Exploratory Study of the Relationship Between Happiness and the Rise of Media Consumption During COVID-19 Confinement

Abstract

The confinement of the population into their homes as a result of COVID-19 has entailed a notable increase in the consumption of diverse media. This exploratory study aimed to examine how the increase in media consumption was related to subjective happiness and psychological well-being. For this purpose, a questionnaire was administered to a sample of Spanish adults (n = 249; 53.8% women; aged between 18 and 75, Mage = 42.06, SD = 12.37) to assess their consumption of different media before and during confinement. Moreover, participants were evaluated for hedonic, eudaimonic, social, and experienced happiness by using the Pemberton Happiness Index (PHI). The results underlined the great increase in the consumption of TV for entertainment and social networking sites (SNS) during confinement. Furthermore, it was found that higher consumption was negatively correlated with the level of happiness, so that, people who reported greater well-being, both subjective and psychological, spent less time watching TV and using SNS. In contrast, no association was found between the level of happiness and the consumption of news (regardless of the media) and radio. Therefore, it seems that far from cultivating greater happiness, those who engaged in heavy consumption of TV entertainment and SNS during confinement were less happy than those who did so more moderately and spent more time using other media or performing other activities.

Japanese national well-being survey shows that living alone results in lower satisfaction and affects other relationships, while social networking service usage is related to life satisfaction: A cross-sectional study

“…We also found that the frequency of SNS usage was significantly associated with overall life satisfaction, exhibiting a J-curve phenomenon (three to four times per week was better than everyday use). In other recent research, higher SNS consumption showed a negative correlation with happiness levels in Europe [19]. However, this does not directly contradict our current findings, as Japanese SNS consumption patterns tend to differ from those seen in other countries [20].…”

Music for hedonia and eudaimonia during pandemic social isolation

“…The fact that similar increases were reported for many other domestic activities-like watching news and movies, calling friends, cooking, cleaning, and sleeping (Fink et al, 2021;Muñiz-Velázquez et al, 2021;Ziv & Hollander-Shabtai, 2021)-raises the pertinent question whether changes in musical habits were merely an epiphenomenon of home confinement. Survey studies on qualitative motivations for engagement and perceived coping efficacy of music suggest that this was not the case.…”

“…Relatedly, Krause et al (2021) found that life satisfaction was positively associated with music listening, but negatively associated with watching TV/videos/movies at the within-person level. Equivalent negative associations emerged between watching TV and eudaimonic as well as hedonic well-being (Muñiz-Velázquez et al, 2021). While most people experienced equally strong emotions in response to music during lockdown compared to before, increases were slightly more frequent than decreases-but this was also the case for non-music-induced emotions (Ziv & Hollander-Shabtai, 2021).…”

“…Research on general media use during the COVID-19 pandemic may provide a suitable backdrop for understanding the psychological underpinnings of the coronamusic phenomenon. Quantitative upsurges in home activities such as watching TV, following news, and using social media sites occurred during lockdown (Muñiz-Velázquez et al, 2021). Whereas in non-pandemic contexts such media may fulfill intrinsic needs for self-determination and autonomy over one's own life (Tamborini et al, 2010), pandemic TV watching and social media usage were overall negatively associated with well-being (Krause et al, 2021;Muñiz-Velázquez et al, 2021).…”

“…Quantitative upsurges in home activities such as watching TV, following news, and using social media sites occurred during lockdown (Muñiz-Velázquez et al, 2021). Whereas in non-pandemic contexts such media may fulfill intrinsic needs for self-determination and autonomy over one's own life (Tamborini et al, 2010), pandemic TV watching and social media usage were overall negatively associated with well-being (Krause et al, 2021;Muñiz-Velázquez et al, 2021). Importantly, however, these effects varied notably across emotional states, media types, coping styles, and motivations for engaging with media content.…”