Do you have a brighter outlook opening social media for the first (or 27th) time today, compared to a week ago? You aren’t the only one, and it’s inspired a whole new word.
Welcome to gleefreshing. It’s the opposite — and much happier sibling of — doomscrolling. Whether you use that word or not, you’ve likely been doomscrolling for weeks. It’s opening up Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or endless news pages with a sense of dread — but doing it anyway. You might be scrolling for minutes on end, only finding negative posts, friends arguing, or another depressing update from news sources. But you just. can’t. stop. That’s doomscrolling.
Gleefreshing, on the other hand, is the act of reloading social media and news sites with anticipation rather than dread for the first time in several months. As you might imagine, it started right after the announcement of a certain new President and VP-Elect.
The new word brought to you by the Slate writer Heather Schwedel, and it all started where so many tidbits of pop-culture do these days … on a Twitter feed:
It’s what happens when you click “play” on videos of people dancing in the streets of Philadelphia or can’t get enough of this video clip:
Have you or your friends shared their own celebrations over the past few days? Be sure to share them with us on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter pages!
Happy Monday, and Happy Gleefreshing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJYL4Osyipc