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Used sporadically in pre-Covid times, the term “doomscrolling” has become instantly identifiable in a year dominated by the pandemic, lockdowns, and Trump tweets. And now it has earned the New Zealand seal of approval.
Always ready to embrace new trends, voters chose him from a long list of words, many of which emerged or stood out during the year.
“Bubble” ranked second in the public address website’s annual poll, ahead of #NZHellhole, a social media tag that was posted a day after outgoing US President Donald Trump said in August that the latest Covid-19 outbreak in the New Zealand community was out of control, despite the data showing otherwise.
Kiwis responded by posting jokes and pictures of beaches and mountains and sumptuous food. “Terrible day here at #NZHellhole,” wrote one user. “Nelson’s market was canceled, so I had to buy freshly baked bread and organic sausages from the farmers market.”
On a list heavily influenced by the pandemic, Covidiot, lockdown, go hard go early and Bloomfield made it to the top 10.
Last month, Dr. Ashley Bloomfield, the chief health officer, who featured the regular television updates of Covid-19, was nominated, but modestly withdrew, as television personality of the year along with primetime news anchors. However, he accepted a subpoena from the mayor of his hometown of Lower Hutt, and the highest accolade from the New Zealand Medical Association, the Chair Award.
While there’s nothing wrong with keeping up with the news, healthcare professionals warn that doomscrolling – the activity of scrolling through a feed to read articles about tragic or disastrous events – can affect mental health.
Public Address founder Russell Brown said the year had exhausted him so much that he was unable to complete his traditional mock press release announcing the results.
“There has just been too much 2020,” Brown told reporters, “and frankly, it has exhausted my sense of irony. I’m at a point where I can’t even do sarcasm, let alone satire. “
After his brief remarks, Brown apologized and said: “I just need to go and check the Swedish daily case numbers. Well, that and make sure Trump hasn’t made another completely depraved stunt since I checked an hour ago. There is probably also a new existential climate threat … “
