Excessive exposure of negative news and content increases the possibility of scrolling and causing anxiety disorders
May 26, 2025
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Contents mainly consumed through smartphones are diverse, including movies, TV, videos, SNS, games, messengers, shopping, and education. These contents contain not only interesting and interesting information, but also stimulating or negative information, which can affect users' emotions and perceptions.
As information consumption through smartphones has become commonplace, a new term 'Doomscrolling' has recently emerged, referring to the behavior of unconsciously repeatedly consuming negative news or content.
It is a combination of Doom and scrolling, which refers to the act of endlessly scrolling and consuming negative information such as disasters, infectious diseases, wars, and economic crises. Addictive content does not stop scrolling, and curiosity about information and psychology to relieve anxiety through new information are added, causing doomscrolling.
Yoo Young-sun, director of the Department of Psychiatry at Daedong Hospital, said, `Smartphones are useful tools in modern society, but excessive use and excessive information can be harmful to mental health"When you encounter new information, dopamine is released from the brain, which temporarily gives you satisfaction or interest, but if these stimuli are repeated and excessive, the brain's compensation system becomes excessively active, which can lead to anxiety disorders, so caution is needed."
He added that it is very important to control the quantity and quality of information consumption through smartphones because excessive exposure to negative news such as doomscrolling can lead to excessive pessimism about reality or mental health problems such as anxiety and depression and sleep disorders.
Anxiety is a normal emotion that anyone can experience, and it is an emotion that appears in situations where stress, pain, danger is expected or unexpected, and mental reactions such as discomfort, vague fear, tension, and depression, as well as physical reactions such as heart palpitations, muscle tension, fast breathing, increased sweat secretion, digestive disorders, and headaches.
These responses can generally suspect anxiety disorders if anxiety persists to the extent that it interferes with daily life or if it is difficult to control emotions. In this case, diagnosis and treatment through a psychiatrist are essential.
The causes of anxiety disorders are complex and are classified into general anxiety disorders, social anxiety disorders, separation anxiety disorders, and panic disorders.
▲If you are anxious and nervous for no specific reason ▲If you are worried about a dangerous situation that did not happen ▲If you are worried about the worst, ▲If you are not helping or thinking it will not help, ▲If you complain of urgent symptoms such as heart attack and suffocation, but if there are no special causes in the test, you can suspect an anxiety disorder.
Doomscrolling is not just a habit, but a dangerous way of consuming information that can negatively affect mental health, and users' conscious regulation and self-management habits are important.
You should limit your social media usage time to 30 minutes a day and consume news and positive content from reliable sources. In addition to online activities, exercise or offline hobbies are combined, and if anxiety or depression persists, consult a psychiatrist.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
