Exposure to media and fear and worry about COVID‐19

Too much exposure to the media is known to be associated with greater fear and worry and poorer mental health in a health crisis. ¹ , ² Repeated media exposure was reported to have a negative impact on mental health after the New York terrorist attack on 11 September 2001, ³ the Ebola outbreak, ⁴ and the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. ⁵ The use of social media as an information resource was associated with greater fear and worry about adverse health effects of possible radiation exposure after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident. ⁶ It has been argued that the same pattern may be observed in the outbreak of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), ² and it is recommended to limit the frequency of access to the media and to choose a reliable information source to keep better mental health. ⁷ A study from Wuhan, China reported that social media exposure (such as Weibo and WeChat) was associated with depression and anxiety during the COVID‐19 outbreak. ⁸ However, evidence is still limited in the current outbreak of COVID‐19. Here, we report additional evidence based on a secondary analysis of data collected from a sample of employees in Japan in mid‐March 2020 during the early phase of the COVID‐19 outbreak in Japan.

The authors conducted a cross‐sectional online survey to examine the relation between the type of media use and fear and worry about COVID‐19 by using a sample from the cohort of full‐time employees in February 2019 (n = 4120). Participants were assured that their anonymity would be preserved and provided online informed consent. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of The University of Tokyo (No. 10856‐(2)). Participants (n = 1420) completed an online self‐report questionnaire during 19–22 March 2020. Participants included managers (8.8%), white‐collar workers (62.8%), and blue‐collar workers (28.4%); 13.5% of participants engaged in the medical and welfare sector. Detail information is available elsewhere. ⁹ The type of media as information source about COVID‐19 was requested by using a list of 14 sources (e.g., television, radio, newspaper, Web media, any social network service [SNS; e.g., YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and other SNS], governmental or organizational websites, chat with family or friends, workplace, medical organization or staff, academic papers, and others) with each item rated Yes (= 1) or No (= 0). Fear and worry about COVID‐19 were measured by asking one item (‘Do you feel anxiety over COVID‐19?’) on a 6‐point Likert‐type scale (ranging from 1 [Not at all] to 6 [Feel strongly]). The prevalence rates of media use were: television (89.9%), radio (11.3%), newspaper (27.7%), Web media (66.1%), any SNS (17.5%), governmental or organizational websites (15.6%), chat with family or friends (30.1%), workplace (27.7%), medical organization or staff (9.5%), academic papers (1.1%), and others (0.1%). A linear regression analysis revealed that the use of television (β = 0.133, P = 0.0000005) and Web media (β = 0.113, P = 0.000031) as information sources about COVID‐19 significantly and positively correlated with fear and worry about COVID‐19, after adjusting for sex, age, marital status, having at least one child, and occupational type. None of the other media use types significantly correlated with fear and worry about COVID‐19.

Our survey was limited in many ways: the cross‐sectional study design, nonrepresentative sample of employees, and lack of information about duration and frequency of the media use. However, our findings suggest that television and Web media as information sources about COVID‐19 are associated with greater fear and worry about the disease in the general working population in Japan. Television broadcasts news and provides information about COVID‐19 almost all day. Web media is accessible anytime in the day and night. People may have access to these media very frequently. Media exposure with visual images, such as TV viewing, is known to be related to psychological distress and post‐traumatic stress disorder ⁵ , ¹⁰ ; however, few studies have shown such an association with print or audio media. Social media also sometimes provides disinformation or false information ⁸ that may exaggerate anxiety about COVID‐19. Too much access to these media may lead people to overestimate the risk of COVID‐19, then increase fear and worry about the disease.

Based on our findings, together with a previous study in China, ⁸ we believe that people living under the COVID‐19 outbreak should limit the frequency and amount of access they have to television and Web media to obtain information about COVID‐19. This recommendation should be effective in preventing mental health problems in the workplace. We of course realize the critical role of the media in a health crisis to convey correct, essential, and useful information. Importantly, people should be aware of the psychological risk of too much exposure to the media and control their own access to it in a health crisis, such as the COVID‐19 outbreak.

Disclosure statement

The sponsors had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.