We love the constant, on-demand access to the Internet. Almost nothing can compete. But we all have those times when we wonder, is it too much? How does frequent access to tech impact our brains? Is there a detrimental effect when our brains are still maturing? Might it be negatively affecting our children’s mental health? Does what we view make a difference? Where is the line drawn between staying up to date on current events versus compulsively consuming distressing news? Ensure that your family is protected from excessive negativity online with our Screen Safety Essentials Course. This mega course offers all GKIS course content for parents and families to provide the tools necessary to navigate the internet safely and grow closer as a family. Today’s GKIS article covers the dangers of doom-scrolling and what can be done to prevent it.
What is ‘doom-scrolling’?
Doom-scrolling refers to the excessive consumption of distressing online news coverage. This phenomenon increased exponentially as people became more active on the internet in conjunction with the rise of concerning national and international news. On the one hand, staying informed may be a coping mechanism. Browsing opportunities allow people to “reassert control over the situation” by actively seeking knowledge about a novel context or threat.[1]
For example, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people became obsessed with news about variants, vaccines, and the number of cases around the world and within one’s local county.
Another example of doom-scrolling is the high viewer rate of news about the Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020. It was too easy to become glued to our screens watching videos documenting police brutality and protester violence unfiltered and in real time on TV, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. The desire to stay up to date on this hot topic social movement grew so intense that people commonly spent several hours a day watching violent videos.
Our Attention Has Been Commodified
In recent years, scary news items permeate the airwaves, with reports of mass shootings and alarming weather events due to climate change. The public’s trust in the government has reached an all-time low, with divisively high levels of partisanship and serious concerns about U.S. democracy. Sensationalistic and divisive programming that sparks outrage is intelligently designed to capture our attention and keep us watching. Media and social media companies recognize that more eyes on the story result in more profit.
Internalizing Negativity
Negative media and news coverage can affect our mood and hopes for the future. Anxiety, depression, and the adoption of a nihilistic outlook may result from doom-scrolling. Constant exposure to negative news content can lead to a low expectation for positive future outcomes which can lead to feelings of hopelessness – a primary precursor to suicidality.[3] For example, a doom-scrolling teenager may be led to wonder if applying for college is worth it if global warming is going to end the world by 2030, or even consider if it’s worth staying alive to witness the decline. Staying informed can come with a serious mental cost.[2]
Compulsive Use and Desensitization
Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok are popular social media sites that offer real-time footage of violence. From intense protests and desperate attempts to escape a mass shooting to families trying to escape the horrors of war. There’s no end to the horrific content you can consume.
Gen Z social media users (born between the years 1997-2013) particularly possess a collective passion for activism and justice paired with a prominent collective online presence. However, this drive seems to also come with an obsession with sharing, retweeting, and reblogging violent content to encourage others to stay up to date. While this may have the good intention of bringing attention to serious issues, the constant access to intense videos, photos, and articles desensitizes consumers. To read more about how Gen Z online users differ from Millenials, check out my GKIS article Millennials, Gen Z, and the Internet: Generational Divides.
Compare and Despair
A demanding social media presence may also lead to a more negative self-appraisal. Children, tweens, and teens are especially susceptible to compare and despair due to an immature personal identity and impoverished life experience. The more the individual relates to the influencer, the more impact the content may have. Our GKIS article, Is My Selfie Good Enough? How Screen Media Drives Beauty Pressures That Distress Kids and Teens, dives deeper into how social media can heighten comparison and feelings of inadequacy. Check it out to learn more.
PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder in which a person struggles to recover from experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. Our article, Live Streaming Can Cause PTSD in Adults and Children, discussed the different ways online violence can lead to PTSD. In Kids Watched a Facebook Live Suicide That Turned Into a Trending Meme, desensitization and the impact of watching shocking and violent content on the mind and body are discussed. And in Graphic Livestream Horrors, the dangers of watching violent events unfold in real-time and the tolerance of violence are discussed. This series provides additional information on what can happen to those who excessively consume violent content online, as well as how to protect your children from such possible outcomes.
Children with social media accounts unintentionally come across negative news coverage because social media algorithms suggest videos and posts after even the slightest interaction, which can expose them to increasingly inappropriate content. To help your tweens and teens avoid inappropriate content and avoid doom-scrolling and desensitization, check out our Social Media Readiness Course. This course can help prepare your kids for safer screen use and prevent psychological illness with emotional wellness tools.
How To Protect Your Children While Staying Informed
Parental Supervision
Children, tweens, and teens are particularly susceptible to distressing online content. Our Screen Safety Toolkit offers an outcome-based resource guide with recommendations and links to our favorite parental control systems necessary for effective parental supervision.
Stay Informed
Our free GKIS blog articles offer a great way to stay in the know on all topics surrounding internet culture and safety, which can help parents keep their children safe from digital injury.
Have Important Family Conversations
Our free Connected Family Screen Agreement provides tools to educate and empower families to set digital boundaries and expectations while building stronger family relationships. Having group discussions about tech, mental health, and current events offer an important way to educate kids and answer your child with openness and honesty at a developmental level they can understand.
Dr. Bennett believes that providing children and teens the skills necessary to navigate the internet responsibly is important for not only individual development but for family development, which is why the Connected Family Course can help families connect and avoid potential digital injury. Finding a middle ground between education and overexposure exists and it can be implemented safely.
Thanks to CSUCI intern Tracy Pizano for researching doom-scrolling online and its effects on the mental health of those who participate in the habit and for co-authoring this article.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
[1] Buchanan, K., Aknin, L. B., Lotun, S., & Sandstrom, G. M. (2021). Brief exposure to social media during the COVID-19 pandemic: Doom-scrolling has negative emotional consequences, but kindness-scrolling does not. PLoS ONE, 16(10). https://doi-org.ezproxy.csuci.edu/10.1371/journal.pone.0257728
[2] Price, M., Legrand, A. C., Brier, Z. M. F., van Stolk-Cooke, K., Peck, K., Dodds, P. S., Danforth, C. M., & Adams, Z. W. (2022). Doomscrolling during COVID-19: The negative association between daily social and traditional media consumption and mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csuci.edu/10.1037/tra0001202
[3] Hepburn, S. R., Barnhofer, T., & Williams, J. M. G. (2009). The future is bright? Effects of mood on perception of the future. Journal of Happiness Studies: An Interdisciplinary Forum on Subjective Well-Being, 10(4), 483–496. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csuci.edu/10.1007/s10902-008-9102-9
“I can’t breathe, and my chest is killing me. My heart is racing. Am I having a heart attack? I am sweating, trembling, and dizzy. I think I’m going to vomit. My thoughts are racing. Have I gone crazy? What is wrong with me?” If this sounds familiar, you are probably one of three adults in the U.S. who has had an anxiety attack. Screens can have a significant effect on our levels of anxiety, but how?
What is anxiety?
In my 25+ years of clinical practice, I have treated many kids, teens, and adults with anxiety disorders. Since the advent of mobile screen technology, we have seen prevalence numbers increase dramatically. Twenty-five percent of 13- to 18-year-olds have mild to moderate anxiety with the median age of onset at 11 years old.[1]
There are five major types of anxiety disorder.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder(GAD) is characterized by chronic worry about things that don’t warrant that level of concern.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by recurrent, intrusive thoughts and repetitive ritualistic behaviors, like counting, tapping, washing, or checking.
Panic Disorder (PD) is a chronic dread of having a panic attack, which feels like intense fear and trouble breathing, heart racing, and dizziness.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) is typically triggered by a terrifying ordeal.
Social Phobia (SP) causes people to withdraw due to extreme self-consciousness or embarrassment around others and a fear of being scrutinized or judged.
How Screens Can Trigger Clinical Anxiety Symptoms
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Screens can be distracting and lead to wasted time and poor work performance. Not only do kids worry about those missed assignments, but too many hours of online learning can put them in a state of irritable exhaustion. In Dr. Bennett’s book, Screen Time in the Mean Time, she details how multitasking, which refers to interrupting one task to attend to another (like social media notifications during homework), burns brain fuel at a rapid rate – leading to mental brownout.[2] Mental brownout can lead one to feel hopeless and helpless, which can lead to chronic worry about … just about everything.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Keeping up with the Jones’s (or Kardashian’s) on social media can lead to obsessive scrolling and compulsive checking. We’ve all seen the notorious #GymSelfie or #FoodPorn that pops up on our news feed. Then there’s the #OutfitOfTheDay, #MCM (man crush Monday), #WCW (woman crush Wednesday), or your #TBT (throwback Thursday). Keeping up can feel overwhelming.
As Dr. B says in her article “Teaching Kids the Brain Traps of Video Games May Break the Spell,” “likes” are designed to tap into our evolutionarily-reinforced need to please our tribe – also called social capital. She elaborates, “When that notification pops up on our smartphone that somebody liked our post, we get a slight euphoria.”
Getting the likes makes us want more (compulsive use patterns), and not getting the likes can send us into compare and despair. Big tech is aware of this and plays on our psychology to keep our eyes on the screen. Our attention has been commodified (meaning that data about our online behaviors is for sale because it has value to marketers). The more we stay on screen, the more we fall victim to ads and the compulsion to buy.
Panic Disorder
Panic attacks happen when the autonomic nervous system, our survival center, gets triggered too easily. Poor self-care (like not sleeping, eating well, exercising, or socializing) can make us vulnerable having panic attacks. Dr. B says video games are also programmed to jack up your autonomic nervous system, which can lead to panic attacks.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
In our GKIS article, “Live Streaming Can Cause PTSD in Adults and Children,” we detailed how watching live-streamed videos on social media and Youtube can lead to debilitating trauma symptoms. It’s critical to consider that screen content matters as much as, if not more than, screen time.
Social Phobia
It doesn’t take much imagination to consider that social media can lead to fear of excessive social scrutiny. Dr. B writes about the normal adolescent defense called the imaginary audience. She writes, “Teens can become extremely focused on their looks and very self-conscious, convinced that EVERYBODY is looking at them. As a result, they pay meticulous attention to clothing, makeup, hairstyle, body shape, and mannerisms. It’s as if they are carefully cultivating their brand to fit in and stand out among admired peers. Although imaginary audience has been observed among adolescents throughout history, social media may exacerbate anxiety. I believe compulsive urges to take perfect selfies are a healthy expression of the imaginary audience rather than the pathology of narcissism.”
It didn’t happen if you didn’t post it.
There is a popular saying that if you didn’t post about it, it didn’t really happen. Many teens are more invested in their virtual lives than they are in their non-virtual lives. This makes sense considering they spend more waking time on screen than they do off-screen!
Teen life often happens in a snapshot and not much else. Our kids are spending time at events, the beach, and vacation looking for that split moment to capture a picture guaranteeing them likes from their followers. Conversations are “Uh-huh” and “Mm, sure” without eye contact. Screen time is the master, and we’ve grown to accept that that is “just what teens do these days.”
Social media can become a shrine of a person’s life, and if it is subpar, that person’s life seems subpar. Sound extreme? It is, and it is real. The pressure to be perceived in a certain way can consume our minds and impact self-esteem. A Canadian study found that the more time spent on screens, the higher the risk of developing anxiety in children.[3] Screen addiction is proving to be a real concern rather than a minor annoyance.
Driven to Distraction
Anxiety has the potential to impact not only the quality of time spent with family and friends but may also sever the most important relationship of all, the one with ourselves. Self-worth goes down, anxiety shifts to depression, and all because we judge others and ourselves through the safety of a screen, hidden in anonymity, and supported by strangers.
It can happen to anybody.
A child therapist friend of mine shared with me that she recently deleted all social media apps off her phone. She said she felt social media was consuming her and ultimately the cause of a lot of anxieties. Between clients, she browsed Facebook and Instagram instead of doing her mandatory briefings. Her briefings would get stacked up for weeks. Ultimately, this would contribute to her unease. This is a professional in mental health, one whom we would like to think could find a good balance. Now imagine your teenager…
What can we do about it?
Identify the triggers and recognize that you may be powerless against them without cutting down on screen time.
Set reasonable parameters.
Use time management and blocking apps.
Learn cognitive behavioral coping skills like breathing, mindfulness, cognitive restructuring, and meditation
Make your nonvirtual life more enriching
Thank you to Chad Flores for helping us recognize how screens may contribute to anxiety.
[3] Maras, D., Flament, M. F., Murray, M., Buchholz, A., Henderson, K. A., Obeid, N., & Goldfield, G. S. (2015). Screen time is associated with depression and anxiety in Canadian youth. Preventive Medicine: An International Journal Devoted To Practice And Theory, 73133-138. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.01.029
We are vulnerable to dangers previous generations couldn’t even imagine. We are on-demand, world connected – available to watch any horror from any place. Graphic (meaning vivid or realistic) live stream videos can be found on social media platforms such as Facebook Live, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. Children are especially vulnerable to getting upset when viewing violence. Today’s GKIS article covers if the mental illness Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can result from viewing violence on screen.
How Graphic Live Streams Affect Children
Accidentally clicking on a violent video would frighten anybody. Children are particularly vulnerable to trauma, including the development of serious mental illness. PTSD is a mental health disorder in which a person struggles to recover from experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event such as an assault, war, natural disaster, or serious accident. People with PTSD often have severe anxiety and panic attacks when reminded of the traumatic event. They feel stressed and frightened even when there is no danger present.
PTSD symptoms include intense nightmares, difficulty sleeping, and flashbacks of the traumatic event (intrusive images like you’re re-experiencing it). Children younger than six years old show signs of PTSD differently than adults. Their symptoms include behaviors like wetting the bed, being unable to speak, acting out the traumatic event in playtime, and clinging to their caregiver. PTSD is a very serious, debilitating disorder that can leave the individual in a nearly constant state of fear and stress.
Being able to discuss the witnessed traumatic event is a necessary step in treatment. In a study with Danish high school students, subjects who had witnessed a school shooting were assessed for PTSD. It was found that the prevalence of PTSD seven months after the incident was 9.5%. Being unable to talk about the incident was found a predictor of those who developed PTSD.[1]
Studies on Videos and the Onset of PTSD
Because violent videos are relatively new, there is little research on how they affect us. One of the earliest studies was conducted after Americans viewed the television coverage of the 9/11 tragedy.
The researchers interviewed 560 adults three to five days after 9/11. Approximately 90% reported one or more stress symptoms. In contrast, 35% of children had one or more stress symptoms, and 47% were worried about their safety or the safety of loved ones. Ten percent of the children had trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
In another study, researchers surveyed 4,675 adults who viewed the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings on video. They found that people who had repeatedly watched the tragic footage sustained more trauma and stress than people who had witnessed the events in real life!
Those who watched six or more hours per day of media coverage were nine times more likely to report high acute stress than those who viewed less than one hour a day. Symptoms of acute stress included intrusive or troubling thoughts, feeling hyperaware, avoiding anything that reminds one of the traumatic events, and feelings of detachment.
If your children witnessed a traumatic live stream or Internet video, how would you know if they had PTSD?
Elementary School-Aged Children
“PTSD in children and adolescents requires the presence of re-experiencing and avoidance, numbing, and arousal symptoms. However, PTSD may not present itself in children the same way it does in adults.”[2] For example, young children may not experience flashbacks like adults with PTSD. They are more likely to experience “time skew” and “omen formation,” which are symptoms usually not seen in adults.
Time skew is the mis-sequencing of trauma-related events when remembering the experience.
Omen formation is a belief that there were warning signs that foreshadowed the traumatic event.
Children often believe that if they remain alert, they will recognize the warning signs and avoid another trauma resulting in chronic hypervigilance, anxiety, and sleep disorders.
School-aged children with PTSD often engage in posttraumatic play or reenactment of the trauma in play, drawings, or verbalizations. Post-traumatic play is a literal representation of the traumatic event in which the child repetitively acts out some aspect of the trauma. This often does not relieve anxiety.
An example of post-traumatic playwould be a child shaking a playhouse after they’ve experienced an earthquake.
Post-traumatic reenactment, on the other hand, is more flexible and involves behaviorally mimicking some aspects of the trauma. An example would be carrying a toy gun after being exposed to violence.
Adolescents and Teens
PTSD in adolescents more closely resembles symptoms seen in adults. However, some features are unique to teenagers.
As discussed above, children may engage in traumatic play after the onset of trauma. Adolescents are more likely to engage in traumatic reenactment, in which they merge some aspects of the trauma into their lives. Reenactments occur due to psychological vulnerabilities and defensive mechanisms which are characteristic of PTSD survivors. Adolescents tend to engage in impulsive and aggressive behaviors more than younger children and adults do.
What can parents do?
Advocate for better safety protocols including monitoring and filtering with platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Periscope, and YouTube.
Filter video access to children by using a child-safe browser, refusing requests to adopt livestream social media apps, and using appropriate child sites like YouTube Kids.
Maintain an ongoing dialogue about content viewed online to optimize the chance your child will go to you if they happen upon inappropriate content.
Let your child know they won’t be in trouble for accidental views.
Be alert for changes in behavior that may be reflective of PTSD like fears, anxiety, bathroom accidents, mutism, sleep problems, appetite problems, substance abuse, or school failure.
Seek the help of a child psychologist if you have concerns.
Thank you to CSUCI Intern, Mara Pober for writing this important series to inform parents and help them keep their kids Internet safe. For more parenting advice on-screen media and trauma in children, pick up your copy of Dr. Bennett’s book, Screen Time in the Mean Time: A Parent Guide to Get Kids and Teens Internet Safe.
I’m the mom psychologist who helps you GetKidsInternetSafe.
