Digital media as COVID-19 lifeline or stressor? An exploratory study on the perception of media usage under isolation

Authors

  • Carlos Mauricio Castaño Díaz Assistant professor, Aalborg University.
  • Mario Alejandro Alba Marrugo Assistant professor, Fundación Universitaria María Cano sede Medellín
  • Worawach Tungjitcharoen Assistant professor, Thammasat University
  • Nathaly Berrío García Research coordinator, Corporación Universitaria Empresarial Alexander Von Humboldt
  • Andreas Lieberoth Associate professor, Aarhus University. Danish School of Education and School of Culture and Society.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS18120242300

Abstract

To answer the question if Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) were benefiting or hindering the mental health of people undergoing isolation during the early pandemics of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), we inquired how people perceived the usage of five ICTs and their relationship with them. We addressed three hypotheses: there is a relationship between the increase in the use of specific ICTs during the isolation period due to COVID-19 and perception of positive psychological effects (H1), feelings of psychological discomfort (H2), and anxiety levels (H3). We found that using ICTs helped people feel less isolated and combat boredom. However, ICTs can cause psychological discomfort when people perceive they spend too much time using them or feel they cannot control their use. We also found that anxiety is related to how people perceive their relationship, with a positive media relationship linked to less anxiety and vice versa.

Downloads

Published

2024-03-29

How to Cite

Castaño Díaz, C. M., Alba Marrugo, M. A., Tungjitcharoen, W., Berrío García, N., & Lieberoth, A. (2024). Digital media as COVID-19 lifeline or stressor? An exploratory study on the perception of media usage under isolation. Observatorio (OBS*), 18(1). https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS18120242300

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 1 (2024)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Carlos Mauricio Castaño Díaz, Mario Alejandro Alba Marrugo, Worawach Tungjitcharoen, Nathaly Berrío García, Andreas Lieberoth Observatorio (OBS*) has an academic journal profile. As such, it is dedicated to the open exchange of its contents, and freely available to individuals and institutions without charge or formal permission. Copies of this journal or articles in this journal may be distributed for research or educational purposes free of charge and without permission. Authors will not be charged for publication or submission to this journal. Authors who publish in Observatorio (OBS*) will release their contributions under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-2.0 generic. This licence allows anyone to copy and distribute the article for non-commercial purposes provided that appropriate attribution is given - being the author the copyright holder. This journal utilizes the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. The publisher perpetually authorizes participants in the LOCKSS system to archive and restore our publication through the LOCKSS System for the benefit of all LOCKSS System participants. Specifically participating libraries may: • Collect and preserve currently accessible materials; • Use material consistent with original license terms; • Provide copies to other LOCKSS appliances for purposes of audit and repair. Fair use of a copyrighted work, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include: 1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; 2. the nature of the copyrighted work; 3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; & 4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors. In accord with these provisions, the OBS journal believes in the vigorous assertion and defense of Fair Use by scholars engaged in academic research, teaching and non-commercial publishing. Thus, we view the inclusion of “quotations” from existing print, visual, audio and audio-visual texts to be appropriate examples of Fair Use, as are reproductions of visual images for the purpose of scholarly analysis. We encourage authors to obtain appropriate permissions to use materials originally produced by others, but do not require such permissions as long as the usage of such materials falls within the boundaries of Fair Use.