scholarly journals At home and online during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationship to alcohol consumption in a national sample of U.S. adults

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0259947
Author(s):  
Karen G. Chartier ◽  
Jeanine P. D. Guidry ◽  
Catherine A. Lee ◽  
Thomas D. Buckley

Introduction The current study aimed to understand the links between social media use and alcohol consumption during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method Data were from the national Understanding American Study, a probability-based Internet panel weighted to represent the U.S. population. Subjects (N = 5874; 51% female) were adults, 18 years and older, who completed a March survey (wave 1) and a follow-up survey one month later (wave 3). Analyses assessed the relationships of social media use at wave 1 with wave 3 alcohol use frequency, accounting for wave 1 alcohol use frequency and the sociodemographic characteristics of the sample. Two alcohol use change variables were also assessed as outcomes–increased and decreased alcohol use between waves. We considered the effect of work status changes (working/studying from home and job loss) as potential moderators. Results Twitter and Instagram users and users of multiple social media platforms, but not Facebook users, drank more frequently at wave 3. The results were similar when assessing relationships between social media use and increased alcohol use between waves. For Instagram users, more frequent alcohol use at wave 3 was at least partially attributed to drinking frequency at wave 1. Additionally, working/studying from home at wave 3 and employment (rather than job loss) were associated with greater consumption. The interaction effect between Twitter use and working/studying from home was statistically significant in association with alcohol use frequency at wave 3, as was the interaction effect between using multiple platforms and working/studying from home in association with decreased alcohol use between waves. Discussion Exposure to content about COVID-19 and increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic may have contributed to more frequent alcohol use for some social media users. The study of public health messaging via social media to change alcohol use behaviors during traumatic events is warranted.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen G Chartier ◽  
Jeanine P.D. Guidry ◽  
Catherine A. Lee

Objective: The current study seeks to understand the links between social media use and alcohol consumption during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Data were from the national Understanding American Study, a probability-based Internet panel weighted to represent the U.S. population. Subjects (N=5874; 51% female) were adults, 18 years and older, who completed a March survey (wave 1) and a follow-up survey one month later (wave 3). Analyses assessed the relationship of social media use at wave 1 with wave 3 alcohol use, accounting for wave 1 alcohol use and the socio-demographic characteristics of the sample. We examined the effect of working or studying from home as a moderator. Results: Twitter and Instagram users, but not Facebook users, drank more frequently at wave 3 than non-users. For Instagram users, more frequent alcohol use at wave 3 was at least partially attributed to the frequency of drinking at wave 1. The interaction between Twitter use and working or studying from home was statistically significant. The combination of being on Twitter and working or studying from home was associated with drinking more days a week. Conclusions: Exposure to content about COVID-19 and increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic may contribute to more frequent alcohol use for some social media users, especially those sheltering at home. The study of public health messaging via social media to change alcohol use behaviors during traumatic events is warranted.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thabo J van Woudenberg ◽  
Roy Hendrikx ◽  
Moniek Buijzen ◽  
Julia CM van Weert ◽  
Bas van den Putte ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Although emerging adults play a role in the spread of COVID-19, they are less likely to develop severe symptoms after infection. Emerging adults’ relatively high use of social media as source of information raises concerns regarding COVID-19 related behavioral compliance (i.e., physical distancing) in this age group. OBJECTIVE Therefore, the current study investigated physical distancing in emerging adults in comparison to older adults and looked at the role of using social media for COVID-19 news and information in this regard. In addition, this study explored the relation between physical distancing and different social media platforms and sources. METHODS Secondary data of a large-scale national longitudinal survey (N = 123,848, 34.% male) between April and November 2020 were used. Participants indicated, ranging for one to eight waves, how often they were successful in keeping 1.5 meters distance on a 7-point Likert scale. Participants between 18 and 24 years old were considered young adults and older participants were identified as older adults. Also, a dummy variable was created to indicate per wave whether participants used social media for COVID-19 news and information. A subset received follow-up questions asking participants to indicate which platforms they have used and what sources of news and information they had seen on social media. All preregistered hypotheses were tested with Linear Mixed-Effects Models and Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models. RESULTS Emerging adults reported less physical distancing behaviors than older adults (b = -.08, t(86213.83) = -26.79, p < .001). Also, emerging adults were more likely to use social media for COVID-19 news and information (b = 2.48, SE = .11, Wald = 23.66, p = <.001), which mediated the association with physical distancing, but only to a small extend (indirect effect: b = -0.03, 95% CI = [-0.04; -0.02]). Opposed to our hypothesis, the longitudinal Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model showed no evidence that physical distancing was predicted by social media use of the previous wave. However, we did find evidence that using social media affected subsequent physical distancing behavior. Moreover, additional analyses showed that most social media platforms (i.e., YouTube, Facebook and Instagram) and interpersonal communication showed negative associations with physical distancing while others platforms (i.e. LinkedIn and Twitter) and Governmental messages showed no to a slightly positive associations with physical distancing. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, we should be vigilant for physical distancing of emerging adults, but this study give no reason the to worry about the role of social media for COVID-19 news and information. However, as some social media platforms and sources showed negative associations, future studies should more carefully look into these factors to better understand the associations between social media use for news and information, and behavioral interventions in times of crisis.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Lohmann ◽  
Emilio Zagheni

Social media have become a near-ubiquitous part of our lives. The growing concern that their use may alter our well-being has been met with elusive scientific evidence. Existing literature often simplifies social media use as a homogeneous process. In reality, social media use and functions vary widely depending on platform and demographic characteristics of users, and there may be qualitative differences between using few versus many different social media platforms. Using data from the General Social Survey, an underanalyzed data source for this purpose, we characterize intensive social media users and examine how differential platform use impacts well-being. We document substantial heterogeneity in the demography of users and show that intensive users tend to be young, female, more likely to be Black than Hispanic, from high SES backgrounds, from more religious backgrounds, and from families with migration background, compared to both non-users and moderate users. The intensity of social media use seemed largely unrelated to well-being in both unadjusted models and in propensity-score models that adjusted for selection bias and demographic factors. Among middle-aged and older adults, however, intensive social media use may be slightly associated with depressive symptoms. Our findings indicate that although mediums of communication have changed with the advent of social media, these new mediums are not necessarily detrimental to well-being.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mezna A. AlMarzooqi

Background: Social media became an integral part of the lives of people because it encourages social relations and shares interests, activities, and real-life connections. As quarantine and lockdown orders are prolonged, many people, as well as those physically active individuals, typically responded to this stressful condition by using social media platforms.Objective: This study aimed to examine the level of physical activity of physically active individuals and their attitudes toward social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among physically active individuals in Saudi Arabia between June 2020 and July 2020. An online survey was employed among eligible participants who completed a self-administered questionnaire that covered reasons for physical activity and attitudes toward social media platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic.Results: Of these 323 participants, 29.1% were in the age group of 18–24 years, 66.6% were women, and 67.8% were single. The proportion of participants whose metabolic equivalent of tasks-min/week from vigorous activity &lt;1,680 was 31.9%, and all of the participants follow people or pages in social media related to sports teams and fitness models. The average number of hours spent on social media per day was 2.95 ± 0.90 h. The majority of the participants showed positive attitudes toward social media used for exercise and physical activity. Of the eight variables, age, level of physical activity, and the average of hours spent on social media emerged as significant predictors of attitudes toward the use of social media (P &lt; 0.05).Conclusions: The present survey results indicate adverse consequences of home quarantine as reflected by a small proportion of participants who had differences in levels of vigorous activities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Social media appears to be a key avenue to promote and disseminate health interventions to promote physical activity during this COVID-19 pandemic.


2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-230
Author(s):  
Kim Eun Yi

This study examines how the use of different types of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, affects public participation, drawing on the theory of motivation, which addresses the effect of internal and external political efficacy as well as the perceived political importance of social media. The study also investigates the interaction effect between social media use and perceived the political importance of social media on public participation. Employing a comparative perspective on an issue that has not been well studied, the study further seeks to discover potential variations in the impacts of different social media on public participation in the United States and Korea, both of which held presidential elections at the end of 2012. This study conducted hierarchical multiple regression analyses using data collected from college students in the United States and Korea. It shows the positive impact of social media use and its interaction effect with the perceived political importance of social media on the offline and online public participation of youth. The political motivational factor is found to be critical to driving public participation. This study also shows that the impact of Facebook use is more influential than Twitter use on public participation in the United States, whereas the opposite pattern is observed in Korea.


Author(s):  
Katharine Jones ◽  
Mark S. Glynn

Children's use of social media affects their interactions with consumer brands. Because children's social media use is a part of people's increasing use of social platforms to communicate and share content with each other, it is important to understand how children are using such platforms as sources of market-related information. This is because children's socialisation as consumers depends upon their accessing a range of market-related information sources, and social media platforms are envisaged to facilitate such access. Children's interactions with consumer brands are governed by interaction processes, and such processes shape the relationships that children may form with brands. Understanding these interaction processes will provide insights for parents, educators, and business marketers seeking information as to how the next generation of consumers use social media for market-related activities.


Author(s):  
Vittoria Franchina ◽  
Mariek Vanden Abeele ◽  
Antonius van Rooij ◽  
Gianluca Lo Coco ◽  
Lieven De Marez

Fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) refers to feelings of anxiety that arise from the realization that you may be missing out on rewarding experiences that others are having. FOMO can be identified as an intra-personal trait that drives people to stay up to date of what other people are doing, among others on social media platforms. Drawing from the findings of a large-scale survey study among 2663 Flemish teenagers, this study explores the relationships between FOMO, social media use, problematic social media use (PSMU) and phubbing behavior. In line with our expectations, FOMO was a positive predictor of both how frequently teenagers use several social media platforms and of how many platforms they actively use. FOMO was a stronger predictor of the use of social media platforms that are more private (e.g., Facebook, Snapchat) than platforms that are more public in nature (e.g., Twitter, Youtube). FOMO predicted phubbing behavior both directly and indirectly via its relationship with PSMU. These findings support extant research that points towards FOMO as a factor explaining teenagers’ social media use.


2016 ◽  
Vol 78 (4-4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlita Mat Yusof ◽  
Zuraini Ismail ◽  
Nor Zairah Ab. Rahim ◽  
Wardah Zainal Abidin ◽  
Ganthan Narayana Samy

 In the realm of technology development, open innovation paradigm and social media have both acquired massive attention in extensive researches since past several years. Social media, as the key medium has abundant to offer to support open innovation, thus successful innovation is the key to business rapid growth. This research provides a systematic literature review to identify, classify and summarize the factors of open innovation and social media use towards informatics reporting. Informatics reporting through this dynamic channel have been realized by many organizations nowadays, nonetheless greater number still confine with the traditional reports and are not ready to have linkage with social media platforms. Social media has been absolutely recognized as a powerful communication resource to engage stakeholders in virtual community. Hence, the result from the review suggests that there were six factors impacted open innovation and social media use towards informatics reporting, with transparency being the dominant factor. Eventually, these findings may ease the process of developing a model for open innovation paradigm implementing online platforms in organizations informatics reporting. All in all, this research shall assist organizations to plan and strategize the implementation of open innovation in social media platform for the advantage of their succeeding triumph.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-199
Author(s):  
Agnes Kovacs ◽  
Tamas Doczi ◽  
Dunja Antunovic

The Olympic Games are among the most followed events in the world, so athletes who participate there are exceptionally interesting for the media. This research investigated Olympians’ social media use, sport journalists’ attitudes about Olympians’ social media use, and the role of social media in the relationship between Olympians and sport journalists in Hungary. The findings suggest that most Hungarian Olympians do not think that being on social media is an exceptionally key issue in their life, and a significant portion of them do not have public social media pages. However, sport journalists would like to see more information about athletes on social media platforms. The Hungarian case offers not only a general understanding of the athlete–journalist relationship, and the role of social media in it, but also insight into the specific features of the phenomenon in a state-supported, hybrid sport economy.


Societies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Hruska ◽  
Petra Maresova

Social media has evolved over the last decade to become an important driver for acquiring and spreading information in different domains such as business, entertainment, crisis management, and politics. The increasing popularity of social media raises a number of questions regarding why we use it so much and what aspects influence this activity. What about gender? What about education, income, age or social status? This paper answers some of these questions using statistical analyses and by dividing overall social media use into selected social media, i.e., Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Twitter. The analysis used a dataset that contains information related to 2002 respondents from the U.S. and their social media activity. The results show that people with high household incomes and high education use social media the most. As age increases, social media use decreases, while bigger household income means that social media are used more. Overall, understanding where and at what frequency users are on social media can be a key competitive advantage. When using social networks correctly for marketing, companies can significantly improve their brand awareness, customer satisfaction, quality, reach, and profit.


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