Covid-19 news on WeChat and Weibo is stressing out Chinese netizens, study shows
- Survey links depression, anxiety and stress to reading news about Covid-19 on social media
- Social media also offers comfort during social distancing, creating a need for balance
Although the worst of the Covid-19 breakout in China has subsided, Catherine Zheng still remembers how fearful it made her. She dreaded taking Shanghai’s crowded metro into work. Her colleagues stopped drinking water at work just so they wouldn’t have to use the toilet. And she was also anxious about her parents’ health and possible financial insecurity if she fell ill.
The toll of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be widely measured by the disease’s climbing fatalities. But it’s also taken a heavy toll on psychological well-being, as a new study details.
Reading news about the pandemic on social media is leading to depression, anxiety and stress, according a survey of 3,070 social media users in China. The study was a part of the annual Development Report on New Media in China from the Institute of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the Social Sciences Academic Press (China) released on July 22. It concluded that the more social media users are immersed in stories about the pandemic, the worse they feel.
Zheng suggested this was the case for her. Using popular Chinese social platforms WeChat and Weibo probably contributed to her fears, she said.
“The constant bombarding of information made it impossible to distract oneself from the pandemic,” Zheng said. “With the number of confirmed cases only going up [and] no medical solutions available, I felt myself [and] my parents will be the next.”
According to the survey, people are spending a lot of time reading about Covid-19. Over 81 per cent of respondents said they spent between one and four hours browsing information about the pandemic. But just over 2 per cent said they spent a whopping nine hours reading about it.
Where are they getting this news? Mostly their phones. More than 77 per cent of respondents said they got news from WeChat groups. Other sources included Weibo, news app Jinri Toutiao and Douyin, China’s version of TikTok. Many respondents said they start reading about new Covid-19 cases as soon as they open their eyes in the morning. Only 7 per cent said they used TV and newspapers for news about the virus.
Zheng doesn’t recall how much time she spent reading news about the pandemic, but she said it was a constant presence whenever she was looking through WeChat.
“Social media can be powerful when it comes to controlling people's minds because it is pervasive,” she said.
One event that Zheng recalls causing a stir was when the Shanghai government chose to publish the addresses where Covid-19 cases had been found. People who discovered a case in their apartment compound would then unite to stop the patient from trying to go out.
“The current Covid-19 pandemic stands out in a couple of ways,” said Dominic Yeo, associate professor at Baptist University’s School of Communication. “First, it is very widespread and the virus is easily transmitted, which renders our attention to news, especially from social media, as a form of surveillance out of a fear of contagion.”
Covid-19 continues to be a staple of our news feeds because there’s no end to the pandemic on the horizon, Yeo said. Our longing to resume our normal lives feeds our anxieties, he added, prompting us to further immerse ourselves in news.
Social media users were not only bombarded with disinformation stoking fears, but also took to social media to express their feelings of worry and anxiety which, the researchers found. So in a way, much like the virus, those feelings turned out to be contagious.
“News stories that are widely shared on social media tend to be more negative and personally relatable, which elicit strong emotional responses from readers,” Yeo said.
These effects of social media are also far from just a China thing. There are similar results for people facing the information deluge on other platforms like Twitter.
It’s not all bleak, though. Social media also offers some reason for joy and hope.
Previous research into major public health events such as earthquakes and the Sars and Ebola outbreaks have also shown that they’re often followed by mental health issues. But while social media can worsen this experience, it also offers a channel for authorities and NGOs to provide important and timely updates. And it gives people a convenient way to seek help.
Social media is also providing comfort during the current pandemic. Social distancing has upended work, school and family life. Social media helps people stay connected, giving people a sense of normalcy. The trick is finding the right balance.
“It might not be possible or desirable to completely avoid news about the pandemic,” Yeo said.
Instead, social media users could opt to go on a “news diet”, reducing their exposure to negative and emotional news, he explained. The solution might consist of subscribing to a daily news digest or designating a specific time of the day to read news.
You could also try to lighten the mood in your own news feed. Seeking out positive stories and sharing them on social media could be encouraging to friends and family.
