Media Exposure and Substance Use Increase during COVID-19
Open accessAbstract
Background: Lockdown measures because of COVID-19 are likely to result in deteriorating physical and mental health. In this study, our aim was to assess the impact of media exposure on increases in substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A nationally representative online survey of 1264 adults was collected during the pandemic in the United States. Logistic regression was used to explore the association between an increase in substance use since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and exposure to cable news or social media together with COVID-19 knowledge, while controlling for covariates. Results: In the multivariable-adjusted models, participants with the highest exposure to social media (at least daily) and low knowledge of COVID-19 were 9.9 times more likely to experience an increase in substance use since the pandemic began (OR = 9.90, 95% CI = 4.27–23.06). Participants with the highest exposure to cable news and low knowledge of COVID-19 were over 11 times more likely to experience an increase in substance use (OR = 11.64, 95% CI = 4.01–24.45). Conclusion: Based on our findings, we recommend that media organizations should aim to reduce uncertainty and also provide positive coverage to counter the negative information associated with pandemics.
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Excessive electronic (internet) media exposure is connected with the prevalence of stress, generalized anxiety, depression, and long-term psychological distress during pandemics.
“They confirm a connection between excessive electronic (internet) media exposure and the prevalence of stress, generalized anxiety, depression, and long-term psychological distress [66,70,74].”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [70]
The Introduction and Discussion report a connection between media exposure during COVID-19 and anxiety and distress, including exposure to social media. They do not establish a connection with depression, specifically generalized anxiety, or long-term psychological distress. The paper’s own survey primarily examined increased substance use, not the prevalence of those mental-health conditions. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Amram, O., Borah, P., Kubsad, D., & McPherson, S. M.
- Affiliations
- Washington State University Spokane (US)
- Washington State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Amram, Ofer
- Venue
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2021-06-11
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 6318
- ISSN
- 1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8296128
- OpenAlex
- W3171379426
- Cited by
- 11
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 1.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Communication › Communication and COVID-19 Impact
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, media exposure, substance use, social media, cable news, COVID-19 knowledge, lockdown, health communication, uncertainty
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adult, Communicable Disease Control, Cross-Sectional Studies, Humans, Surveys and Questionnaires, United States, Substance-Related Disorders, Pandemics, Social Media
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