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For most people, telework during the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates the increased use of digital tools. Although working from home can enhance flexibility, it comes with various psychological challenges, all of which can be substantially exacerbated for people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increased need to use digital tools can create cognitive overload that may negatively impact work productivity and well-being. The idea of digital detox has received increasing attention in the last few years as a means for recovering from stress caused by the use of digital media. This paper presents an analysis of the relationships between the use of digital work tools, the feeling of cognitive overload, digital detox measures, perceived work performance, and well-being. Results from an online survey ( N = 403) conducted during the period of strict lockdown measures in Germany in April and May 2020 indicate that the relationship between the use of text-based tools and well-being, but not perceived job performance, is mediated by cognitive overload. These relationships were not found for the use of videoconferencing tools. However, for users of these tools, the number of digital detox measures moderates the relationship between cognitive overload and the perception of work demands.

The present study reviews problems in the political learning literature, including ambiguous causality and a lack of specificity in linking communication content to learning outcomes. As a partial solution, our study of media and discussion influence incorporates both manipulated and observed aspects of mass and interpersonal communication. Results indicate that beyond (and often more important than) experimental manipulations, selection processes in news use and variations in the content of political discussions within exposure conditions matter for political knowledge. However, findings vary in predictable ways depending on the form of knowledge-overall factual knowledge, issue-specific knowledge, or knowledge structure density. These results suggest that the process of political learning via communication is more complex than it is often treated empirically.Keywords: Political Conversation, Deliberation, Political Knowledge, Structural Knowledge, News Use, Diversity, Talk. doi:10.1111/jcom.12138 Given that individuals' direct experience with major political events and policy debates are rather limited, researchers have assumed that news media use is a primary source of political information. Therefore, political communication scholars have devoted substantial research to confirm a positive relationship between news exposure and political knowledge. And very early in the history of research on political communication, studies demonstrated that personal interactions may also be relevant channels of political information. Reviews of the research suggest that news use and political discussion are important predictors of political knowledgeCorresponding author: William P. Eveland; e-mail: eveland.6@osu.edu (see Eveland & Garrett, 2014;Schmitt-Beck & Lup, 2013), and that they should be considered to work in tandem in many cases (Southwell & Yzer, 2007).Despite the valuable insights provided by prior scholarship on the effects of news use and political discussion on political knowledge, much of the research suffers from multiple limitations related to design and measurement (see Slater, 2004;Southwell & Yzer, 2007). We begin by reviewing the evidence on communication's relationship with political knowledge, paying particular attention to the methodological limitations of typical political knowledge studies. We then introduce this study, whose design addresses some of the problems with prior research by employing experimental manipulations of news exposure and public affairs discussion in small group settings in which some members have, and some have not, had exposure to relevant news prior to discussion. Just as importantly, the study goes beyond standard experimental and survey procedures by incorporating detailed observational data-content analysis of face-to-face conversation transcripts and computer tracking of online news use-to provide a more precise understanding of the specific aspects of news use and discussion that produce both content and structural aspects of public affairs knowledge. Thus, as advoca...

Research has shown that entertainment media can make people experience nostalgia, a mixed emotion triggered by fond memories, which can function as a resource for well-being in times of strain. Accordingly, people may be especially motivated to consume nostalgia-inducing media in times of crisis. One such crisis that has strongly affected the personal lives of most people around the world is the global COVID-19 pandemic. In our study, we investigate the role of nostalgic media use during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigate whether nostalgic media use has increased during the early 2020 lockdown, what kinds of media people used to become nostalgic, and how nostalgic media use is associated with well-being and escapism. In a cross-sectional panel survey conducted during lockdown measures in Germany in April and May 2020, participants (N = 534) were asked about their current stress, fear of isolation, nostalgic media usage, and functional as well as dysfunctional escapism. Controlling for nostalgia proneness, our findings indicate that nostalgic media usage was positively associated with fear of isolation and that it was related to both functional and dysfunctional escapism. Respondents in our survey most commonly used music, movies, and series and also (audio-) books, videogames, and private photos and videos to become nostalgic. Overall, our findings indicate that media-induced nostalgia may function as a resource to cope with social stress (fear of isolation) for some people during the lockdown measures and that this coping strategy may have both functional as well as dysfunctional components. Public Policy Relevance StatementThis research offers evidence that fear of isolation that many people experienced during the lockdown measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic is positively related to the consumption of media that elicits nostalgia. Moreover, nostalgia was positively related to both functional and dysfunctional escapism. These findings indicate that people may use nostalgia-inducing media as a coping mechanism to deal with fears related to social isolation during times of social distances.