Doomscrolling
DOOM-skroh-lingnoun
What it means
The practice of consuming catastrophe until you are either numb or asleep, whichever arrives first.
What it actually means
I cannot look away and I cannot help.
How it is used in a sentence
"I doomscrolled until two in the morning again."
Filed under
Social Dynamics — The unwritten rules we invented online and now enforce in public without irony.
Diagnosis — The phrase already names a real problem. We define it properly.
Related entries
The Algorithm
Social Dynamicsthee AL-guh-rith-umnounEuphemism
An unseen ranking system, blamed for every failure of reach and never credited with the fact that you are still awake at two in the morning.
Real meaningIt is not suppressing your work. It is showing people what they actually want.
Touch Grass
Social Dynamicstuch grasphraseDiagnosis
An instruction to log off and engage with the physical world, issued almost exclusively by people still online.
Real meaningYou have lost perspective and I would like to say so.