The Influence of Media Exposure on Anxiety and Working Memory during Lockdown Period in Italy

Rosa Angela Fabio and Rossella Suriano
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Rosa Angela Fabio: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98100 Messina, Italy
Rossella Suriano: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98100 Messina, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-11

Abstract: The rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic has caused anxiety around the world. During lockdown, the media became a point of reference for people seeking information. However, little is known on the relationships between anxiety resulting from persistent media exposure to coronavirus-related programs and the effects produced on working memory. In this work, a total of 101 Italian citizens (53.7% female) aged between 18 and 45 years old, who were from 14 provinces in Italy, participated in an online survey. Participants were presented with media exposure and anxiety questionnaires and they were instructed to carry out working memory tasks (visual and auditory n-back). The results showed that media exposure is related to anxiety. It was also found that high levels of anxiety have a negative influence on the performance of both visual and auditory working memory tasks in terms of increased reaction times of responses and decreased accuracy. The results were critically discussed in the light of the Social Compensation Hypothesis.

Keywords: COVID-19; social distancing; subjective loneliness; media exposure; anxiety; working memory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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