Doomscrolling and Mental Health Outcomes Among Young Adults: A Systematic Review

Background: Doomscrolling the compulsive, iterative engagement with negative or distressing online content beyond intended consumption thresholds has emerged as a clinically significant behavioral pattern among young adults globally. The period 2023–2026 saw the maturation of doomscrolling research, characterized by the adoption of validated psychometric instruments and theoretically grounded mechanistic studies. Objective: To systematically synthesize peer-reviewed quantitative evidence published between January 2023 and April 2026 on associations between doomscrolling and key mental health outcomes depression, anxiety, psychological distress, sleep disturbance, and subjective well-being in individuals aged 18–30 years. Methods: Searches were conducted across five databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL) following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Eligible studies measured doomscrolling with a validated instrument and reported mental health outcomes in young adults. Risk of bias was assessed with the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale and Cochrane RoB 2.0 tool. Results: Fourteen studies met inclusion criteria. Doomscrolling was significantly associated with depression (11/14 studies), anxiety (12/14), psychological distress (10/14), sleep disturbance (8/14), and reduced subjective well-being (10/14). Effect sizes were predominantly moderate (d = 0.28–0.55). Key mediating mechanisms were psychological distress, intolerance of uncertainty, and secondary traumatic stress; mindfulness capacity and psychological resilience moderated associations protectively. Conclusions: Converging evidence from 2023–2026 establishes doomscrolling as an independent, cross-culturally replicated predictor of mental health deterioration in young adults. Intolerance of uncertainty and mindfulness deficits emerge as priority intervention targets. Longitudinal and experimental research remains essential for establishing causality.