Doomscrolling, mental health, and psychological well-being in adolescents and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Doomscrolling is persistent or repetitive engagement with predominantly negative, threatening, or distressing online information, often accompanied by difficulty disengaging. It overlaps with, but is not interchangeable with, problematic social media use, general negative-news exposure, or broader problematic internet use. We synthesized associations between doomscrolling and mental-health or psychological well-being outcomes.