Full transcript
0:06Hello. This is 6 Minute
0:08English from BBC Learning
0:09English. I'm Sam.
0:10And I'm Neil.
0:11Have you heard the expression
0:13doomscrolling, Neil?
0:14It's when people spend a lot
0:16of time reading, or 'scrolling',
0:19a mobile phone or computer screen
0:21in order to read negative
0:22news stories – stories full of doom.
0:25I hate to admit it,
0:27but I do sometimes doomscroll.
0:29Well don't feel too bad,
0:30Neil, because you're
0:31not alone. Research from
0:33the University of California
0:34found that people all over
0:36the world doomscroll,
0:37regardless of culture.
0:39What's more, there may
0:41even be evolutionary reasons
0:42why we're attracted to bad news.
0:44In this programme, we'll be
0:46investigating why we feel
0:47compelled to look at,
0:49and even seek out,
0:50bad news. And, as usual,
0:53we'll be learning some
0:54new vocabulary, as well.
0:55But before that I have
0:57a question for you, Neil.
0:58Doomscrolling is a very modern
1:00idea which is only possible
1:02with the 24/7, non-stop cycle
1:04of news reporting.
1:05So, according to international
1:07news agency, Reuters,
1:09what has been the top
1:10global news story of 2023
1:12so far? Is it:
1:14a) The war in Ukraine?
1:16b) Increasing prices and inflation?,
1:18or, c) Prince Harry's autobiography?
1:21I think the answer is
1:23an issue that's affecting
1:25everyone – inflation.
1:26OK, Neil. I'll reveal
1:28the answer at the end
1:29of the programme.
1:29Now, it might be true
1:31that the non-stop news cycle
1:33makes doomscrolling possible,
1:34but that doesn't explain
1:35why we do it. Anthropologist
1:38Ella al-Shamahi thinks the answer
1:40may lie in human evolution.
1:42Here she outlines the problem
1:44for BBC Radio 4 programme,
1:46Why Do We Do That?
1:47We go searching out for
1:49bad news, looking for things
1:51that will make us feel ick
1:53inside. And so many of
1:55us do it. Is it a result
1:57of 24/7 doom on tap on our phones?
2:01Or, is it some kind of
2:03compulsion that comes
2:04from somewhere way, way back?
2:07Reading bad news stories
2:09makes us feel ick –
2:10an informal American phrase
2:12which means feel sick,
2:13often because of something
2:15disgusting or disturbing.
2:16It's a feeling caused by the
2:18fact that, thanks to the internet,
2:20now we have the news on tap
2:22– easily available so that
2:24you can have as much of
2:25it as you want,
2:26whenever you want.
2:27But Ella thinks that's
2:29not the whole story.
2:30There's another theory:
2:31way back in human history,
2:33when we lived in caves,
2:34it seemed everything could kill us,
2:37from wild animals to eating
2:39the wrong mushroom. Knowing
2:41what the dangers were, and
2:42how to avoid them, was vital
2:44to our survival, and from
2:46an evolutionary perspective,
2:48survival is everything.
2:50As a result, we humans naturally
2:52pay attention to the negative stuff,
2:55something Ella calls 'negativity bias'.
2:58But while cavemen only
3:00knew what was happening in
3:01their local area, nowadays
3:03we know the bad news from
3:05all over the world.
3:06Here's Ella again, discussing
3:08this with her friend,
3:09TV presenter, Clara Amfo,
3:11for BBC Radio 4 programme,
3:13Why Do We Do That?
3:15Before it would be like,
3:16I don't know, I'm assuming
3:17you'd go to the neighbour's
3:18cave and they'd only know...
3:20the bad news from...
3:21that particular mountain.
3:22Whereas now, it's like,
3:24'Let me tell you about the
3:26really bad information and
3:27situation that's going on
3:29in some island somewhere...'.
3:30It's just the good news
3:31doesn't make up for it...
3:33It really doesn't, and I think
3:35trauma's romanticised, really.
3:37'What doesn't kill you
3:38makes you stronger',
3:40'this is a test'.
3:41I think we're conditioned to
3:43believe that negative experiences
3:45shape us more than joyous ones.
3:47Reading bad news from
3:48around the world can depress us,
3:50and Ella thinks that the
3:52little good news we do hear
3:53doesn't make up for the
3:55depressing news. To make up
3:57for something means to compensate
3:59for something bad with
4:00something good.
4:01Good news is hard
4:03to find. In fact,
4:04Clara thinks society has
4:06romanticised bad, traumatic news.
4:08If you romanticise something,
4:10you talk about it in a way
4:12that makes it sound better
4:14than it really is.
4:15Connected to this is
4:17the saying, 'What doesn't
4:18kill you makes you stronger',
4:19meaning that by going through
4:21difficult experiences in life,
4:23people build up strength
4:25and resilience for the future.
4:26Maybe it's best to stop doomscrolling
4:29altogether, but with so
4:31much bad news pouring
4:32into our mobile phones
4:33every day, it's not easy.
4:34OK, it's time to reveal
4:36the answer to my question,
4:37Neil. I asked you what
4:40news agency, Reuters,
4:41considers the top news
4:42story of 2023 so far.
4:44And I guessed it
4:46was b) inflation.
4:47Which was... the correct answer,
4:49although there's still
4:50plenty of time for 2023
4:52to bring us more doom,
4:53hopefully along with a little
4:55positivity too.
4:57OK, let's recap the vocabulary
4:59we've learned from this
5:00programme about doomscrolling
5:01– spending lots of time
5:03reading bad news stories
5:05on your phone.
5:05Feeling ick is American
5:07slang for feeling sick,
5:09often because of something
5:10disgusting or disturbing.
5:12When something is on tap,
5:14it's easily available
5:15so that you can have
5:16of much of it as you want.
5:17The phrasal verb to make
5:19up for something means
5:20to compensate for something
5:22bad with something good.
5:24When we romanticise something,
5:26we make it sound better
5:27than it is.
5:28And finally, the saying
5:30'what doesn't kill you
5:31makes you stronger' means
5:33that by going through difficult
5:34life experiences, people
5:36build up strength for
5:37the future.
5:38Once again our
5:39six minutes are up,
5:40but if doomscrolling's not
5:42for you, remember you
5:43can find lots of positive
5:45news stories to build
5:46your vocabulary here at
5:486 Minute English.
5:48Don’t forget that
5:49there is more to BBC Learning
5:51English than 6 Minute English.
5:53Why not try to improve
5:55your vocabulary through the
5:56language in news headlines.
5:58Try the News Review video
5:59on our website or download
6:01the podcast.
6:02But that's bye
6:03for now! Bye!