling behavior may trigger existential anxiety among individuals (Shabahang et al., 2024). Similarly, academic research has shown that media-induced uncertainty can create feelings of anxiety and psychological stress (Kesner et al., 2025). Another review study highlights that continuous exposure to negative content is associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stress (Yousef et al., 2025).
These findings suggest that constantly following crisis-related news in digital environments is not merely a form of information-seeking behavior but can also constitute a significant psychological burden.
One of the main psychological motivations underlying doomscrolling behavior is the search for control in the face of uncertainty. During periods of crisis, individuals attempt to understand situations by seeking more information. However, research indicates that when people feel anxious, they tend to consume even more news, which in turn creates a reinforcing cycle (Satici et al., 2022).
This cycle typically unfolds as follows:
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The individual experiences uncertainty
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They begin to check the news more frequently
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They encounter more crisis-related information
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Anxiety increases
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News consumption intensifies
As a result, individuals may find themselves trapped in a continuous stream of negative information.
Another characteristic of modern news circulation is the constant production of crisis-oriented global agendas. Studies show that younger generations in particular are heavily exposed to global crisis news and that such exposure can increase feelings of anxiety (Yousef et al., 2025). Consequently, individuals may perceive the world as a more threatening place, even when many of these crises do not directly affect their personal daily lives.
Conclusion
The perception of the world as a constantly threatening place may also have important psychological consequences for individuals’ sense of attachment and belonging. Psychological literature suggests that perceiving the environment as unsafe and unpredictable can weaken individuals’ basic trust. Continuous exposure to crisis and disaster-related news may lead individuals to evaluate the world as a more dangerous place, which can be associated with interpersonal distrust, social withdrawal, and a diminished sense of belonging.
According to attachment theory, people maintain greater psychological stability when they feel secure within their social bonds. However, perceiving the environment as constantly threatening may reduce individuals’ trust not only in other people but also in social institutions and structures (Bowlby, 1988).
For this reason, continuous exposure to crisis-focused information flows may not only increase individual anxiety but may also contribute to broader psychosocial consequences, such as the weakening of social bonds and the erosion of the sense of belonging within society.