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Sampogna G, Di Vincenzo M, Luciano M, Della Rocca B, Albert U, Carmassi C, Carrà G, Cirulli F, Dell’Osso B, Nanni MG, Pompili M, Sani G, Tortorella A, Volpe U, Fiorillo A. The effect of social media and infodemic on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from the COMET multicentric trial. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1226414. [PMID: 37575576 PMCID: PMC10412935 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1226414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the status of pandemic due to the COVID-19 infection. The initial phases of the pandemic were characterized by uncertainty and public fears. In order to cope with such unexpected conditions, people adopted different coping strategies, including search for information, accessing Internet, and using social media. The present study based on the COMET collaborative research network aims to: (1) assess use of Internet and of social media among the Italian general population; (2) explore differences in web usage between people with pre-existing mental disorders and the general population; (3) identify changes over time in social media usage along the phase 1 of the pandemic; (4) identify the clinical, socio-demographic and contextual predictors of excessive use of social media. A significant increase in time spent on Internet, with an average time of 4.8 ± 0.02 h per day, was found in the global sample of 20,720 participants. Compared with the general population, Internet use was significantly higher in people with pre-existing mental disorders (5.2 ± 0.1 h vs. 4.9 ± 0.02; p < 0.005). According to the multivariate logistic regression model, the risk of excessive use of social media and Internet was significantly higher in people with moderate levels of depressive symptoms (OR: 1.26, CI 95%: 0.99 to 1.59, p < 0.0.005); while protective factors were being students (OR: 0.72, CI 95%: 0.53 to 0.96, p < 0.0029) and living in central Italy (OR: 0.46, CI 95%: 0.23 to 0.90, p < 0.002). The evaluation of social media and Internet use by the general population represents a first step for developing specific protective and supportive interventions for the general population, including practical suggestions on how to safely use Internet and social media.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaia Sampogna
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy
| | - Matteo Di Vincenzo
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy
| | - Mario Luciano
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy
| | - Bianca Della Rocca
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy
| | - Umberto Albert
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
- Department of Mental Health, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Giuliano Isontina—ASUGI, Trieste, Italy
| | - Claudia Carmassi
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Carrà
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesca Cirulli
- Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Bernardo Dell’Osso
- Neuroscience Research Center, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences and Aldo Ravelli Center for Neurotechnology and Brain Therapeutic, University of Milan, Milano, Italy
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Maria Giulia Nanni
- Department of Neurosciences and Rehabilitation, Institute of Psychiatry, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Maurizio Pompili
- Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Gabriele Sani
- Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Sensory Organs and Thorax, Fondazione Policlinico A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychiatry, Fondazione Policlinico A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Umberto Volpe
- Clinical Psychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Andrea Fiorillo
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy
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James M, Koshkina N, Froese T. From tech to tact: emotion dysregulation in online communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. PHENOMENOLOGY AND THE COGNITIVE SCIENCES 2023:1-32. [PMID: 37363715 PMCID: PMC10233186 DOI: 10.1007/s11097-023-09916-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Recent theorizing argues that online communication technologies provide powerful, although precarious, means of emotional regulation. We develop this understanding further. Drawing on subjective reports collected during periods of imposed social restrictions under COVID-19, we focus on how this precarity is a source of emotional dysregulation. We make our case by organizing responses into five distinct but intersecting dimensions wherein the precarity of this regulation is most relevant: infrastructure, functional use, mindful design (individual and social), and digital tact. Analyzing these reports, along with examples of mediating technologies (i.e., self-view) and common interactive dynamics (e.g., gaze coordination), we tease out how breakdowns along these dimensions are sources of affective dysregulation. We argue that the adequacy of available technological resources and competencies of various kinds matter greatly to the types of emotional experiences one is likely to have online. Further research into online communication technologies as modulators of both our individual and collective well-being is urgently needed, especially as the echoes of the digital push that COVID-19 initiated are set to continue reverberating into the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark James
- Embodied Cognitive Science Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Okinawa, 904-0495 Japan
| | - Natalia Koshkina
- Embodied Cognitive Science Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Okinawa, 904-0495 Japan
| | - Tom Froese
- Embodied Cognitive Science Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Okinawa, 904-0495 Japan
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Ekdahl D, Osler L. Expressive Avatars: Vitality in Virtual Worlds. PHILOSOPHY & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 36:24. [PMID: 37038606 PMCID: PMC10079701 DOI: 10.1007/s13347-023-00628-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
Critics have argued that human-controlled avatar interactions fail to facilitate the kinds of expressivity and social understanding afforded by our physical bodies. We identify three claims meant to justify the supposed expressive limits of avatar interactions compared to our physical interactions. First, “The Limited Expressivity Claim”: avatars have a more limited expressive range than our physical bodies. Second, “The Inputted Expressivity Claim”: any expressive avatarial behaviour must be deliberately inputted by the user. Third, “The Decoding Claim”: users must infer or figure out the expressive meaning of human-controlled avatars’ behaviour through cognitively onerous processes. With the aim of critically assessing all three claims, we analyze data collected through observations of and interviews with expert players of the avatar-based video game League of Legends. Focusing on Daniel Stern’s (2010) notion of vitality, we analyze the participants’ descriptions of seeing and interacting with other avatars during performance. Our analysis shows that the informants experience human-based avatarial interactions as qualitatively different than interactions with bots, that the informants see the movements of other players’ avatars as having different expressive styles, and that the informants actively use and manipulate this avatarial expressivity during performance. The results of our analysis, we argue, provide reasons for loosening or resisting the three claims concerning the limits of avatarial expressivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Ekdahl
- grid.8391.30000 0004 1936 8024Department of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology, University of Exeter, Byrne House, St German’s Road, Exeter, EX4 4PJ UK
| | - Lucy Osler
- grid.5600.30000 0001 0807 5670School of English, Communication and Philosophy, Cardiff University, John Percival Building, Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU UK
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