Doomscrolling Does Not Prepare for Emergencies

The consumption of negative news (e.g., reports on wars) and its associated outcomes has raised considerable concern among the public, academics, and policymakers. Although research on, and understanding of, negative news consumption has progressed substantially in recent years, two aspects have received scant attention: distinguishing between usage frequency (or time spent) and problematic consumption (or doomscrolling), and extending the inquiry beyond the well-/ill-being framework. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 1162 Iranian adults (Mage = 30.64, SDage = 8.15) to examine how frequency of negative news consumption and doomscrolling are associated with preparedness and susceptibilities in the face of emergencies and everyday challenges. A MIMIC model, controlling for gender and age, showed that higher doomscrolling was associated with lower resilience in emergencies, lower survival skill competency, higher acceptance of conspiracy beliefs, and more frequent experiences of scams or traumatic incidents due to carelessness and low situational awareness (e.g., experiencing a hazardous situation due to forgetting to turn off electrical appliances or the stove), as well as higher psychological distress. In contrast, frequency of negative news consumption was not associated with any of these outcomes, except psychological distress, and even then only weakly. This study suggests that, in the context of negative news consumption, usage frequency and problematic consumption may not always be associated with the same outcomes or with equal strength. Moreover, when negative news consumption becomes problematic, outcomes beyond well-/ill-being may be observed, such as weakened capacities to identify, evaluate, and respond to emergencies and everyday challenges.