scholarly journals The relationship between social media context awareness and active coping during COVID-19: the mediation effect of positive reframing

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 534-543
Author(s):  
Dana Rad ◽  
Gavril Rad

Awareness of the context of social media is identified as an emerging technical capacity relating to the awareness of the social digital community in which a particular experience takes place, realizing the impact on the observer of the perceived social media context, rationalizing the process of social media information undergoing and owning trust for acting on social media. This investigation is an explorative research, analyzing data form 403 Romanian respondents in an online survey, regarding the psychological effect of the imposed social isolation, over respondent’s coping mechanisms. We used the Brief-COPE to determine efficient and inadequate ways to deal with adverse situations and the 4 items SMCA social media context awareness scale. The hypothesis is that the association between social media context awareness (SMCA) and active coping (AC) is mediated by positive reframing (PR), as a potential enhancer of active coping under prolonged social isolation periods over the general population. The standardized indirect effect found was (.11) × (.37) =.04, supporting the mediation hypothesis, suggesting that rather than a direct causal relationship be-tween the SMCA and the AC, our mediation model proposes that SMCA influences the PF mediator variable, which in turn influences the dependent variable AC. Social media context awareness along with positive reframing as a mediator, in a stressful situation, are enhancers of an active coping mechanism.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (04) ◽  
pp. 166-173
Author(s):  
S. Benzahra ◽  
◽  
S. Belbachir ◽  
A. Ouanass ◽  
◽  
...  

Background: The coronavirus infection is pandemic emerging infectious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. This pandemic has had serious social and economic consequences due to the confinment and curfew applied in various countries around the world. The psychosocial responses to this pandemic are variable and depend on the coping strategies of each individual which can mitigate and moderate the impact of these psychosocial responses. Objective: To identify the different coping strategies implemented by the Moroccan population. Methods: We conducted an online survey from April 23 to May 23, 2020, through a questionnaire published on social networks using Google Forms. The assessment of coping strategies was carried out through the Brief Cope scale. Results: 404 individuals participated in the study. The mean age was 36.86 years, 65.6% were female, 14.1% had a psychiatric history, 28% had a medical-surgical history and 30.2% had a substance use disorder. Study participants showed a maximum level acceptance as a strategy of adaptation (6.22 ± 1.69) followed by positive reframing (5.72 ± 1.71) then religion (5.45 ± 1.8). The least used strategies were substance use (2.29 ± 0.91) and denial (3.05 ± 1.42). Problem-focused coping was more used in our sample (4.34 +/- 1.22) compared to emotion-focused coping (4.21 +/- 0.64). Conclusions: The pandemic of Covid-19 had a significant negative impact on the mental health of populations including the Moroccan. The most frequently adopted coping strategies are acceptance, positive reframing, and religion. Psychological support remains necessary in order to safeguard mental health in the face of stressful situations.


Author(s):  
Cong Liu ◽  
Yi Liu

The rapid spread and high death rates of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in massive panic and anxiety all over the world. People rely heavily on media for information-seeking during the period of social isolation. This study aimed to explore the relationship between media exposure and anxiety, and highlighted the underlying mechanisms mediated by the media vicarious traumatization effect. A total of 1118 Chinese citizens participated in the online survey, who were from 30 provinces in mainland China. Results showed that all four types of media (official media, commercial media, social media, and overseas media) cause vicarious traumatization to their audiences to different degrees. It was also found that the impact of media exposure on anxiety was mediated by media vicarious traumatization: there were full mediation effects for commercial media exposure and overseas media exposure, while there were indirect-only mediation effects for official media exposure and social media exposure. Audiences staying in cities with a relatively severe pandemic were more susceptible to the vicarious traumatization caused by commercial media compared to those staying in Hubei. This study expanded the concept and application of vicarious traumatization to the mediated context, and the findings provided insightful advice to media practitioners in the face of major crisis.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tser Yieth Chen ◽  
Tsai Lien Yeh ◽  
Fang Yu Lee

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between Internet celebrity characteristics and the follower's impulse purchase behavior in YouTuber. Attachment and parasocial interaction are mediating variables concerning the impact of Internet celebrity characteristics on followers' impulse purchase behavior.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted an online survey of YouTube users in Taiwan and utilized quota sampling with 500 samples to examine the influence of two types of Internet celebrities on impulse purchase behavior.FindingsAs to the empirical results, the main path indicated that the self-disclosure Internet celebrity positively affected the attachment, which mainly positively affected the impulse purchase behavior. The second path showed that the expertise-knowledge Internet celebrity positively affected the attachment, which positively affected the impulse purchase behavior.Practical implicationsYouTube marketers should proceed prudently with the market segmentation and choose the appropriate type of Internet celebrities who are suitable for the product image to differentiate marketing. Empirical results can aid marketers in selecting a product-endorser, and enhance consumers' purchasing effect on product advertisements in interactive marketing.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study is to explore the mediation effect of the impact of Internet celebrity characteristics on followers' impulse purchase behavior in interactive marketing. The explaining mechanism of attachment and parasocial interaction is promised to be highlighted as the contribution of this study to the extant literature. This study constructs a theoretical mechanism between attachment theory and parasocial interaction theory and then can be used as a theoretical lens for designing successful social media strategies and explaining social media brand relationships.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. e043397
Author(s):  
Austen El-Osta ◽  
Aos Alaa ◽  
Iman Webber ◽  
Eva Riboli Sasco ◽  
Emmanouil Bagkeris ◽  
...  

ObjectiveInvestigate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on feelings of loneliness and social isolation in parents of school-age children.DesignCross-sectional online survey of parents of primary and secondary school-age children.SettingCommunity setting.Participants1214 parents of school-age children in the UK.MethodsAn online survey explored the impact of lockdown on the mental health of parents with school-age children, and in particular about feelings of social isolation and loneliness. Associations between the UCLA Three-Item Loneliness Scale (UCLATILS), the Direct Measure of Loneliness (DMOL) and the characteristics of the study participants were assessed using ordinal logistic regression models.Main outcome measuresSelf-reported measures of social isolation and loneliness using UCLATILS and DMOL.ResultsHalf of respondents felt they lacked companionship, 45% had feelings of being left out, 58% felt isolated and 46% felt lonely during the first 100 days of lockdown. The factors that were associated with higher levels of loneliness on UCLATILS were female gender, parenting a child with special needs, lack of a dedicated space for distance learning, disruption of sleep patterns and low levels of physical activity during the lockdown. Factors associated with a higher DMOL were female gender, single parenting, parenting a child with special needs, unemployment, low physical activity, lack of a dedicated study space and disruption of sleep patterns during the lockdown.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 lockdown has increased feelings of social isolation and loneliness among parents of school-age children. The sustained adoption of two modifiable health-seeking lifestyle behaviours (increased levels of physical activity and the maintenance of good sleep hygiene practices) wmay help reduce feelings of social isolation and loneliness during lockdown.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Abouzid ◽  
◽  
Dina M. El-Sherif ◽  
Nael Kamel Eltewacy ◽  
Nesrine Ben Hadj Dahman ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has affected health and lifestyle behaviors of people globally. This project aims to identify the impact of COVID-19 on lifestyle behavior of individuals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region during confinement. Methods We conducted an online survey in 17 countries (Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Yemen, Syria, Palestine, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, Iraq, and Sudan) from the MENA region on August and September 2020. The questionnaire included self-reported information on lifestyle behaviors, including physical activity, eating habits, smoking, watching television, social media use and sleep before and during the pandemic. Logistic regression was performed to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on lifestyle behaviors. Results A total of 5896 participants were included in the final analysis and 62.8% were females. The BMI of the participants was 25.4 ± 5.8 kg/m2. Around 38.4% of the participants stopped practicing any physical activities during the confinement (P < 0.001), and 57.1% reported spending more than 2 h on social media (P < 0.001). There were no significant changes in smoking habits. Also, 30.9% reported an improvement in their eating habits compared with 24.8% reported worsening of their eating habits. Fast-food consumption decreased significantly in 48.8% of the study population. This direct/indirect exposure to COVID-19 was associated with an increased consumption of carbohydrates (OR = 1.09; 95% CI = 1.02–1.17; P = 0.01), egg (OR = 1.08; 95% CI = 1.02–1.16; P = 0.01), sugar (OR = 1.09; 95% CI = 1.02–1.16; P = 0.02), meat, and poultry (OR = 1.13; 95% CI = 1.06–1.20; P < 0.01). There was also associated increase in hours spent on watching television (OR = 1.07; 95% CI = 1.02–1.12; P < 0.01) and social media (OR = 1.09; 95% CI = 1.01–1.18; P = 0.03). However, our results showed a reduction in sleeping hours among those exposed to COVID-19 infection (OR = 0.85; 95% CI = 0.77–0.94; P < 0.01). Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in food consumption and sedentary life. Being exposed to COVID-19 by direct infection or through an infected household is a significant predictor of amplifying these changes. Public health interventions are needed to address healthy lifestyle behaviors during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.


Author(s):  
Vaishali Shanmugam

BACKGROUND: COVID -19 pandemic is a very stressful situation for doctors, who face the risk of infection in daily life. Coping is the process by which a person deals with stressful situations or demands. Identifying the coping strategies of our medical professionals will help us to understand their coping styles and to deliver effective interventions to enhance their mental well-being. METHODS: An online survey form with socio-demographic profile and BRIEF COPE tool for assessing different coping strategies was sent to interns, residents, and teaching faculty. The coping strategies were divided into emotion-based, problem-based, and dysfunctional coping, and spearman's correlation was done to determine any correlation between sociodemographic variables and the coping strategies. RESULTS: A total of 84 valid and complete responses were included in the study. There is a variable distribution of mean scores for problem-focused, emotion-focused, and dysfunctional strategies. Age and marital status had a positive correlation with problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies meaning that older adults and married people used these strategies predominantly. Higher designation used problem-focused coping predominantly. Dysfunctional coping strategies had no correlation with any of the sociodemographic variables. CONCLUSION: Sociodemographic factors affecting the coping mechanisms in medical professionals differ from those of the general population seen in previous studies. Within the group of medical professionals, those with higher age, higher designation and married had predominantly adaptive strategies. Interventions targetting maladaptive components of emotion-focused strategies and dysfunctional strategies should be aimed at a younger age group, unmarried people, interns, and residents among the medical professionals to better cope with this COVID scenario.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serena Petrocchi ◽  
Annalisa Levante ◽  
Federica Bianco ◽  
Ilaria Castelli ◽  
Flavia Lecciso

The present study focused on the psychological impact that the lockdown due to coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) had on families in Italy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Italian government imposed a strict lockdown for all citizens. People were forced to stay at home, and the length of the lockdown was uncertain. Previous studies analyzed the impact of social distance measures on individuals' mental health, whereas few studies have examined the interplay between the adults' functioning, as parents, during this period and the association with the child's adjustment. The present study tested if maternal distress/coping predicts children's behaviors during the COVID-19 lockdown, hypothesizing a mediation effect via children's emotional experience. Participants were 144 mothers (Mage = 39.3, 25–52, SD = 5.6) with children aged 5–10 years (Mage = 7.54, SD = 1.6, 82 boys); mothers answered to an online survey. Results indicated that mothers with higher exposure to COVID-19 showed higher levels of distress and higher display of coping attitudes, even if in the structural equation modeling model, the COVID-19 exposure was not a predictor of mothers' distress. Compared with mothers with good coping skills, mothers with higher stress levels were more likely to attribute negative emotions to their children at the expense of their positive emotions. Moreover, children's emotions acted as mediators between maternal distress/coping and children's adaptive/maladaptive behaviors. In conclusion, it is important to support parents during pandemic emergence, by providing them with adequate information to manage the relationship with their children, to reduce their level of distress and to enhance their coping abilities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Evelina Francisco ◽  
Nadira Fardos ◽  
Aakash Bhatt ◽  
Gulhan Bizel

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting stay-at-home orders have disrupted all aspects of life globally, most notably our relationship with the internet and social media platforms. People are online more than ever before, working and attending school from home and socializing with friends and family via video conferencing. Marketers and brands have been forced to adapt to a new normal and, as a result, have shifted their brand communication and marketing mix to digital approaches. Hence, this study aims to examine the shift of influencer marketing on Instagram during this period and the possible future implications. By employing an online survey for exploratory research, individuals answered questions addressing their perceptions about the impact of the pandemic, brands and influencers&rsquo; relationship, and the overall changes made in marketing strategy.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Gligor ◽  
Sıddık Bozkurt

Purpose The concept of agility has been applied to several domains to help firms develop the capability to quickly adjust their operations to cope and thrive in environments characterized by frequent changes. Despite the soaring number of social media users and the benefits associated with agility in other domains, the application of agility in a social media context has yet to be explored. Further, little is known about how agility in a social media context impacts desirable customer-related attributes, such as customer engagement and customer-based brand equity (CBBE). This paper aims to address this gap by adapting the construct to social media (i.e. perceived social media agility) and exploring its impact on customer engagement and CBBE. Design/methodology/approach This paper conducted an online survey with 200 adult subjects. This paper used multivariate regression analyzes to empirically test a scale for perceived social media agility and explore its impact on CBBE and customer engagement, along with the moderating role of customer change-seeking behavior. Findings The study results show that perceived social media agility directly and indirectly (through customer engagement) positively influences CBBE. Also, results show that the positive impact of perceived social media agility on CBBE is further magnified for customers high on change-seeking. However, customer change-seeking does not affect the strength or direction of the impact of perceived social media agility on customer engagement. Originality/value This paper contributes to social media literature by adapting and testing a measurement scale for the construct of perceived social media agility and exploring its role in enhancing customer engagement and CBBE.


Kybernetes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongming Wu ◽  
Junjun Zheng

PurposeDrawing on the stress and coping theory, conservation of resources (COR) theory and social role theory, this study aims to investigate the impact of social media overload on knowledge withholding behavior and examine the gender differences in social media overload, engendering knowledge withholding.Design/methodology/approachBy hiring a professional online survey company, this study collected valid responses from 325 general social media users. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, bootstrapping method and multi-group analysis were used to test the proposed theoretical model.FindingsThe empirical results reveal that three types of social media overload positively affect users' knowledge withholding behavior and that emotional exhaustion significantly mediates the above relationships. The multi-group analysis demonstrates that gender differences do exist in the decision-making process of knowledge withholding; for example, females are more likely than males to become emotionally exhausted from social media overload, while males are more likely than females to engage in knowledge withholding behavior in the case of emotional exhaustion.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by examining the relationship between social media overload and knowledge withholding, verifying the mediating role of emotional exhaustion as the key mechanism linking them, and narrowing the research gap of lacking gender differences research in knowledge withholding literature.


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