ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A new research paper to be published out of the University of New Mexico is focused on doomscrolling, news headlines and political polarization. 

“We feel very polarized,” said UNM Political Science Professor Jessica Feezell. “We don’t bump into people that are cross partisans as frequently as we used to, and when we’re online we select into very consistent, homogenous networks of like-minded people.” 

Beyond that, Feezell examined how people react to doomscrolling, the practice of consuming negative stories online. 

“In that paper, we do a sentiment analysis of headlines compared to the stories,” she said. “And if you live in that headline bubble, our study shows that it makes you feel a little bit more politically polarized. It makes you more liking of your political party, and more disliking of the other party.” 

Feezell said the article is usually not as negative as the headline might portray the story. However, Feezell was surprised to find no “measurable difference in the knowledge levels of people who are headline scrollers, compared to those who are more likely to click through to stories.” 

“So headlines can be informative, but they can also be somewhat alarming,” she said. 

Feezell encourages people to interact with others in real life, and not let social media timelines dictate how they feel about others. 

“It’s that lack of sort of interpersonal discussion that has really, I think, has damaged us in some ways,” she said. 

“We actually have a lot in common. And the news doesn’t highlight that. And the campaigns do not highlight that,” Feezell said. “You know, there’s nobody out there talking about where we have common ground and where we have high levels of agreement, because it is more attractive in an attention economy to highlight the things that are divisive and negative.”