Loneliness and Its Associated Factors Nine Months after the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-National Study

Bonsaksen, Tore; Schoultz, Mariyana; Thygesen, Hilde; Ruffolo, Mary; Price, Daicia; Leung, Janni; Geirdal, Amy Østertun

doi:10.3390/ijerph18062841

Cited by 29 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(32 reference statements)

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“…For example, the overabundance of information on the coronavirus—some accurate, some not—prompted the warnings against the “infodemic” and anxiety caused by social media exposure ( 11 , 18 , 19 ). Also, as communication via social media does not fully compensate for face-to-face contact, prolonged periods of social distancing give rise to concerns about increased levels of loneliness ( 20 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Media Use and Its Associations With Mental Health 9 Months After the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-National Study

Thygesen

Bonsaksen

Schoultz

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundThe covid-19 pandemic has impacted the health and well-being of millions across the globe. Strict social distancing policies and periodic lockdowns has led to an increased reliance on alternative online means of communication, including social media.Objectivesto examine (i) social media use and mental health in the general population 9 months after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and (ii) mental health in relation to motives for and extent of social media use, while adjusting for sociodemographic variables.MethodsA cross-national online survey was conducted in Norway, UK, USA and Australia. Participants (n = 3,474) reported extent of and motives for social media use and completed the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by chi-square tests, one-way analyses of variance, and multiple linear regression analysis.ResultsPoorer mental health was associated with using social media to decrease loneliness and for entertainment motives, while better mental health was associated with using social media for personal contact and maintaining relationships. Overall increased daily time on social media was associated with poorer mental health. The social media use variables were responsible for a substantial proportion of the outcome variance explained. These findings were consistent across the four countries, with only minor variations.ConclusionsMotives for using, and time spent using, social media were associated with the participants' mental health. Guidance and recommendations for social media usage to the general public for prevention and intervention for behavioral health may be beneficial.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Media Use and Its Associations With Mental Health 9 Months After the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-National Study

Thygesen

Bonsaksen

Schoultz

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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“…Due to the restrictive social distancing policies and a general sense of uncertainty during the COVID-19 outbreak, the population's mental health has been subject to worldwide growing concern (Haider et al, 2020;Kaufman et al, 2020;Mi et al, 2020;Serafini et al, 2020). Specifically, one concern related to the implementation of pandemic guidelines is that feelings of loneliness may increase due to increased social distancing practices (Bonsaksen et al, 2021;Luchetti et al, 2020;Palgi et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Loneliness and Its Association With Social Media Use During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Bonsaksen

Ruffolo

Leung

et al. 2021

Social Media + Society

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Social distancing rules during the COVID-19 pandemic changed social interaction for many and increased the risk of loneliness in the general population. Social media use has been ambiguously related to loneliness, and associations may differ by age. The study aimed to examine loneliness and its association with social media use within different age groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia during April/May 2020, and 3,810 participants aged 18 years or above were recruited. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between social media use and social and emotional loneliness within separate age groups. Emotional loneliness was higher among young adults and among those who used social media several times daily. Adjusting by sociodemographic variables, using more types of social media was associated with lower social loneliness among the oldest participants, and with higher emotional loneliness among the youngest participants. Among middle-aged participants, using social media more frequently was associated with lower social loneliness. We found that the associations between social media use and loneliness varied by age. Older people’s engagement on social media may be a resource to reduce loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. We observed higher levels of loneliness among high-frequent social media users of younger age.

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“…Spending less time on social media may decrease potential exposure to invalid news (Bonsaksen et al 2021;Liu et al 2012). While the use of social media to engage with others and maintain relationships can support social and emotional health, each unit increase in social media use was found to be associated with a lower likelihood of trusting in government information or financial responses to the public health crisis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Trust in Public Authorities Nine Months after the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-National Study

et al. 2021

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This study aimed to examine the perceived trust in information provided by public authorities and financial measures put in place to address the impact of COVID-19. Using a cross-national approach among four Western countries—the United States of America, Norway, Australia, and the United Kingdom—provides an analysis of responses related to trust and how they were associated with age group, gender, education level, employment status, size of place of residence, infection status, and social media use. When controlling for all included variables in logistic regression analyses, the likelihood of having trust in the public authorities’ information was higher for women, those with higher levels of education, and those living in urban areas. Being infected with the coronavirus, and spending more time daily on social media, were both associated with lower likelihood of reporting trust in information. Although policies implemented to respond to economic concerns varied cross-nationally, higher age, identifying as female, being employed, living in a city, no COVID-19 infection experience and lower levels of social media usage were associated with a higher likelihood of trusting in the financial measures put in place to counteract the economic effects of COVID-19.

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Loneliness and Its Associated Factors Nine Months after the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-National Study

Cited by 29 publications

References 44 publications

Social Media Use and Its Associations With Mental Health 9 Months After the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-National Study

Social Media Use and Its Associations With Mental Health 9 Months After the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-National Study

Loneliness and Its Association With Social Media Use During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Perceived Trust in Public Authorities Nine Months after the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-National Study

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