Escapism

Hastall, Matthias R.

doi:10.1002/9781118783764.wbieme0154

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…As summarized by Hastall (2017), if successful, escapist media usage can lead to “mood enhancement, improved well-being, increased confidence, restored energy, and relaxation” (p. 4). Although we can neither assess causal effects of coping style on nostalgic media usage nor the effects of nostalgic media use and escapism on well-being in our cross-sectional study, we assume that nostalgic media use during the COVID-19 pandemic can be motivated by the desire to escape from existing problems (often referred to as “dysfunctional escapism,” Hypothesis 2a) as well as the desire to actively engage with personally meaningful and enjoyable subjects (often referred to as “functional escapism,” Hypothesis 2b).…”

Section: Media Use As Escapism From the Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, content that makes one feel nostalgic may help to mentally travel back and escape to times in which COVID-19 had not existed at all. Indeed, media use as a means of escapism has a long research tradition in media research (Henning & Vorderer, 2001; see Hastall, 2017, for an overview).…”

Section: Media-induced Nostalgia As a Means To Cope With Stress Durin...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Escaping the pandemic present: The relationship between nostalgic media use, escapism, and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wulf¹,

Breuer²,

Schmitt³

2022

Psychology of Popular Media

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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.

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Section: Media Use As Escapism From the Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Media-induced Nostalgia As a Means To Cope With Stress Durin...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Escaping the pandemic present: The relationship between nostalgic media use, escapism, and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wulf¹,

Breuer²,

Schmitt³

2022

Psychology of Popular Media

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“…A common focus of video game mood management and coping studies is escapism, the avoidance of reality ( Hastall, 2017 ; Kosa & Uysal, 2020 ) which is a mechanism for video games to allow for emotional regulation, mood management, respite, and stress coping ( Kosa & Uysal, 2020 ), including during difficult life situations ( Iacovides & Mekler, 2019 ). Escapism has been found to be tied to interpersonal ( Jones et al, 2021 ), media-based ( Eden et al, 2020 ), and video game ( Barr & Copeland-Stewart, 2021 ) pandemic coping.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Families Playing Animal Crossing Together: Coping With Video Games During the COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2021

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The COVID-19 pandemic was stressful for everyone, particularly for families who had to supervise and support children, facilitate remote schooling, and manage work and home life. We consider how families coped with pandemic-related stress using the video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Combining a family coping framework with theorizing about media as a coping tool, this interview study of 27 families (33 parents and 37 children) found that parents and children individual coped with pandemic-related stress with media. Parents engaged in protective buffering of their children with media, taking on individual responsibility to cope with a collective problem. Families engaged in communal coping, whereby media helped the family cope with a collective problem, taking on shared ownership and responsibility. We provide evidence for video games as coping tools, but with the novel consideration of family coping with media.

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“…However, as we did not assess fatigue or mood, this assumption remains to be tested. For example, escapism and the underlying motives (e.g., Hastall, 2017 ) might cause similar trends. Good days for inviting participants are Monday and Tuesday, with Monday being the best day.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The day-of-invitation effect on participation in web-based studies

Wolff

Göritz

2021

Behav Res

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Several methods have been proposed to promote participation in web-based research. Here, we examine a technique that is available at no cost: Inviting respondents per e-mail on a particular day of the week. We base our reasoning on such a day-of-invitation effect upon theories on variations in mood and work performance over the week. We conducted five experiments with large and heterogeneous samples to find out whether such effects apply for response rate (i.e., visiting the first page of a study) and retention rate (i.e., completing the study) in web-based studies. We found evidence of a small but significant day-of-invitation effect. Response rate is high at the beginning of the workweek and falls to a low on Friday. Exploratory analyses showed that this decline is higher for employed (vs. nonemployed) persons. Effects on retention rate appear to follow a less straightforward pattern. We discuss possible mechanisms that might account for the day-of-invitation effect and recommend inviting participants on Monday or Tuesday.

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Escapism

Cited by 11 publications

References 11 publications

Escaping the pandemic present: The relationship between nostalgic media use, escapism, and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Escaping the pandemic present: The relationship between nostalgic media use, escapism, and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Families Playing Animal Crossing Together: Coping With Video Games During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The day-of-invitation effect on participation in web-based studies

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