
Tech
Mar 3, 2026Wired
in-depth: Why Missile Alerts and War Updates Trigger Doomscrolling
Recent missile strikes and escalating global tensions have revealed how millions fall into "doomscrolling," the compulsive consumption of bad news through endless digital updates. This behavior, driven by our evolutionary wiring to prioritize threats and platforms engineered for engagement, can quickly spiral from seeking information into a detrimental feedback loop.
Cognitive scientists highlight that human memory is biased towards danger, making negative news hard to ignore, while studies link doomscrolling to increased anxiety, depression, and even trauma-like responses, impacting mental well-being.
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