Doomscrolling It often begins with a simple intention: checking one headline before bed. A person opens a phone, reads one troubling update,...

Doomscrolling

It often begins with a simple intention: checking one headline before bed. A person opens a phone, reads one troubling update, then another, and soon twenty minutes have disappeared. This habit is now widely known as doomscrolling, which describes the compulsive act of consuming large amounts of negative news online. Because phones and social media make bad news instantly available, people can remain caught in a relentless stream of alarming stories long after they meant to stop.

One reason doomscrolling is difficult to resist is that negative information naturally attracts attention. People often feel that staying informed will help them stay safe or prepared, especially during periods of uncertainty. However, constant exposure does not always lead to understanding. Instead, repeated contact with disturbing content can amplify fear, tension, and emotional fatigue. What starts as an attempt to stay updated may gradually become a habit that leaves the reader less calm and less in control.

The effects are not only emotional. According to mental health guidance, doomscrolling can interfere with sleep, concentration, and daily routines. Someone who spends long periods absorbing upsetting updates may become distracted, overwhelmed, or unusually pessimistic about the world. In this sense, the problem is not news itself, but the unchecked way it is consumed in an information-suffused digital environment. Without limits, the habit may exacerbate stress rather than improve awareness.

For that reason, healthier news consumption requires more deliberate choices. People are advised to set boundaries around when and how they access the news, follow reliable sources, and take breaks when coverage becomes too intense. The goal is not to ignore serious events, but to remain informed without becoming trapped by them. In a world of endless updates, balance may be just as important as information.

[Adapted from Mental Health Foundation]

Question 23: Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 1 as a factor contributing to doomscrolling?

A. The availability of negative news via social media.

B. The initial intent to check a single news headline.

C. The lack of reliable news sources for phone users.

D. The difficulty of stopping after starting to read updates.

Question 24: The word “suffused” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to __________.

A. covered        B. filled        C. surrounded        D. coloured

Question 25: The word “compulsive” in paragraph 1 is OPPOSITE in meaning to __________.

A. routine        B. automatic        C. repeated        D. controlled

Question 26: The word "them" in paragraph 4 refers to __________.

A. boundaries        B. reliable sources        C. serious events        D. endless updates

Question 27: Which of the following best paraphrases the underlined sentence in paragraph 3?

A. People can improve their awareness of stress as long as they do not set any limits on their news habit.

B. Failing to control news consumption habits is likely to increase tension instead of enhancing understanding.

C. Although the habit of reading news leads to stress, it is still the best way to improve awareness when limits are absent.

D. Setting limits on news habits is necessary because improved awareness is often the primary cause of increased stress.

Question 28: According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE about the impact of news consumption?

A. Staying informed through constant exposure is the most effective way to understand global uncertainty.

B. Mental health guidance suggests that the content of the news itself is the primary cause of daily routine disruption.

C. A highly saturated digital environment can make the way news is consumed more problematic than the information itself.

D. Setting boundaries around news access is only necessary when one follows unreliable or fake sources.

Question 29: In which paragraph does the author discuss the psychological motivations that make doomscrolling a difficult habit to break?

A. Paragraph 1        B. Paragraph 2        C. Paragraph 3        D. Paragraph 4

Question 30: In which paragraph does the author mention specific practical strategies to maintain a healthy relationship with online information?

A. Paragraph 1        B. Paragraph 2        C. Paragraph 3        D. Paragraph 4