Benjamin Johnson, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Advertising assistant professor, is quoted in “A Guide to Surviving the Online Apocalypse” posted on Mashable.com on March 23.

The story features commentary from experts offering tips to help people cope with the doom they might encounter while scrolling the internet.

According to Johnson, “Doomscrolling can be particularly tricky behavior to assess. The concept emerged within the past few years as a pattern of media use documented by the extremely online. Some might argue it’s just a different version of behaviors we know better, like fear of missing out or internet addiction.”

But when Johnson studied doomscrolling, the evidence suggested that it is a unique behavior. The results of the study, which Johnson co-authored, were published this month in Technology, Mind, and Behavior, a peer-reviewed journal from the American Psychological Association. In the article, Johnson and his co-authors found that doomscrolling is closely associated with internet addiction and online vigilance, which describes a mindset of constant connectedness. Yet doomscrolling had enough distinctive features to stand on its own.

“While further research on doomscrolling is necessary, if someone identifies these traits in themselves, it may help explain why doomscrolling draws them in with relative ease,” according to Johnson.

He adds, “We form a habit like doomscrolling because it can be useful at times. When TikTok videos about creeping gas prices prompt you to fill up sooner than later, it’s a reward for ‘surveilling your environment.’”

Johnson and his co-authors found that doomscrolling can lead to worse emotional experiences, such as heightened negative feelings, but that those experiences appeared to be temporary and didn’t affect people’s perception of their psychological well-being. Doomscrolling was also less prevalent than expected, and interview subjects in the study who did report the behavior also said they were able to change their habits.

“Just because you get into a harmful cycle or an undesirable cycle doesn’t mean that you can’t reset or rewire that habit,” said Johnson. “If you find using media in ways you don’t like, you can sort of rearrange your environment.”

A summary of the research is available here.

Posted: March 24, 2022
Category: College News
Tagged as: Benjamin Johnson