Effects Of Media Consumption Research Articles

Influence of government communication on risk perception. An analysis based on the context of the sixth wave of Covid-19 in Madrid

Risk theorists have frequently discussed the discursive construction of risk perception. In particular, the effect of media consumption on increasing the subjective perception of risk has been highlighted. Not much is known about how government communication affects citizens’ impressions and attitudes in this area, something that this research seeks to address. During the sixth wave of Covid-19, triggered by the emergence of the Omicron variant, government discourse shifted from initial concern to what has become known as the “influenzaisation” paradigm, an attempt to normalise the disease. Based on the results of a survey carried out in January 2022 amongst 664 citizens of the Community of Madrid, we sought to demonstrate, using binary logistic regression (BLR) models, to what extent the degree to which the citizens of Madrid internalised the government’s thesis of “influenzaisation” was related to a lower perception of risk. Similarly, the aim is to show whether agreement with the “influenzaisation” thesis also favoured positions that were less inclined to restrictions, so that government communication succeeded in reducing the social demand for measures. Finally, the study evaluates the predictive character of ideology on levels of risk perception and attitudes towards restrictive measures. The findings indicate that acceptance of the “influenzaisation” story led to a lower perception of risk and, as a consequence, reduced support for restrictive measures among those most exposed to this thesis. The discursive articulation of risk in government communication becomes a central element of crisis management and the strategic formulation of “risk de-escalation” or “post-risk” messages.

Psychological Aspects of Media Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from Healthcare and Pharmacy Specialists in Lithuania.

In the setting of disasters, people seek information as they hope that knowledge will provide security. This makes the media a critical source of crisis exposure. The aim of the study described in this article was to analyze COVID-19 pandemic-related psychological aspects of media use by healthcare and pharmacy workers in Lithuania and to reveal the subjective effects of media consumption on their psychological well-being. 967 healthcare workers and pharmacists in Lithuania completed an electronic survey, which consisted of questions about the changes in well-being experienced since the beginning of the lockdown and media use in the search for information on COVID-19. It was found that communication might have ambiguous effects on psychological well-being. Excessive, unreliable, misleading, contradictory information and “catastrophizing” were subjectively related to impaired psychological well-being. Objective and reliable, relevant, clear, timely, hopeful and supportive information had a subjective positive effect. Seeking COVID-19-related information many times a day was associated with increased fear of becoming infected with COVID-19, feeling unable to control the risk of contracting COVID-19, fear of infecting relatives with COVID-19 and feeling that other people would avoid interaction with healthcare workers and pharmacists because of their job. General browsing was not consistently associated with COVID-19-related fears.

The Differential Impact of Lockdown Measures Upon Migrant and Female Psychiatric Patients - A Cross-Sectional Survey in a Psychiatric Hospital in Berlin, Germany.

The COVID-19 pandemic could have major effects on already vulnerable individuals with psychiatric disorders. It is important to assess how different patient groups respond to stress related to the pandemic, and what additional factors influence it, including family-related stress, migration background, and sex. We conducted a survey in a sample of 294 psychiatric patients in a large outpatient clinic in Berlin, measuring level of distress in relation to COVID-19 lockdown as well as family-related distress. We also measured potential influencing factors such as media consumption and medical support. In the migration background group, we found that women had more lockdown related psychological distress than men. This was not apparent in those patients with a German background. We found that females were more strongly affected by family-related distress, particularly those with a migration background. People with PTSD were most strongly affected by family-related distress, whereas people with psychotic disorders and addiction reported the least distress. There were no effects of media consumption. There were no differences in ability to abide by the lockdown related restrictions across diagnoses. Our results support earlier findings on differential vulnerability of diagnostic groups to these stressors. Thus, clinicians can optimize treatment by taking family-related stressors into account particularly for females and people with a migrant background.

Chinese Perceptions of Threats from the United States and Japan

People's threat perceptions play a role in influencing foreign policies towards perceived adversary countries. Earlier research has identified multiple components shaping mass‐level threat perceptions including military power, adversary country's perceived intentions, and national identities. On the individual level, education, use of media, and interest in politics have been shown to influence threat perceptions. However, most studies on perceptions of security threats fail to include both contextual and individual‐level explanatory factors and to consider that different national threats may be constructed differently. This research bridges formation of threat perceptions on the individual level to wider societal processes and provides an empirical perspective to understanding threat perceptions among the educated section of the Chinese population. To analyze threat perceptions, students from leading Chinese universities (N = 771) took part in a survey in the autumn of 2011 and spring of 2012. Respondents who followed conventional media were more likely to perceive both the United States and Japan as threatening, and the effect of media consumption was particularly strong with regards to perceived threat from Japan. In addition, each threat perception was significantly associated with threat‐specific explanatory factors. Potential explanatory factors of threat perceptions were explored with linear regression models.

Differential Learning in Communication Networks. Interpersonal Communication Moderating Influences of News Media Usage on Political Knowledge

This article explores how interpersonal political communication moderates the effect of news media usage on political knowledge; discussant heterogeneity, and expertise are further contingent factors. Using data from the Comparative National Elections Project, these interactive relationships are investigated in East and West Germany around the 1990 election in a comparative manner. The learning effects of media consumption are both reinforced and attenuated by frequent discussions: Reevaluating media content induces both clarity and confusion. And it is not simply that more interpersonal communication matters. Heterogeneous discussions (which provide information on the “other side” and contribute to a broad understanding of the political landscape) and political experts (who offer high-quality information) are most conductive to learning from media sources.

Media Use, Gender, and African American College Attendance: The Cosby Effect

African American youth spend more time with media than other groups, thereby enhancing media contributions to their values and behavior. Most research focuses on negative effects of media consumption on Black viewers through racial stereotyping. We examined pro-social effects of Black media content positively depicting black colleges (HBCUs) on Black students' college choice. Through an empirical survey of 265 HBCU students we tested relationships between viewing Black media content and needs associated with college choice, demographics, and reliance on social networks.Stepwise regressions showed The Cosby Show and A Different World made significant contributions to females' HBCU choices. Feature films made significant contributions to males' choices. In college choice, males were more social network reliant, females were more media reliant. Results show need to consider pro social effects in media and race research, and examine impact of gender and digital viewing on media contributions to youths' values and behavior.

Loud and Clear: Effects of Homogenous and Extreme Partisan Media Diets

Though the explosion of cable television and talk-radio programming allows individuals to select opinionated media from only one side of the political spectrum, most Americans consume a mix of programming, with varying degrees of bias across the ideological spectrum. Research on partisan media typically evaluates the independent effects of likeminded, crosscutting and neutral exposure in isolation, yet the effects of media consumption likely depend on an individual's overall media diet in aggregate. The ambiguity of theoretical approaches regarding mixed media diets suggests the need for empirical research. One line of reasoning predicts that slanted diets will generate more extreme attitudes and greater participation than evenhanded diets, while a second line of reasoning predicts the opposite. We test the effects of media diet composition on issue attitudes and campaign participation using the 2008 National Annenberg Election Survey (NAES). To do so, we construct of novel measure of the relative balance of each respondent's media diet based on questions about their consumption of 73 different entertainment and news programs. Within-subjects and matching analyses indicate that slanted media diets increase campaign participation, but not issue polarization. This article provides a theoretical and empirical basis for future research on the political effects of real-world media consumption.

Mediennutzung von Kindern und Jugendlichen: Stellenwert für Schule, Familie und Freizeit

The 2005 KFN schools survey allows us to analyse two widely controversial hypotheses concerning the effects of media consumption: a) Excessive media consumption has a negative impact on school performance. b) There is a connection between the exposure to violent media content and violent behaviour. In our survey of 6,000 fourth graders, there was evidence not only of clear gender differences regarding access to and use of media equipment, but also of strong regional variance in media access and use, and of different patterns relative to parents' educational backgrounds. Following bivariate confirmation that extensive time watching television and playing computer games and intensive use of inappropriate media formats go hand in hand with poor school performance, the findings are further validated by means of a multivariate structural equation model. Using the data of 17.000 ninth graders, we show in the second part of this article how the consumption of violent media formats - especially the use of violent computer and video games - impacts on adolescent's violent behaviour. Finally, the article presents a number of conclusions that can be drawn from these findings.