Bad Event Idea #664: Best of Doomscrolling
In September 2023, the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States, Merriam-Webster, recognized "doomscrolling" as an official word. Yet, three years prior, the Oxford English Dictionary named “doomscrolling” one of it's words of the year. Why did US word-watchers wait so long? I smell a conspiracy, a cover-up, or some fossilized dinosaur poop. (Coprolite. Aren’t dictionaries fun?)

Simply put, doomscrolling is binging on news or social media content about troubling things -- like a tragedy, crisis, or disaster. Of course, constantly consuming distressing news takes a toll on our health. The Best of Doomscrolling event will celebrate the great harm that comes from this pathological use of the internet. Sick, huh? That’s why this is a bad event idea. But the show must go on!

Guests at the event will doomsurf on a sea of negative stories and kvetch obsessively about the worst possible outcome of current events. The winner of the Best of Doomscrolling event will be the person who has made us all feel the most sad, stressed, or agitated. We all know a person like that. The fact is, you can't get PTSD if you are the traumatic event.