This study examined the effects of news engagement (NE) vs. entertainment engagement (EE), and of social media health literacy (SMHL) on mental health and coping during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Further, it investigated the moderating effect of SMHL between NE, EE, mental health, and coping relations. The study is drawing on mood management theory and stress- coping theory and is based on a cross-sectional online survey of 478 participants aged 18 years and older. Moderated multiple regression and path analyses were used; the results indicated that both NE and EE predicted a significant increase in anxiety and depression and increased the participants’ online and offline coping. While SMHL predicted a substantial decrease in anxiety and depression, with an increase in online and offline coping. SMHL significantly moderated (weakened) the relations between NE and both anxiety and depression. Online coping significantly mediated the relations between both NE and EE and offline coping. This study proposes that EE has less effect on anxiety and depression than NE does. Findings support that online coping is an important factor in understanding the relationship between genre-specific social media engagement and offline coping in health crises. SMHL is a crucial moderator for managing the effects of NE on mental health. The study recommends algorithmic awareness as an item of SMHL and rationalization of social media use as a crucial coping mechanism.

Based on social identity theory (SIT) and risk perception theory, this study examines the ways in which North Sinai youth’s tribal and national identities are affected by television (TV) exposure, risk perception, and TV bias perception. The findings from a survey of youth in North Sinai demonstrate a significant relationship between exposure to Egyptian TV and tribal identity. Moreover, TV bias perception predicts youth’s tribal identity and risk perception. The study concludes that TV exposure does not affect Sinai youth’s national identity and risk perception, but increases tribal identity.

This study applied news framing theory with mixed quantitative and qualitative methods to analyse news items (N = 1348) about ordinary Arabs on Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Arabiya and Nile News TV shortly before the Arab Spring. Results show that ordinary Arab citizen representation was low. Overall, there were significant differences in networks’ framing of ordinary people. Importance, negativity and conflict values dominated the news featuring ordinary citizens. Arab news networks did not provide adequate time for citizens to voice opinions, and limited representation occurred via vox pop, footage and indirect reference. Networks employed negative sentimental framing (protest and rejection, economic problems, victimization, health problems and mistrust in governments) and mainly portrayed citizens of countries undergoing crises and wars. Arab television news should prioritize sharing the opinions, concerns and successes of ordinary Arab people and engage in constructive journalism rather than concentrating on problem frames without offering solutions.

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