One sleepless night in April, I stumbled upon a hilarious and embarrassingly accurate cartoon while scrolling through my news feeds. It started out innocently enough: The first two panels showed an image of a woman climbing into bed, seemingly on track to a peaceful slumber. But the third and final panel showed her lying in bed surrounded by flames, wearing an expression of horror as she looked at her phone through bulging eyes. "DOOM SCROLL TIL DAWN" was scrawled across the top.
The cartoon, by Tommy Siegel, illustrates what has become a reality for many people during the pandemic. Although my bed was flame-free, I, too, was lying there, eyes wide, staring at my screen - despite my better judgment and good intentions.