College - Author 1

College of Liberal Arts

Department - Author 1

Communication Studies Department

Degree Name - Author 1

BA in Communication Studies

Date

6-2026

Primary Advisor

Bethany Conway, College of Liberal Arts, Communication Studies Department

Abstract/Summary

This study examines the doomscrolling habits Generation Z’s and its effects on individuals’ awareness of algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) presence on social media feeds. The experiment was conducted via a survey embedded experiment, through which participants self-reported their social media habits, awareness of how their social media algorithms shape their thinking, and ability to discern and productively interact with AI content on their feeds. The survey embedded experiment was created and distributed via Qualtrics, and data was analyzed via IBM SPSS 25. Results indicated that doomscrolling and spending excessive amounts of time on social media daily does not necessarily lead to reduced AI discernment and algorithmic awareness, and that young people are conscious of their digital behavior but largely uninterested in changing their digital habits. Future research could explore the effects of doomscrolling on young people’s perceptions of reality and investigate how doomscrolling affects the quality of interpersonal relationships in a generation reliant on technology to mediate communication.

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