News avoidance during the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with better mental well-being

[butterscotch]

Maybe stating the obvious here, but people who avoided the news during covid-10 showed slightly better mental well-being.

Caveat: this was a study done in the middle of 2020.

A series of two longitudinal studies published in Digital Journalism revealed that while online and offline news consumption increased during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, so did news avoidance – including news about the pandemic.

The researchers explored two theories. Uncertainty reduction theory would argue that in times of crisis, people attempt to reduce their uncertainty and negative emotions by seeking information in an attempt to learn more about the presenting issue; consulting news media would likely be the first course of action. Media dependency theory would suggest that in complex societies, people heavily rely on mass media over interpersonal relationships when searching for information – which may be particularly likely during times of societal lockdown. However, with an oversaturation of news outlets in the media landscape, people may opt for alternative channels to stay informed and tune out of mass media.

News avoidance during the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with better mental...

Have you tuned out of the news on covid-19 or do you watch it faithfully?

[Bratti]

I’ never watched the news and still don’t.

[Omah]

A total of 2,257 participants were recruited from the Netherlands, a country that adopted more lenient COVID-19 policies at the beginning of the pandemic, and where trust in news was relatively high in 2020.

The authors note a few limitations. First, the study provides a snapshot of April to June 2020, and thus, cannot speak to how news behavior evolved as the pandemic developed. Second, the study only focused on the Netherlands. While the researchers observed news behavior trends comparable to that of the United Kingdom, they note these findings may not extend to all countries. Lastly, number of deaths and preventive measures greatly varied between countries, which could potentially influence the news consumption behavior of a given national population.

IMO, the “limitations” of the “study” undermine its’ credibility considerably …

[butterscotch]

@Omah

IMO, the “limitations” of the “study” undermine its’ credibility considerably …

Maybe, but that can be said of any study. I’ve seen a huge number of studies on covid last year. All of them had limitations that could be said to limit their conclusion.

In the beginning of the pandemic, I was researching the news all the time. I knew all the studies and all the statistics. Then this summer, I stopped watching. I felt somewhat calmer. For some people, it might give them a sense of control to know exactly what’s going on, but even then, I think it’s like watching scary movies every day.

[Omah]

@butterscotch

Maybe, but that can be said of any study. I’ve seen a huge number of studies on covid last year. All of them had limitations that could be said to limit their conclusion.

But the one you quote is particularly limited in its’s scope, and out-of-date, too. In the UK, the pandemic’s about to get worse.

[butterscotch]

@Omah

But the one you quote is particularly limited in its’s scope, and out-of-date, too. In the UK, the pandemic’s about to get worse.

You sort of just proved the point. You’re already projecting that covid will get worse. Projecting is a source of anxiety. No one knows the future.

You may say that if you don’t know what’s coming, you can’t prepare for it. But there’s probably a thousand things that could kill you that you’re not keeping track of as carefully as this.

I’m not arguing that you, or anyone, should stop watching the news about covid, but it’s probably true that if someone isn’t watching it, they’re calmer than someone who is.

[Omah]

@butterscotch

You sort of just proved the point. You’re already projecting that covid will get worse. Projecting is a source of anxiety. No one knows the future.

In the UK, if you can read a graph then you can see what’s coming.

Cases

## People tested positive

Latest data provided on 21 October 2021

Daily

52,009

You may say that if you don’t know what’s coming, you can’t prepare for it. But there’s probably a thousand things that could kill you that you’re not keeping track of as carefully as this.

Here in the UK, we are experiencing exponential growth in the number of recorded cases of COVID - currently 52,000 in the last 24 hours - if maintained, that’s at least 1,500,000 a month. Death from COVID is no longer a major threat in the UK (thanks to vaccination), incapacity is.

I’m not arguing that you, or anyone, should stop watching the news about covid, but it’s probably true that if someone isn’t watching it, they’re calmer than someone who is.

It’s probably not.

[butterscotch]

@Omah

In the UK, if you can read a graph then you can see what’s coming.

The people who are not watching the news are not seeing the graph.

[Omah]

@butterscotch

@Omah

In the UK, if you can read a graph then you can see what’s coming.

The people who are not watching the news are not seeing the graph.

I’m not watching the news - I’m visiting a government website - but I could be reading a newspaper or talking to friends, neighbours, colleagues, acquaintances, people in a queue - strangely enough, in the UK, it’s a major topic of conversation.

[butterscotch]

@Omah

it’s a major topic of conversation.

There are some people who are avoiding it. Those are the people in the study who are feeling better mental health-wise.

[Omah]

To get back to the study. It took place last year in the Netherlands. Even now, the Netherlands is one of the least COVID-affected countries in Europe - 2,000,000 cases, 18,000 deaths. The UK is the worst - 9,000,000 cases, 150,000 dead. The USA is the worst in the world - 46,000,000 cases, 750,000 dead:

COVID Live Update: 243,273,624 Cases and 4,945,287 Deaths from the Coronavirus...

In the USA, people didn’t listen to the news, they listened to President Donald Trump, who told then that COVID was harmless:

Trump Falsely Claims ‘99 Percent’ of Virus Cases Are ‘Totally Harmless’...

Any study needs to look at the worst affected countries as well as the least affected.

[butterscotch]

@Omah

In the USA, people didn’t listen to the news, they listened to President Donald Trump, who told then that COVID was harmless:

This isn’t quite true, but it’s unrelated.

@Omah

Any study needs to look at the worst affected countries as well as the least affected.

That’s not what the study was about. The study was about whether you’d be calmer if you weren’t focusing on a problem. The problem existing and how much of it exists isn’t what they were studying.

[Omah]

@butterscotch

@Omah

In the USA, people didn’t listen to the news, they listened to President Donald Trump, who told then that COVID was harmless:

This isn’t quite true, but it’s unrelated.

@Omah

Any study needs to look at the worst affected countries as well as the least affected.

That’s not what the study was about. The study was about whether you’d be calmer if you weren’t focusing on a problem. The problem existing and how much of it exists isn’t what they were studying.

You believe what you want to believe - I believe otherwise …

[spitfire]

Never understood what was the yardstick for good Mental Well-being?