Doomscrolling: Mengapa Kita Tak Bisa Berhenti Mengonsumsi Berita Buruk?

Pengantar: 3 AM dan Masih Scrolling

Jam menunjukkan 03:17 AM. Kamu tahu harus tidur. Besok ada meeting penting jam 8. Tapi jari kamu terus swipe. War in Middle East. Climate catastrophe update. Political scandal. Economic crisis. Airplane crash. Mass shooting. Pandemic variant.

Setiap berita bikin cemas. Setiap headline bikin jantung berdebar. Tapi kamu tak bisa berhenti. “Just one more scroll,” kata kamu untuk ke-50 kalinya.

Welcome to doomscrolling — addiction era digital yang merusak mental health tanpa kita sadari.

Apa Itu Doomscrolling?

Definisi

Doomscrolling (atau doomsurfing) adalah:

Compulsive consumption dari large quantities of negative online news, despite—atau bahkan because of—the fact that it makes you feel anxious, sad, atau depressed.

Characteristics:

• Endless scrolling through bad news
• Inability to stop despite emotional distress
• Often late at night (ketika defenses low)
• Feeling worse after, but doing it again
• Sense of helplessness dan doom

Istilah Baru, Fenomena Lama

Historical Context:

Humans always drawn to negative news. Newspapers knew: “If it bleeds, it leads.”

But Digital Age Changed Everything:

Pre-Internet:

• News datang on schedule (morning paper, evening TV)
• Limited exposure time
• Physical limits (newspaper ends)

Now:

• 24/7 news cycle
• Infinite scroll
• Personalized feeds
• Constant updates
• No natural stopping point

COVID-19 Amplification:

Term “doomscrolling” went viral during pandemic (2020):

• Constantly checking case numbers
• Refreshing death tolls
• Reading worst-case scenarios
• Anxiety spirals

Google Searches:

• “Doomscrolling” searches spiked 3000% in 2020
• Remained elevated through 2024

Mengapa Kita Doomscroll?

The Psychology Behind It

1. Negativity Bias

Evolutionary Psychology:

Humans evolved to:

• Pay more attention to threats
• Remember negative events better
• Scan environment for danger

Why: Ancestors who ignored rustling bush (potential predator) didn’t survive to reproduce.

Modern Problem: Brain can’t distinguish between:

• Real immediate threat (tiger in bushes)
• Abstract distant threat (geopolitical crisis)

Both trigger stress response.

2. Illusion of Control

The Logic: “If I stay informed, I can prepare/protect myself.”

The Reality: Most news we consume:

• About events kita can’t control
• Provides no actionable information
• Just increases anxiety

Paradox: More we scroll seeking control, more helpless we feel.

3. Intermittent Reinforcement

Slot Machine Effect:

Social media engineered seperti gambling:

• Most posts: mediocre/bad news (no reward)
• Occasional: interesting/funny content (reward!)
• Unpredictable timing (most addictive schedule)

Result: Brain release dopamine with variable rewards. We keep scrolling hoping for “hit.”

4. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

The Fear: “What if something important happens dan I miss it?”

Questions We Ask:

• What if emergency dan I’m uninformed?
• What if everyone talking about something I don’t know?
• What if I’m left behind?

Truth: True emergencies will find you. You don’t need 24/7 monitoring.

5. Parasocial Relationships

Phenomenon: We feel connected to strangers online. Their crises feel like our crises.

Example:

• Celebrity scandal feels personally distressing
• Strangers’ political rants affect our mood
• Viral trauma becomes our trauma

Problem: Human brains evolved for ~150 close relationships (Dunbar’s number).

Now we’re exposed to suffering of millions daily. We’re not equipped.

The Platform’s Role

Social Media Companies Know:

Engagement Metrics:

• Angry emoji = 5x more engagement than Like
• Negative content = higher shares
• Outrage = longer session times

The Algorithm:

Designed to maximize “time on app”:

1. Shows you content that triggers emotion
2. Negative emotions (anger, fear) are strongest
3. You engage with negative content
4. Algorithm shows MORE negative content
5. Cycle continues

Whistleblower Frances Haugen (Facebook, 2021):

“Facebook knows that negative content keeps people on the platform longer. The algorithm actively amplifies content that makes us angry or scared because that drives engagement. They’re choosing profit over wellbeing.”

Internal Documents Revealed:

• Instagram exacerbates body image issues (they knew)
• Divisive content boosts engagement (they amplified it)
• Misinformation spreads faster (they profited)

News Media’s Incentive

Why Media Pushes Doom:

Business Model:

• Revenue from ads
• Ads sold based on views/clicks
• Negative headlines get more clicks

Headlines Compared:

❌ “Everything is Generally OK” → No clicks

✅ “We’re All Doomed: 10 Reasons Why” → Viral

Result: Media has financial incentive to emphasize crisis, catastrophe, conflict.

Availability Heuristic:

We overestimate likelihood of events kita sering lihat di news.

Reality Check:

• Global poverty: DOWN 50% in 20 years
• Literacy rates: highest in history
• Child mortality: DOWN 60% since 1990
• Life expectancy: UP globally

But you’d never know dari scrolling.

Dampak Nyata pada Mental Health

Anxiety dan Depression

Research Findings:

Study 1 (2023, Journal of Medical Internet Research):

• 3+ hours daily news consumption = 78% higher anxiety
• Doomscrolling before bed = sleep quality DOWN 62%
• Negative news exposure = depression symptoms UP 43%

Study 2 (2022, University of Indonesia):

• Gen Z doomscrollers: 85% report heightened anxiety
• 67% experience “vicarious traumatization”
• 54% feel constant sense of dread

Symptoms:

Acute:

• Racing heart saat baca headline
• Tightness di chest
• Difficulty concentrating
• Irritability
• Sleep disturbances

Chronic:

• Generalized anxiety disorder
• Clinical depression
• Burnout
• Emotional numbness
• Anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure)

Sleep Disruption

The Blue Light Problem:

Physical Effect:

• Blue light from screens suppresses melatonin
• Melatonin = sleep hormone
• Result: Circadian rhythm disrupted

The Content Problem:

Psychological Effect:

• Negative news activates stress response
• Cortisol dan adrenaline spike
• Brain in “alert” mode
• Impossible to sleep

Statistics:

• 73% of doomscrollers report insomnia
• Average sleep debt: 1.5 hours/night
• Sleep quality: 40% worse vs non-scrollers

Consequences:

• Impaired cognitive function
• Weakened immune system
• Increased mental health issues
• Weight gain
• Higher disease risk

Compassion Fatigue

Definition: Emotional exhaustion dari constant exposure to others’ suffering.

Progression:

Stage 1: Empathy

• “This is terrible. I care.”
• Emotional response
• Desire to help

Stage 2: Overwhelm

• “There’s so much suffering.”
• Feeling helpless
• Emotional overload

Stage 3: Numbness

• “I can’t care anymore.”
• Emotional shutdown
• Apathy dan cynicism

Quote dari Healthcare Worker:

“I used to cry reading about injustice. Now I scroll past videos of war, famine, violence and feel… nothing. I’m empty. And that scares me more than the news itself.”

Relationship Impact

Ways Doomscrolling Damages Relationships:

1. Physical Absence:

• Scrolling during family time
• Ignoring partner while in bed together
• Not present during conversations

2. Emotional Unavailability:

• Mood affected by news
• Taking out stress on loved ones
• No emotional energy left untuk connection

3. Conversation Dominated by Doom:

• Only talk about crisis
• Constant negativity
• Exhausting untuk others

4. Reduced Intimacy:

• Scrolling instead of quality time
• Bedtime scrolling instead of connection
• Stress reduces libido

Statistics:

• 64% of couples report arguments over phone use
• 41% feel partner is distracted by device during interactions
• Doomscrollers report 30% lower relationship satisfaction

Worldview Distortion

Mean World Syndrome:

Term coined by George Gerbner (1976), now amplified.

Definition: Belief that world is more dangerous than it actually is, caused by media consumption.

Effects:

Perception:

• Overestimate crime rates
• Think world getting worse (actually: improving in most metrics)
• Constant sense of impending doom
• Lost faith in humanity

Behavior Changes:

• Increased fear
• Social withdrawal
• Distrust of others
• Hyper-vigilance

Political Impact:

• Polarization
• Support for authoritarian “strong leaders”
• Erosion of nuance
• Inability to find common ground

Quote:

“I was convinced society was collapsing. I deleted Twitter, stopped watching news. Went outside. Talked to real neighbors. Most people are… normal. Kind. World felt less scary immediately.” — Former doomscroller, 34

Platform-Specific Doomscrolling

Twitter/X: Anger Engine

Why It’s Worst:

Algorithm Prioritizes:

• Controversial content
• Quote tweets (often dunks)
• Threads of outrage
• Viral bad takes

“Ratio” Culture: More replies than likes = pile-on happening

Result: Constant stream of people angry about something.

User Experience:

• Endless timeline (no bottom)
• Trending topics (usually disasters atau outrage)
• Notifications (dopamine hits)
• FOMO (missing discourse)

Instagram/TikTok: Highlight Reel Anxiety

Different Type of Doom:

Not just world events. Personal doom:

• Everyone’s life looks perfect (yours doesn’t)
• Comparison anxiety
• FOMO on experiences
• Body image issues

Plus:

• “For You” page learns your triggers
• Infinite scroll
• Autoplay (no conscious choice)
• Short videos = massive volume consumption

Reddit: Rabbit Hole of Despair

Structure Enables:

• Subreddits for every crisis
• r/collapse, r/antiwork, r/LateStageCapitalism, etc.
• Comment threads spiraling into doom
• “Doom and gloom” becoming identity

Echo Chambers:

• Algorithm shows you what you engage with
• Subreddits reinforce worldview
• Downvote dissent
• Radicalization potential

News Apps: Notification Assault

Push Notifications:

• Designed to alarm
• “BREAKING” untuk everything
• Multiple alerts about same event
• No off switch (in practice)

Headlines Optimized: For clicks, not calm. Fear sells.

Breaking Free: Practical Strategies

Level 1: Awareness

Track Your Usage:

Tools:

• Screen Time (iPhone)
• Digital Wellbeing (Android)
• Rescue Time (cross-platform)

Ask:

• How many hours daily?
• What times (morning doom? Night doom?)
• Which apps worst offenders?
• How do you feel after?

Journal: Note mood before dan after scrolling sessions. Pattern will emerge.

Level 2: Boundaries

Time Limits:

App-Specific Limits: Set daily limits:

• Twitter: 30 min/day MAX
• News apps: 20 min/day
• Instagram: 45 min/day

Phone Settings:

• Enable limits
• When time up: App grays out
• Requires override (adds friction)

Scheduled Check-Ins:

Instead of constant monitoring:

• Morning: 15 min news check
• Noon: 10 min social media
• Evening: 20 min catch-up
• That’s it.

No-Phone Zones:

Designate:

• Bedroom (charge phone elsewhere)
• Dining table
• Bathroom
• First/last hour of day

No-Scroll Times:

Commit to:

• No phones 1 hour before bed
• No scrolling during meals
• No phones during conversations
• One full day/week offline

Level 3: Digital Hygiene

Curate Your Feed:

Unfollow Ruthlessly:

• Accounts that make you anxious
• News junkies who only post doom
• Outrage merchants
• Negativity machines

Follow Intentionally:

• Accounts that inform without alarming
• Educational content
• Positive news sources
• Inspiration/art/beauty

Mute Keywords:

Most platforms let you mute:

• “Breaking”
• “Urgent”
• “Crisis”
• Names of triggering topics

Turn Off Notifications:

ALL OF THEM.

Except:

• Calls from favorites
• Important messages
• That’s literally it

You don’t need:

• News alerts (you’ll find out)
• Social media notifications (they can wait)
• Email push (check on schedule)

Level 4: Replacement Behaviors

What To Do Instead:

When Urge to Scroll Hits:

✅ Physical Activities:

• 10 pushups
• Walk around block
• Stretch
• Dance to one song

✅ Creative Outlets:

• Doodle
• Write (journal, poetry, whatever)
• Play instrument
• Photo/video (of real life, not for posting)

✅ Connection:

• Call a friend (actually talk)
• Hug someone
• Play with pet
• Have real conversation

✅ Mindfulness:

• 5 deep breaths
• 5-min meditation
• Notice 5 things you can see
• Grounding exercise

✅ Analog Activities:

• Read physical book
• Do puzzle
• Cook something
• Tend plants

Level 5: Mindset Shifts

Reframe Your Thinking:

Old: “I need to stay informed.” New: “I choose to be informed without being consumed.”

Old: “What if I miss something important?” New: “Truly important information will reach me.”

Old: “Everyone else is scrolling.” New: “I’m choosing different path for my wellbeing.”

Old: “Scrolling relaxes me.” New: “Scrolling numbs me. Rest rejuvenates me.”

Permission to Disconnect:

You don’t have to:

• Have opinion on everything
• Be first to know
• Engage with every crisis
• Solve world problems today

You’re allowed to:

• Not know about something
• Take breaks from news
• Protect your mental health
• Choose peace over “staying informed”

Quote:

“I don’t follow the news anymore. Not because I don’t care, but because I care about being effective. I can’t help anyone if I’m paralyzed by anxiety from doomscrolling. Now I choose one cause, volunteer regularly, donate monthly. That’s my news—the change I’m actually part of.” — Sarah, 29, former news junkie

Positive Information Diet

Seek Balance

For Every Doom Article, Consume:

Solution-Focused Content:

• Organizations doing good work
• Policy proposals yang working
• Community initiatives
• Scientific breakthroughs

Good News Sources:

• Positive News (positivenews.org.uk)
• Good News Network (goodnewsnetwork.org)
• The Happy Broadcast (Instagram: @the_happy_broadcast)
• Goodable (goodable.co)

Not “Toxic Positivity”: Acknowledge problems exist. But balance doom dengan:

• Progress being made
• People doing good
• Solutions being implemented
• Reasons for hope

Quality Over Quantity

Instead of:

• 20 shallow headlines from 20 sources
• Sensational hot takes
• Unverified claims
• Opinion disguised as news

Choose:

• 2-3 reputable sources
• Long-form journalism
• Fact-checked reporting
• Context dan nuance

Weekly Deep Dive vs Daily Panic:

Instead of daily doom:

• One weekly news digest (The Economist, Atlantic, etc.)
• Monthly magazine subscription
• Podcasts (you can choose when to listen)

Recovery Stories: From Doomscroll to Digital Wellness

Case Study 1: The Journalist

Background: 27-tahun journalist. Job required constant news monitoring.

Rock Bottom:

• Panic attacks daily
• Insomnia
• Relationship strain
• Crying over world events she couldn’t control

The Shift:

• Changed beat dari breaking news ke features
• Phone off after 7pm
• Therapy untuk anxiety
• Deleted Twitter dari phone

6 Months Later:

• Anxiety reduced 80%
• Sleep improved dramatically
• Rekindled hobbies (painting)
• “I’m still informed, just not consumed.”

Case Study 2: The Parent

Before:

• Scrolling while kids played
• Bedtime = scrolling instead of sleep
• Constant distraction
• Modeling bad tech habits

Wake-Up Call: 5-year-old daughter: “Mommy, why do you love your phone more than me?”

Changes:

• Phone in different room during family time
• Visual timer (30 min daily limit)
• Morning routine tanpa screens
• Replaced scrolling dengan:
  • Reading to kids
  • Outdoor play
  • Board games
  • Actual conversations

Result:

• Relationship dengan kids transformed
• Present moment awareness
• Role-modeling healthy tech use
• Mental health vastly improved

Case Study 3: The Student

Context: 20-tahun university student. Doomscrolling 4-6 hours daily.

Impact:

• GPA dropped
• Depression
• Social isolation
• Lost sense of purpose

Intervention:

• Deleted all news apps
• Limited social media to 1 hour (scheduled)
• Started therapy
• Joined campus volunteer group (actual action vs passive doom)

Outcome:

• Grades recovered
• Depression lifted (with therapy)
• Found community
• “Taking action feels better than consuming doom.”

Quote:

“I realized I wasn’t ‘staying informed.’ I was torturing myself with problems I couldn’t solve while neglecting problems I could—like my own wellbeing, my relationships, my education. Now I choose where I put my energy.”

The Bigger Picture: Systemic Solutions

What Tech Companies Should Do

Ethical Design:

1. Redesign Algorithms:

• Deprioritize inflammatory content
• Boost constructive discussions
• Promote diverse perspectives
• Show solutions alongside problems

2. Built-In Limits:

• Automatic “time for a break” prompts
• Default daily limits
• Easier unsubscribe/mute options
• “Are you sure?” friction for late-night scrolling

3. Transparency:

• Show users how algorithms work
• Disclose engagement tactics
• Data about own usage patterns
• Impact on mental health

4. Features for Wellbeing:

• “Positive news” filter
• Chronological (vs algorithmic) feed option
• Batch notifications instead of constant
• Easy “take a break” mode

Some Progress:

• Instagram hiding likes (some regions)
• TikTok adding screen time notifications
• Twitter’s “leave this conversation” feature

But: Profit incentives still drive engagement optimization over wellbeing.

What News Media Should Do

Responsible Reporting:

1. Solutions Journalism: For every problem reported, include:

• What’s being done
• What’s working
• How people can help

2. Context:

• Historical perspective
• Statistical reality
• Avoid sensationalism
• Proportional coverage

3. Mental Health Awareness:

• Content warnings untuk disturbing content
• Resources for readers
• Acknowledge psychological impact

4. Slow News:

• Weekly digests
• Thoughtful analysis vs hot takes
• Quality over speed

Examples Doing It Right:

• Constructive Journalism Movement
• BBC World Hacks (solution-focused)
• De Correspondent (ad-free, member-supported)

What We Can Advocate For

Policy Level:

1. Digital Rights:

• Right to disconnect (already law in some countries)
• Data portability
• Algorithm transparency
• Platform accountability

2. Media Literacy:

• Teach critical thinking
• Recognize manipulation
• Understand algorithms
• Healthy tech use

3. Worker Protections:

• Limits on after-hours communication
• Mental health support
• Recognition of digital burnout

Countries Leading:

France: Right to disconnect law (2017) Italy: Similar legislation Spain: Remote workers can ignore emails after hours

Creating a Doomscroll-Free Culture

Social Norms

In Relationships:

• “Phone stack” at dinners (everyone stacks phones, first to check pays bill)
• Device-free date nights
• Morning coffee without screens
• Bedtime routines tanpa scrolling

In Families:

• Tech-free meals
• Charge phones outside bedrooms
• Weekend offline time
• Model healthy use untuk kids

In Friendships:

• When together, be present
• “No phones” agreements
• Do activities not amenable to scrolling (hiking, sports, crafts)
• Support each other’s digital wellness

In Workplaces:

• No expectation of after-hours responses
• Meeting-free days
• “Email jail” (batch process at set times)
• Mental health days explicitly allowed

Community Support

Digital Detox Groups:

• Accountability partners
• Shared challenges (30-day no Twitter, etc.)
• Tips dan strategies
• Celebrate milestones

Real-World Connection: Replace screen time dengan:

• Book clubs
• Sports leagues
• Volunteer work
• Classes (cooking, art, dance)
• Religious/spiritual communities
• Hobby groups

Choose Your Reality

Doomscrolling promises to keep us informed but delivers anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, dan distorted worldview.

The Paradox: More we consume news of world’s problems, less energy we have untuk address actual problems dalam our sphere of influence.

The Truth:

• You don’t need to know everything
• You can’t fix everything
• Constant consumption isn’t consciousness—it’s compulsion
• Being informed ≠ being overwhelmed
• Your mental health matters MORE than “staying updated”

The Choice:

Every moment you pick up your phone is choice:

• Doom atau peace?
• Anxiety atau calm?
• Passive consumption atau active living?
• Someone else’s curated crisis atau your actual life?

The Path Forward:

1. Awareness: Recognize the pattern 2. Boundaries: Protect your time dan mind 3. Alternatives: Replace doom dengan life 4. Community: Connect IRL 5. Action: Channel concern into constructive contribution 6. Balance: Stay informed without being consumed 7. Compassion: For yourself dalam breaking free

Final Thought:

“The world has always had problems. The difference now is we can watch them unfold in real-time, 24/7, on a device in our pocket. But you weren’t put on this earth to witness every tragedy, engage with every outrage, or carry the weight of every crisis. You were put here to live YOUR life, love YOUR people, and make YOUR corner of the world a little brighter. Start there.”

Action Steps (Right Now):

1. Close this article
2. Put phone down
3. Look around your actual room
4. Notice something beautiful
5. Take three deep breaths
6. Go hug someone you love

Or go outside. Or call a friend. Or just sit in silence.

The world will still be there tomorrow. But so will you—hopefully rested, connected, and ready to actually engage with life, not just scroll through its disasters.

🌅 Log off. Live on. 🌅

Struggling dengan digital addiction atau anxiety? Resources:

• Center for Humane Technology (humanetech.com)
• Digital Wellness Institute
• Local therapists specializing in tech addiction
• Support groups: r/nosurf (yes, ironic it’s on Reddit)

Remember: Asking for help is strength, not weakness. You’re not alone dalam this. 💚