doomscrolling

Meaning

1. Compulsively scrolling through bad news, past the point of usefulness.
2. (verb) To do this.

“I lost an hour to doomscrolling before bed.”

Where it came from

The term appeared on Twitter as early as October 2018. It stayed niche until the 2020 pandemic, when lockdowns and constant crisis coverage made the habit universal. Merriam-Webster added it as an official entry in 2023.