In:
European Psychologist, Hogrefe Publishing Group, Vol. 26, No. 4 ( 2021-10), p. 373-386
Abstract:
Abstract. This cross-national study investigated the extent of social media use (SMU) as a source of information about COVID-19, and its relationship with the experienced burden caused by the pandemic. Representative data from eight countries (France, Germany, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the UK, the USA) were collected online (end of May to the beginning of June 2020). Of the overall 8,302 participants, 48.1% frequently used social media (SM) as a COVID-19 information source (range: 31.8% in Germany, to 65.4% in Poland). In the overall samples and in all country-specific samples, regression analyses revealed the experienced burden caused by COVID-19 to be positively associated with SMU and stress symptoms. Furthermore, stress symptoms partly mediated the relationship between SMU and the burden. The results emphasize the significant association between the use of SM as a source of information, individual emotional state, and behavior during the pandemic, as well as the significance of conscious and accurate use of SM specifically during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1016-9040
,
1878-531X
DOI:
10.1027/1016-9040/a000452
Language:
English
Publisher:
Hogrefe Publishing Group
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1238521-9
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2090869-6
SSG:
5,2
