你是不是也有过那种抱着手机刷各种负面新闻，一直刷到自己整个人都不好了，也觉得这个世界不会再好了的经历？

With the world and our society seeking more and more attention, and with us now going through yet another wave of Covid cases.

Have you ever had the experience of lying in your bed, wide awake, late at night, looking at your phone, reading and watching all these negative news on social media?

Yon know they make you depressed, anxious.

Yet, you just can't seem to stop, and ending up being even more depressed.

没错，这就是“负面刷屏”。

今天的Buzzword，我们就来聊聊让人糟心的Doomscrolling.

01

Word Origin

Doomscrolling is made up of doom and scrolling.

Doom means the end of the world, 就是末日的意思。

Scrolling is when you look at something on the screen, you try to scroll up and scroll down to see more content.

而scroll指的是在页面上浏览的时候，向上向下滚动的动作。

Doomscrolling

Doomscrolling is the act of spending an excessive amount of screen time devoted to the absorption of negative news.

所以今天的Buzzword Doomscrolling “负面刷屏”指的就是这种花大量时间在线上浏览各种各样的负面新闻。

The term is thought to have originated in October 2018 on Twitter.

However, the word may have earlier origins, and the phenomenon itself predates the coining of the term.

虽然 Doomscrolling是从前几年才开始流行起来的一个词, 但实际上这种对负面新闻上瘾的行为可不是什么新鲜事儿.

The practice of Doomscrolling nowadays can be compared to an older phenomenon from the 1970s called “the mean world syndrome”.

在上世纪70年代，就有人提出来一种叫做 “the mean world syndrome”, “险恶世界症候群”.

This refers to the belief the world is a more dangerous place to live in than it actually is, usually as a result of long-term exposure to violence-related content on television.

那个时候这种 “mean world syndrome”主要指的就是因为看多了电视上反映的暴力事件, 所以觉得世风日下, 世道险恶, 变得非常悲观。

And studies showed that seeing upsetting negative news leads people to seek out more Information on the topic, creating a self-perpetuating cycle.

In other words, the more you read about the negative news in the world, the more you want to look for more of these negative news.

也就是说负面新闻看得越多, 我们就越想去看更多的负面新闻, 形成一个自我不断强化延续的恶性循环.

And Doomscrolling became widespread during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in the beginning, with a lack of reliable Covid-19 data, many social media users turned to social media, and get attracted by all these sensationalized fake news.

Doomscrolling在疫情期间, 特别是疫情的早期, 可以说是达到了峰值。

因为那个时候可信的官方信息并不是很多, 所以很多人因为恐慌会相信社交媒体上各种各样耸人听闻的假新闻.

02

Why are we attracted to negative news?

这就跟我们本身的一种负面偏误, negativity bias有关，这种bias指的是负面的信息通常比正面的信息对我们的影响要大。

According to a lot of researchers, the act of Doomscrolling can be attributed to the natural negativity bias people have when consuming Information.

Negativity bias is the idea that negative events have a larger impact on one's mental wellbeing than good ones.

有不少心理学家就认为我们之所以会更为负面新闻所吸引, 那是因为人类自保的本能让我们容易去关注一些可能会伤害到我们的负面信息。

Some psychiatrists believe that's because humans are all hard wired to see the negative and to be drawn to the negative, because it can harm them physically.

However, as opposed to primitive humans, most people in modern times do not even realize that they're even seeking negative Information;

and social media algorithm can also aid in the act of Doomscrolling. 再加上社交媒体上大数据的算法也容易加重这种“负面刷屏”。

这两年的疫情, 还有国际大环境的各种冲突争端, 其实在很多普通人的心理都造成了一定程度的焦虑和抑郁的情绪。

Despite the fact that Doomscrolling is kind of in human nature, it can be pretty detrimental to our mental and even physical health.

For the past couple of years, the pandemic, and now the conflicts in the world have created an overarching sense of anxiety and depression among a lot of people.

And consuming more information, especially negative Information, can reinforce that anxiety and depression in a vicious cycle.

而这个时候如果你在大量摄取更多的负面信息, 只会让自己陷入一个焦虑和抑郁的恶性循环。

A few things you can do if you are addicted to Doomscrolling.

面对"负面刷屏" 不必恐慌

Set a time limit.

Because doomscrolling can sometimes last for hours on end, setting time limits (and reminders) can help snap you out of a doomscrolling session.

设定时间期限，到点就别刷了。

Avoid social media.

Actively avoid sites or apps with a lot of news or chatter, particularly those platforms that focus on the negative side.

与“无良”社交媒体“分手”。

Create boundaries.

Be aware of what subjects you focus on and talk about with your friends, your family, and how long you tend to discuss them.

设定边界，什么话题可以聊，可以聊多久，可以和谁聊，把规矩提前点定好。

Practice gratitude.

Doomscrolling can cause you to forget about anything except what is wrong in the world.

In order to fight back, list a few things you are grateful for each day.

It might sound silly in the beginning, but if you keep doing it, you'll notice the effect.

心存感恩，化“戾气”为“祥和”。

可见，不断给我们“负强化”的人，是我们自己。

定好时间，设好边界，将不必要的坏信息、新闻过滤出去，毕竟，日子还得好好过不是。

新词拓展

Example 1：

-Lying awake at night, we often find ourselves in a doomscrolling spiral.

Example 2：

-When doomscrolling becomes a compulsion, it can cause harm to mental and even physical health.

Key Words

本期关键词

Doomscrolling

负面刷屏

Excessive

过多的

Screen time

屏幕时间

“Mean world syndrome”

险恶世界症候群

Self-perpetuating cycle

自我不断强化延续的循环

Negativity bias

负面偏误

Exacerbate

使加重

Pre-existing

（之前）已经存在的