Consequences of the endless scroll: exploring the relationships between social media news use, doomscrolling, and negative affect

Abstract

Recent research has identified the emergent phenomenon of doomscrolling where individuals engage in an uncontrolled and compulsive scrolling for negative news on social media platforms. Research on doomscrolling is scant, but some studies have shown that doomscrolling is associated with poor emotional well-being. Yet, the mechanism underlying this association remains unclear. Therefore, this study sought to extend our understanding of the phenomenon by examining the relationships between social media news use, doomscrolling, perceived threat, and negative affect. First, we examine the mediating roles of doomscrolling and perceived threat (of salient news issues) in the association between social media news use and negative affect. Additionally, the moderating roles of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and the need for cognition (NFC) are explored. Two empirical studies in the US and Singapore test the generalizability of our models. Overall, the results suggest that (1) social media news use leads to higher negative affect, through an individual's heightened perceived threat resulting from doomscrolling, (2) there are cross-cultural differences in the moderating effects of IU and, (3) NFC is a significant moderator of the serial mediation. Collectively, these findings have practical implications for developing strategies to alleviate the negative emotional consequences of doomscrolling.