Untitled

{"id":157,"date":"2022-09-12T19:43:56","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T00:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/?p=157"},"modified":"2022-09-12T20:20:29","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T01:20:29","slug":"the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/","title":{"rendered":"The Spirituality of Doomscrolling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<\/head>

Like most people over a certain age, I remember being anxiously glued to CNN all day on September 11th, 2001, and for most of the week after. It wasn\u2019t the first time I\u2019d kept cable news on, keeping an ear out for an ongoing story, but something was different this time: the sense that I needed to keep vigil, that something bad might happen again if I stopped watching. Underneath my vigilance was a strange mix of anger and fear\u2014fight and<\/em> flight.<\/p>\n\n\n

Photo: \u00a9 oh_debby (Flickr) \/ cc-by.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

After 9\/11 and its aftermath moved off the front page, I found that I started looking at other crises with the same attitude of unhealthy vigilance I\u2019d directed towards it. By the end of the decade I\u2019d gotten rid of my TV and switched over to news web sites, and then to social media, but my fundamental relationship with the news hasn\u2019t really changed since then. Several times I\u2019ve deleted Twitter because I\u2019d get hooked in and emotionally exhaust myself, then I\u2019d feel guilty about insulating myself from the problems of the world and set my account back up again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whenever I\u2019m given access to Twitter or start checking a news site, I get into the habit of doomscrolling. It\u2019s not pleasant. It\u2019s not productive. It\u2019s also not unusual. So why do we do it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psychological answers to that question are valid, but they\u2019re not the only<\/em> answers. I\u2019d like to focus on the spiritual and valuational question: What are we trying to accomplish when we\u2019re doomscrolling? From talking to other people who share this unfortunate habit, I think it usually boils down to two positive, and otherwise noble, motives:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drive for solidarity<\/a>, grounded in an empathic need to feel other people\u2019s pain with them ; and<\/li>The search for hope<\/a>, an effort to keep searching for the silver lining after we\u2019ve encountered something that tempts us to despair. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll have a lot to say about these two themes over the coming weeks. In the shorter term, Katharine Lang\u2019s \u201cHow to Have a Healthy Relationship with the News\u201d<\/a> (Medical News Today) has some helpful tips for managing your doomscrolling habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d like to develop gentler news-consumption habits, you may also be interested in my recent post<\/a> on Herminia Ibarra\u2019s framing of the cycle of transition, three steps you can take to begin implementing a sustainable change within your own life. One way of beginning this process this might be to take Lang\u2019s advice to swear off your usual news sources and social media entirely for three or four days (I\u2019d recommend a full week if you can do it), which would be the first step in the cycle of transition (separation<\/strong>) and a good way of determining how media consumption is affecting your life.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What if our addiction to negative media consumption is based on our need for solidarity and hope?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4777,"featured_media":172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Spirituality of Doomscrolling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What if our addiction to negative media consumption is based on our need for solidarity and hope?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Spirituality of Doomscrolling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What if our addiction to negative media consumption is based on our need for solidarity and hope?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Human Encounter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/tomhead1978\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-13T00:43:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-13T01:20:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1576\/2022\/09\/img_1446.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tom Head\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tom Head\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/\",\"name\":\"The Spirituality of Doomscrolling\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-13T00:43:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-13T01:20:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/#\/schema\/person\/ee5f45bcb76730f4eed0fe75b62adced\"},\"description\":\"What if our addiction to negative media consumption is based on our need for solidarity and hope?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Spirituality of Doomscrolling\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/\",\"name\":\"Human Encounter\",\"description\":\"Tom Head\u2019s column Human Encounter explores the practice of 21st-century chaplaincy, both professionally and in our day to day lives.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/#\/schema\/person\/ee5f45bcb76730f4eed0fe75b62adced\",\"name\":\"Tom Head\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/836944bd8d6ca1fffcfd842dd091fe09?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/836944bd8d6ca1fffcfd842dd091fe09?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tom Head\"},\"description\":\"Tom Head, Ph.D., is a community chaplain primarily serving at-risk communities in Jackson, Mississippi. He is author or co-author of more than three dozen books on a wide range of topics, including World History 101 (Adams Media\/Simon & Schuster), The Absolute Beginner\u2019s Guide to the Bible (Que\/Pearson), and Conversations with Carl Sagan (University Press of Mississippi). He is currently a third-year Master of Divinity student at St. Joseph\u2019s College of Maine and pursuing his second unit of clinical pastoral education (CPE) through Sankofa CPE Center. He and his wife are active Catholics and pursuing formation as Secular Discalced Carmelites.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/tomhead.net\",\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/tomhead1978\",\"https:\/\/linkedin.com\/in\/tomheadlovesyou\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/author\/thead\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Spirituality of Doomscrolling","description":"What if our addiction to negative media consumption is based on our need for solidarity and hope?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Spirituality of Doomscrolling","og_description":"What if our addiction to negative media consumption is based on our need for solidarity and hope?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/","og_site_name":"Human Encounter","article_author":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/tomhead1978","article_published_time":"2022-09-13T00:43:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-09-13T01:20:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1576\/2022\/09\/img_1446.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tom Head","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tom Head","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/","name":"The Spirituality of Doomscrolling","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-09-13T00:43:56+00:00","dateModified":"2022-09-13T01:20:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/#\/schema\/person\/ee5f45bcb76730f4eed0fe75b62adced"},"description":"What if our addiction to negative media consumption is based on our need for solidarity and hope?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/2022\/09\/the-spirituality-of-doomscrolling\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Spirituality of Doomscrolling"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/","name":"Human Encounter","description":"Tom Head\u2019s column Human Encounter explores the practice of 21st-century chaplaincy, both professionally and in our day to day lives.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/#\/schema\/person\/ee5f45bcb76730f4eed0fe75b62adced","name":"Tom Head","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/836944bd8d6ca1fffcfd842dd091fe09?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/836944bd8d6ca1fffcfd842dd091fe09?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Tom Head"},"description":"Tom Head, Ph.D., is a community chaplain primarily serving at-risk communities in Jackson, Mississippi. He is author or co-author of more than three dozen books on a wide range of topics, including World History 101 (Adams Media\/Simon & Schuster), The Absolute Beginner\u2019s Guide to the Bible (Que\/Pearson), and Conversations with Carl Sagan (University Press of Mississippi). He is currently a third-year Master of Divinity student at St. Joseph\u2019s College of Maine and pursuing his second unit of clinical pastoral education (CPE) through Sankofa CPE Center. He and his wife are active Catholics and pursuing formation as Secular Discalced Carmelites.","sameAs":["https:\/\/tomhead.net","https:\/\/facebook.com\/tomhead1978","https:\/\/linkedin.com\/in\/tomheadlovesyou"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/author\/thead\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4777"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/humanencounter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}