Teens who can trust news on social media feel less stressed, a study led by Cornell University shows. The researchers surveyed almost 170 adolescents and young adults from the USA and Great Britain early in the course of the corona pandemic. Those who saw and trusted COVID-19 information on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok more felt stronger and less stressed. According to lead researcher Adam Hoffman, media literacy is a key factor in assessing content . Details can be found in “PLOS ONE”.

Coping strategies

At the beginning of 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, so-called doomscrolling, the compulsive reading of bad news, emerged. Many teens also escaped the perceived stress through targeted “news avoidance”, avoiding bad news. The virus that causes COVID-19 has also been the subject of rampant misinformation , labeled an infodemic by the World Health Organization. Under these conditions, the researchers surveyed 168 young people who took part in an after-school program in science, technology, mechanical engineering and mathematics. The focus was on the use of Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.

These are the most popular platforms for sharing news. However, each of these providers has also been criticized for spreading misinformation. The ethnically diverse participants were between 14 and 23 years old at the time of the study. The average age of the young people was 17 years. The scientists wanted to know how often they came into contact with information about COVID-19 and how much they trusted it. Well-being in the areas of emotional, psychological and social areas was also determined.

Just not too much news

Average exposure to COVID-19 news a few times per week had no impact on well-being or was considered mildly positive. The researchers suggest that this type of contact may have made young people feel more informed about the virus and global events. They probably googled even if the news was negative or depressing. Trust in the news proved to be a crucial factor in this relationship. Higher levels of trust led to better social well-being and feelings of being informed, connected and part of a community.

Source: press release , Cornell University


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