Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Investigating Mental Health, COVID-19 Health Beliefs, and News Media Consumption in the United States Population in the Year 2020

This study examines the role of general news media consumption during COVID-19 in aggravating mental health and suicide risk in the US population. In a sample of U.S. adults ( N = 5,010), we investigated how mental health, COVID-19 health beliefs, and general news consumption influenced the odds of suicidal ideation using hierarchical logistic regression models. Both worsening mental health overall and specifically in regard to COVID-19 increased suicidal ideation. Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 infection did not increase suicidal ideation, yet higher levels of COVID-19 self-efficacy reduced suicidal ideation. Overall news consumption did not affect suicidal ideation, but media-specific post-hoc analyses revealed that TV news watching decreased suicidal ideation as much as high levels of COVID-19 self-efficacy decreased suicidal ideation. Furthermore, online news consumption increased suicidal ideation as much as worsening mental health overall increased suicidal ideation. Further implications are discussed.

Post-Sensationalism: Catastrophism and Fight Paradigm in Romanian On-Line Media

In traditional journalism, sensationalism was a characteristic of tabloid press. The main instruments used in sensationalistic headlines were bombastic epithets (awesome, amazing, greatest etc), and exaggerations used to increase the impact by curiosity. In the last decade, transformation with society and online media consumption behaviour have triggered a change of paradigm: we believe that we are facing a post-sensationalism media narrative, defined by catastrophism and the fight paradigm. In the context of a huge news feed overloaded with information, in the purpose of increasing the number of views of online media, the journalistic discourse has transformed radically and switched from informative to a more aggressive approach. The study shows that in Romania, the pursuit for clicks has generated a new discursive paradigm, a sort of post-sensationalism era, which we referred to as catastrophism and fight paradigm. This conclusion is based on quantitative and qualitative research that analysed Romanian online press headlines and content in approximately the same period of time both in 2018 and 2019. The research followed the frequency and context of usage of a few hashtags and keywords connected with our main concepts of concern: sensationalism, catastrophism, fight paradigm. In other words, we selected a few words that are, in our opinion, the most representative for the aforementioned concepts, and, with the use of professional instruments of press monitoring, we analysed their frequency and dynamics.

Does media slant polarize compliance with science-based public health recommendations? Effects of media consumption patterns on COVID-19 attitudes and behaviors in the United States

Has political polarization undermined the media’ informational role during the COVID-19 pandemic? Recent studies show that politicized reporting from conservative media discouraged compliance with COVID-19 guidelines in the U.S. However, greater attention to the 24-hour news cycle may make high-consumption viewers better factually informed regardless of the source. We examine how the extent of media consumption affects people’s emotions, attitudes, and behaviors toward the pandemic. With an online survey of 1128 respondents, we found a strong convergence in anxiety and health-protective behaviors in more avid media viewers regardless of media outlet while finding a divergence in attitudes toward specific mitigation strategies.

Cross-Lagged Analysis of COVID-19-Related Worry and Media Consumption in a Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Sample of Community Adults

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in an array of mental health problems. Previous research has shown that media exposure to stressful situations is often related to anxiety and stress. However, given that most existing work has used cross-sectional designs, less is known about the interplay of media exposure and worry as they unfold during sustained exposure to a collective stressor. The current study examined bidirectional associations between COVID-related worry and media consumption over a three-month period. Participants were 87 community adults, the majority of whom were recruited from communities heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For three consecutive months, participants asked to indicate how much time they spent worrying and consuming news about the COVID-19 pandemic on a scale from 1 (“never”) to 5 (“most of the day”). Cross-lagged analyses revealed that Pandemic Worry at Month 1 predicted increases in Pandemic Media Consumption at Month 2, which in turn predicted increases in Pandemic Worry at Month 3. Findings suggest that media consumption may be a maladaptive coping strategy that has the iatrogenic effect of increasing worry. Clarifying the causal associations between anxiety-perpetuating processes and media consumption may have important clinical implications for understanding and treating mental health during health pandemics.

TV versus Internet: How media consumption affects the approval of the authorities

The article considers the features of the Russians media consumption and their attitudes to political institutions (federal and regional). The survey of the population of the Republic of Mordovia aimed at finding correlations between the use of certain information channels, the level of trust in them, and the approval of the authorities. The study showed that the choice of traditional media (television, newspapers, magazines, radio) or new media (social networks, Internet websites, telegram channels) divides people into groups according to their political preferences. Traditional media (conditionally the TV party) tend to unite representatives of older cohorts living in rural areas and supporting the government. New media (conditionally the Internet party) tend to attract mainly young people living in cities, having a relatively high level of education and being critical of political institutions. The author believes that there is a potential for reconciliation of these two parties - in the communicative possibilities of personal connections (friends, relatives, acquaintances), because the close social circle seems to provide grounds for discussing the current situation in the country and the region. The results of the survey show a high level of distrust to all information channels and a low level of approval of the authorities. The situation is aggravated by the coronavirus crisis: skepticism about official information determined a significant number of rumors discrediting political institutions, which in the future may negatively affect election campaigns at all levels.

COVID-19 Related Media Consumption and Mental Health in Older Adults

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, consuming media was critical to identify precautionary behaviors to reduce the spread of the virus, particularly for older adults. Media consumption leads to heightened awareness, but may also negatively affect mental health. We examined whether non-social and social media consumption impacted anxiety and depression relative to pre-COVID-19 symptoms. We conducted an anonymous, cross-sectional survey in May and June 2020. Participants (n=1,168, 73.2 years, 56.8% women, 94.9% White), were asked to estimate their amount of time spent consuming pandemic-related media each day, and to report on anxiety and depressive symptoms both before and after the pandemic onset. We characterized change in anxiety and depression by subtracting scores on current anxiety and depressive symptoms from their recalled symptoms prior to the pandemic. Respondents with high pandemic-related media consumption (>3hrs) were more likely to have increased anxiety, compared to those with low (<1hr) media consumption (OR:1.57, 95%CI:1.09-2.23). Similarly, respondents with increased social media consumption during the pandemic were 64% more likely to have depression, compared to those who did not use social media. This association was bi-directional— those who reduced their social media use were 45% less likely to have depression and 26% less likely to have anxiety, compared to those who never used social media. Older adults consuming more pandemic-related media had increased anxiety. Increased social media consumption was associated with elevated depression symptoms. The potential benefits of media consumption about the COVID-19 pandemic may have unintended negative consequences on mental health.

Media Portrayals of Emerging and Older Adults during COVID-19: Perceptions of Bias Among College Students

This study explores media consumption and perceptions of media bias against both older adults and emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of a larger study, 99 students with a mean age of 20.54 (SD = 2.97) completed an online survey in early 2020. Individuals whose media consumption had increased were significantly more likely to report that young adults have been portrayed worse, and older adults better, since the start of COVID-19. Qualitative responses demonstrated broad awareness of ageist and adultist themes in media portrayals of both age groups, e.g., that young adults are careless and reckless whereas older adults are vulnerable and in need of protection. Results suggest that the media is perceived to be perpetuating age-related biases and may be enhancing intergenerational discord at a time when generational unity is needed.