COLLECTIVE STRESS DURING CRISIS-BASED DOOMSCROLLING

Abstract

Purpose: A conceptual framework for crisis-based doomscrolling is developed to demonstrate how the compulsive viewing of negative crisis-related content on digital platforms impacts collective stress as a common emotional pressure experienced by a group or society in times of crisis.

Design/methodology/approach: This study synthesizes recent empirical research on Doomscrolling, Media-Related Distress, and Collective Stress that are being conducted in the contexts of pandemics, wars and disasters. This study synthesizes empirical evidence-based theories (Media Effect Theory, Social Stress Theory, Emotional Contagion, Social Amplification of Risk), identifies pathways and modulators that have been tested with empirical evidence.

Findings: Research has demonstrated that continued consumption of crisis-oriented news via social media can cause increased depression, anxiety, and PTSD as well as lower levels of overall wellbeing. Additionally, there is a relationship between exposure to media in times of disasters and conflict, with intense exposure contributing to acute and long term stress response at the societal level. This paper builds upon these two areas of research and posits that doomscrolling in response to Crises creates a sense of collective threat while perpetuating a cycle of negative emotions such as fear, anger, and a sense of hopelessness; creating a cycle of collective stress that may be exacerbated when the media does not have the necessary structures (or "Guardrails") to promote media literacy amongst consumers.

Originality/value: Despite being widely studied as an individual behaviour, doomscrolling has yet to be explored as a macro-level phenomenon resulting from multiple crises leading to collective/aggregated stress. Until now, no one has provided a theoretical framework that explains how doomscrolling behaviour and emerging aggregate stress processes relate. This article proposes an integrated model that connects individual digital behaviours with new collective stress behaviours, while also identifying ways for future studies to empirically test this model.