“Doomscrolling and doomsurfing are new terms referring to the tendency to continue to surf or scroll through bad news, even though that news is saddening, disheartening, or depressing. Many people are finding themselves reading continuously bad news about COVID-19 without the ability to stop or step back.”

I was reading the blog of Austin Kleon who is a self-professed “writer who draws” and he posted these terms that came from Merriam Webster. His entry is a short one, simply saying, “Don’t do it! Take a walk instead.”

I know that it is difficult, but you need to take some time away from the news, no matter what station you watch or websites you traverse on the internet. It is all filled with negative, and if I  may say so, doomsday talk, not only about COVID, but the upcoming election and the racial strife spreading throughout the country.

What makes this entire situation more precarious is the simple fact that many of us have been cooped up in our houses for months and even though we can now go out, you really still can’t do anything. So what do we do? We grab our phones, open our laptops, and start inhaling the overwhelming negativity that the mainstream media calls “news.”

I, too am guilty of this.

So I agree with Mr. Kleon. Put the phone away, close the laptop, and get outside. Or listen to some music. As I am writing this I am listening to a Phish show from 1997. Here’s another stretch-read a book.

Although the physical effects of COVID are undoubtedly real and potentially deadly, so are the mental ones. Wallowing in all of this nonsense can’t be good for you.

Trust me. All of the negativity and hate will still be there when you get back.

HAPPY HIKING!!!