Jay Van Bavel argues doomerism paralyzes rather than mobilizes action
A Guardian essay examines why catastrophic warnings may backfire, creating helplessness instead of urgency.
What to know
- Overwhelming people with catastrophic warnings can trigger psychological helplessness rather than motivate action, creating a 'self-fulfilling prophecy' of inaction.
- Fear-based messaging only works when it includes a credible sense that change is still possible; without efficacy, audiences tune out like 'the boy who cried wolf.'
- The modern information ecosystem reinforces negativity through 'if it bleeds, it leads' journalism, amplifying doom narratives and risking audience paralysis on genuine crises.
Van Bavel's framing is correct: hope and efficacy are essential to motivate action; doom without solutions breeds paralysis.
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“If we want to motivate people in the face of dire threats, we must give them a reason to hope.”
Jay Van Bavel · The Guardian ↗
Offering hope without real structural change is empty pap; the problem is inaction despite awareness, not messaging strategy.
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“Give them some happy pap and hope they fucking get their act together to do something.”
bloodravenlib · Mastodon ↗
“When people hear messages designed to appeal to our fears, they can be moved to take action. But this only tends to work as a one-off, and only then when the messages convey a sense of efficacy – a belief that it's still possible to make a difference.”
Jay Van Bavel, Author, psychology expert · The Guardian ↗ · Oct 17
Jay Van Bavel Author, psychology expertJacob Coxon Former Anthropic researcher
The record 1 articles and posts · last 21 days
What people are saying 3 voices from 1 site · verbatim
- Oct 18
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# doomers "The problem with telling people the world is ending In the face of terrible crises, it can feel right to shock people into action. But what if that has the opposite effect? In 1947, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created an infamous magazine cover with a 'Doomsday Clock'. The hands move closer to midnight whenever events push…
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# SaveYouAClick : "If we want to motivate people in the face of dire threats, we must give them a reason to hope. Without that, we are destined to doomscroll while the world burns." Give them some happy pap and hope they fucking get their act together to do something. > The problem with telling people the world is ending https://www…
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https://www. theguardian.com/environment/20 26/oct/18/the-problem-with-telling-people-the-world-is-ending