#1
We managed to get in touch with ItsTheCess and they agreed to have a little chat with us. "I don't remember exactly what I was doing right before I posted it but I can guess the news cycle had been more depressing than normal that day," the Redditor told Bored Panda. "The question itself was almost sarcastic. 'There's so much evil happening in the world right now, is anything good actually going on?' Part of me expected to get downvoted into oblivion and just a few comments saying some variant of 'No.'"
ItsTheCess said the replies really stuck with them. "The fact that literally anyone took the time to give real answers and not just some variant of 'No' meant a lot to me. I particularly enjoyed the answers that pertained to space, such as the JW telescope, or the medical field, such as the new treatments for cancer, because scientific advancement is something I hope to never stop seeing or learning about."
#3
As Pamela Rutledge, director of the California-based Media Psychology Research Center, explains it, our tendency to doomscroll “really just describes the compulsive need to try and get answers when we're afraid." We do have to assess whether new information constitutes a threat. "We are biologically driven to attend to that," Rutledge said.
"Unfortunately, journalism to some degree plays to that tendency,” she added. Provocative headlines and stories draw in readers because they elicit fear and urgency. We tell ourselves, if I know all the latest news, I can better protect myself and my family.
And while this soudns reasonable, most people scroll well past the point of ascertaining any valuable information.
#4
#5
A day of scrolling through positive news probably won't erase or counteract the habits we've formed from months or even years of doomscrolling and their negative effects on our mental wellbeing, however, good news do, in fact, bring us joy.
From what they see in the media, ItsTheCess believes publishers should really step up and cover more positive stories. "I know they don't do it because it probably doesn't equal rating or at least they think it doesn't equal ratings. Good things are happening. Good people are out there. People should be aware of that too," the Redditor highlighted.
"That balance is incredibly important to me and I believe it should be important to everyone. All that negativity takes such a toll on the mind; it's not healthy or sustainable," they said.
"[I would like to] remind everyone reading this to be kind to those around you and those who you interact with online. You never know what someone is going through and you don't want to add to it. The only way to get kinder people into the world is to be one," ItsTheCess added.
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