Sir Edward Burne-Jones:
Perseus and Andromeda, study for The Doom Fulfilled (1875)

"Dooming seems to inevitably become self-fulfilling."

As our economy slumps, one segment remains robust. The Doom Industry has been achieving new heights monthly, as each successive performance outstrips the previous. The market for handbaskets has likewise proven robust, with demand up and supplies reduced in each of the prior twelve months. Both the doomposting and doomscrolling segments of the industry have been thriving, thanks in no small part to our administration that continues to steadfastly—some suggest valiantly—refuse to properly administer even the smallest functions. No analyst needs to dig very deep to find reinforcing data. Every headline, as well as each obscure footnote, screams demise. If only we could tout such performance from the balance of our economies. Unfortunately, we cannot.

The Doom Industry grew in parallel with the internet. It relied upon vast networks of connected computers sharing rumors. Curiously, the net volume of information fell in each quarter following the introduction of the earliest social media applications, replaced by rumor and innuendo, each of which quickly proved much more popular and powerful than even the most truthful rendition of any actual action. Conservatives seemed most adroit at manipulating this emerging communication form, supposedly because their belief system had always relied upon the spreading of poisonous misinformation. From creation to salvation, conservative media became the masters first of what we now label Doomposting, and ultimately, went on to encourage and pretty much dominate Doomscrolling, too.

With Musk’s purchase and rebranding of Twitter into X, and the founding of the oppositely labeled Truth Social, a crude but remarkably effective conduit for fresh, unfounded conspiracy theories confounded less reactionary heads. Truth Social, owned by our very own inept incumbent, has become the de facto outlet for government pronouncements, even though few actually subscribe to it, and it repeatedly proves to achieve only insolvency. It persists on the thin gruel of cruel misstatement and ugly innuendo, and ranting that should properly convince any witness of the instability of their author, our hapless incumbent again. Only he could turn the government’s primary information conduit insolvent. At least he succeeds at something.

This underlying context, rooted in deliberate lying, intended for fun and profit but producing only insolvency, suddenly sets the tone for much of the entire internet communication industry. Glaringly false Truth Social posts encourage both supporting and digressive resonance across all social media platforms. People predict with ever-increasing vehemence the desperate need to stock up on handbaskets because it sure seems to almost every observer that we’re definitely bound for Hell for sure this time. This ever-increasing death rattle results in rattling more than the markets. It further encourages predictions of doom. I mean, the likelihood seems obvious. Generous interpretations of current events go more than begging; they essentially disappear from what passes for the airwaves.

Scrolling social media might at root be a value-neutral activity, neither a net positive nor negative influence, but sprinkle those streams with endless doomposting, and scrolling inevitably turns into doomscrolling, regardless of the intention when engaging. We seem to be trapped in a doom loop, where mere inquiry can send the strongest of us reeling. It’s become increasingly tough to find the pony in the internet’s stall, and many have been considering just throwing in the whole connected-to-each-other towel. It hardly seems worth it to expend our energy to even try to spread some joy when the very medium we employ has turned into a perennial killjoy. I claim to want to actively engage in Unscrolling, but I’d prefer my virtual world to feel safe to connect with others again, without doomsaying innuendos endlessly disrupting the attempted conversation. Dooming seems to inevitably become self-fulfilling.

©2026 by David A. Schmaltz - all rights reserved

Tags: #Unscrolling, #PureSchmaltz