• Coelacanth@feddit.nu
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      1 year ago

      It’s generally when you’re stuck in a loop of reading negative posts/articles. I think the phenomenon comes from how when you read a negative article/piece of news you feel down, so you want to scroll further in the hopes of seeing something positive to lift your spirits. But then of course it’s only more negativity, and so you keep going. And the algorithms of Twitter/Facebook knows this, so they don’t tend to help you find something positive.

      • another_lemming@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Nothing positive is needed. It’s an outrage engine that keeps you involved by edging on the max level of disturbance you are comfortable to consume. Seeing, posting reactions, having likes enables you to keep it going.

        • Coelacanth@feddit.nu
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          1 year ago

          That’s fair, I don’t partake in that side of the web myself but when I get stuck in it it’s usually because I read something depressing and am scrolling desperately hoping for good news.

    • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      It’s been a thing for a while, basically just mindlessly scrolling for hours on end on a neverending feed

    • zeppo@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Covid era when many people had nothing to do, were more worried and anxious than usual, and the internet seemed full of concerning and bad news. The term has never meant that much to me personally. I’ve only regular scrolled.