Written by Robert D. Brown, Ed.D.
Just recently, I came across a terrible news headline. Less than three weeks into the new year 2024, and there have already been three school shootings. I then saw an article explaining that home affordability is at an all-time low with only 15% of the homes in the country deemed affordable for an average household. I stopped scrolling. I imagined that if I kept scrolling, I would eventually come across news about the ongoing war in Gaza, news about the mudslinging Republican presidential debates, news about the increasing death rates brought on by the new COVID variant, and a barrage of more terrible news.
I want to stay informed. I want to know what is happening in the country and around the world. I teach college writing, and I want my students to also stay informed about world news. But I want to do all this in a way that protects my mental health.
Over the past several years, many articles have been written about the negative effects that constant internet connectivity has on our physical and mental health. This includes everything from disrupted sleep patterns, increased anxiety rates, decline in academic performance, increased memory loss, and increased anxiety brought on by constant social comparisons.
Although there are several pop culture articles on the trend of “doomscrolling” and its link to increased rates of anxiety, there is very little comprehensive research linking media consumption and serious trauma responses. (I do appreciate this study published a few months ago by Lamba et.al. exploring the relationship between secondary trauma and COVID news consumption, and also this research study conducted by Comstock and Platania in 2017 exploring media-induced secondary trauma in general.)
Unfortunately, the overuse of the popular term “doomscrolling” (and its inclusion in the Merriam-Webster dictionary back in 2020) has given it a pop culture trendiness that minimizes the detrimental effects it could have on a person who is already susceptible to severe trauma responses.
Many decades ago, researchers Beth Stamm and Charles Figley coined the phrase “secondary traumatic stress” to explain why therapists were exhibiting PTSD symptoms even though they had not endured traumatic events. A few years later, Laurie Pearlman and Karen Saakvitne coined the phrase “vicarious trauma” to describe a more pernicious form of indirect trauma experienced by those working in the helping professions.
Sometimes, these two concepts are used interchangeably because they both represent the residual effects of “absorbing” other people’s distress. But there is a subtle difference between secondary trauma and vicarious trauma. Secondary trauma refers to a more immediate trauma response that one may experience after observing or hearing about someone else’s traumatic event. Vicarious trauma refers to a more permanent and life-altering mindset that happens after prolonged exposure to second-hand traumatic events.
These terms are usually used in the helping professions in relation to therapists, doctors, social workers, and other professionals who work with distressed clients. However, I believe many of the same symptoms are showing up in all of us laypeople who are overexposed to terrible news. Our devices keep us constantly connected, and the act of scrolling and scrolling through social media feeds will ensure constant exposure to other people’s trauma.
A few years ago at the start of the pandemic, even though everyone remained locked inside their homes, many people talked about the heightened traumatic responses brought on by the overexposure to the news media stories of rising COVID death rates, the killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans, and the madness of the presidential election.
Many of us were traumatized even within the confines of our isolation.
The traumatic responses continue today because our scrolling continues today.
So what can be done about it?
We are all affected by the onslaught of information from television, radio, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and countless streams of mind-numbing entertainment. My suggestion is to go on a fast…a week-long media fast. (I got this idea from Kyle Eschenroeder’s blog post here.)
With the onslaught of information and media coming our way, it’s important to take regular breaks. If you want to take part in your own information fast, try following these rules. I will warn you: this information fast will be difficult for many of you because we have grown into a nation of consumers, and consumption of information is much easier than production.
Here are the rules for your weeklong information fast:
- No reading blogs.
- No reading newspapers, magazines, or any articles of any kind.
- No Facebook, Instagram, Reddit or any social media platform (not even to post anything.)
- No books or movies.
- No watching TV (no shows, no sports, no news, no TV period.)
- No listening to talk radio or podcasts.
- No information input of any kind…only output!
This is not a technology fast. It’s an information and media fast. So of course, you may still talk and text with family and friends to maintain your connections. A week-long information fast will be difficult, especially if you’re a constant reader like me. You will feel the need to read and learn something new. The idea is not to hate learning. Learning is an important thing for our lives. The point is to develop a better sense of discernment about what we choose to put into our minds.
An information fast has some great benefits. The first benefit is that you will generate more original ideas. (It is easier to hear your own ideas when you avoid stuffing your head with other people’s ideas.) The second benefit is that you will connect with family and friends a bit more. (In other words, you become more social when you avoid social media.) And finally, the biggest benefit is that you will become better at filtering the news later on when you return from your weeklong information fast. (You will start to look at information consumption from a different perspective.)
Please note: If you are experiencing domestic violence, intimate partner violence, gender based violence, please see our resources.