Media ePortfolio
Mental health consequences of COVID-19 media coverage
In the academic journal "Mental health consequences of COVID-19 media coverage: the need for effective crisis communication practices," authors Zhaohui Su, Dean McDonnell, and others explain how different types of COVID-19 coverage, including infodemics, can affect people's mental health. They also discuss more effective types of crisis communication. Mental health is worsened by the pandemic itself (without media influence), through social distancing, limited access to mental health services, and the unknown associated with COVID-19. The media just adds to all of that.
The journal mentions the effects of balanced, fair coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. While balanced and truthful COVID-19 media coverage is good, it can still cause mental health issues just because of the ongoing coverage and severity of the topic at large. The journal explains that negative news in general can lead to mild or severe mental health issues for consumers. The journal describes what the effects of biased media coverage are, saying “When news is biased and misleading, the adverse effects of COVID-19 media coverage on personal and population health and well-being could be more pronounced” (Su et. al). A whopping 84% of misinformation distributed through legacy media (meaning traditional media- television, radio, newspapers) wasn’t fact checked before reaching the public.
Additionally, some of the references to COVID-19 are completely inappropriate. References to the China virus, kung flu, ect. are false and dishonest. The journal says “Directly associating a group of people, nation, and entire race to a virus will inevitably evoke substantial mental health concerns among those targeted” (Su et. al). The false and dishonest information spread online is a part of the infodemic. The journal states “The infodemic that promoted the ingestion of disinfectant to utilize its ‘health benefits’ had direct physical and mental health implications to a number of individuals” (Su et. all). Zu and other authors state that credible information tailored to the public’s needs and wants can actually put people at ease rather than fearful. If we enact more of a people-centered crisis communication strategy, people will be less fearful, and have better mental health. This information wouldn't be constantly running, it wouldn't be fear-mongering, and it wouldn't be biased, which are all traits of traditional COVID-19 coverage.
The mediator role of communication about COVID-19 on the relationship between exaggeration of media and generated fear
In this academic journal, the authors Aysen Berberoglu and Asim Dinler created a study, aimed at finding out the relationship between the generated fear and exaggeration of the media about the pandemic, and whether communication from health professionals, family and friends mediates this relationship. Berberoglu and Dinler explain that when media sources include their comments and opinions, this can increase fear in the public. A lot of people have a tough time separating fact from opinion when consuming media. News media should make it more clear when they are talking about fact versus their own opinions.
A lot of COVID-19 coverage included visuals. Many graphic videos and pictures spread around social media, depicting sick people and dead bodies, which generated fear and uneasiness. The authors explain that from a study done in South Africa, “10-20% of participants reported potent experiences of anxiety, fear, and 'thinking too much' as a result of the pandemic” (Berberoglu and Dinler). Their own study was done in North Cyprus, to find the correlation of fear and media about the COVID-19 pandemic. 98 respondents participated in the study, all residents of North Cyprus. From what the researchers found, generated fear and exaggeration of media had a correlation score of .539 out of 1. Also, they found that “the proportion of total effect of exaggeration of media on generated fear that operates indirectly is found to be 63%” (Berberoglu and Dinler).
The media around COVID-19 has definitely been exaggerated in many circumstances, either one way or the other. Some media says that you still shouldn't leave your house or go outside. Some media says that COVID-19 is just as bad as the flu, and all the measures we're taking against it are unnecessary. I have seen both of these kinds of posts on my social media. However, there is some good news that came from this study. The researchers found that the correlation of exaggeration of media and generated fear can be mediated greatly by communication from health professionals, friends, and family. These are people that you should trust the most anyway.
The media and their informative role
In this academic journal titled "The Media and their Informative Role in the Face of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Validation of Fear Perception and Magnitude of the Issue (MED-COVID-19)," authors Christian R. Mejia, Dayana Ticona, and others conducted a study that measured the fear perception and magnitude of the issue in the face of COVID-19 pandemic. Using many different types of validation methods, such as KMO coefficients, they found that the results were credible and statistically significant.
The study showed that a significant percentage of participants felt more scared about COVID-19 because of social media. I can attest to this with my own experience. I have to say, I do love social media, but sometimes it can be a bit much. Once the pandemic started, all I started to see on my Instagram was posts about COVID-19. It could be graphs and statistics, which were helpful but annoying once I saw them over and over. It could also be people's opinions though, which I didn't enjoy. Lots of people went on rants, yelling at people for not taking COVID-19 seriously. While I mostly agreed, some of these rants were a bit aggressive. I also kept seeing maps of the United States and its COVID-19 spread. This did make me fearful, because everyday the U.S. would be more covered in red spots to indicate COVID-19. I saw my part of Massachusetts becoming redder and redder. Also, I kept seeing that people with diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, were considered high risk. My mom has type 1 diabetes, so this scared me as well. I think there was a point where posting on social media went from helpful to exasperating.
From this study, the researchers also found that people thought television and media were exaggerating the issue. I remember seeing COVID-19 coverage on TV, and it would never end. Any time of day, that was all that was talked about. You couldn't escape it. Fortunately though, the study also found that there were a lower percentage of people that felt scared because of communication with their physicians. This proved that information from actual health professionals is more effective and less harmful than information that doesn’t come from professionals. Combining all of these factors, the study proved the exaggeration of the media, generated fear, and communication from health professionals, family, and friends had a 75.6% correlation. Overall the study found that “many people often seek information from non-medical sources, local television, or from other means that are not prepared to give news… which generates not only disinformation as well as can even provoke panic, fear, and collective hysteria” (Mejia et. al). The researchers also gave their thoughts on studies for the future, saying “in this regard, future studies should evaluate which sector of the population is the most exposed to fear related to false or inappropriate news" (Mejia et. al).