Media fatigue

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Scrolling through the news on a smartphone Scrolling on phone.jpg
Scrolling through the news on a smartphone

Media fatigue is psychological exhaustion due to information overload from any form of information media, usually news [1] and social media. [2] The advent of the Internet has contributed widely to media fatigue with vast amounts of information easily accessible and easily disseminated. Psychological exhaustion caused by media fatigue can lead to several harms, including emotional instability, increased stress, feeling overwhelmed, or experiencing sensory overload. [3] [4] [2] Media fatigue can then lead to media avoidance, or intentional selectivity in the type and amount of media used. [4]

Contents

Political and news media

Repeated exposure to the same topic in the media over a long period of time has shown to cause psychological fatigue. [1] While psychological fatigue has no singular definition, it can be characterized by negative emotions such as stress, overwhelm, strain, and sensory overload. [2] [4] [3] Gurr and Metag suggest some examples of this phenomenon have occurred in response to COVID-19, Brexit, and climate change coverage. [1] Extensive coverage on the same topic for extended periods of time can be draining, both mentally and physically. In response to perceived fatigue, those consuming media will engage in avoidance strategies so as not to view that particular topic. [1] Specifically with morally weighty topics, the more a person sees media about this topic, the more apathetic they become (see compassion fatigue). [5] This can come from broadcast news, political or humanitarian advertising, radio, newspapers, social media, etc.

The concept of news avoidance entails taking efforts to avoid associating with a topic that makes the viewer anxious. [6] Themes that are repeatedly shown in the news can produce overwhelming feelings of concern, such as coverage of a crisis. [7]

Social media

Media icons on a keyboard Social Media Marketing Strategy.jpg
Media icons on a keyboard

Social media has become a significant part of our lives today, with around 3 billion people being on some sort of social media platform. [8] Social media can have similar impacts on media fatigue and avoidance. Several studies have demonstrated the effects that social media has had on our attention spans, showing how our fast-paced society affects our ability to focus on one thing at a time. In fact, it has been reported that our attention spans have come to a low amount of 8 seconds. [9] Research has found that overconsumption of social media leads to information overload and cognitive fatigue. Because many social media users get their news on social networking sites, in addition to other updates and information, this can cause higher strain and greater psychological stress and fatigue than other, more traditional forms of media. [2] Social media has also shown to have greater strain on the individual because of privacy concerns and self-disclosure. [3] These two aspects are unique to social media sites and require more monitoring of how a person interacts and engages on social media if they are not anonymous, potentially causing greater fatigue than traditional media.

An online study in Lithuania found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rise in social media fatigue. [10] Due to social media being the primary way of connecting with others during quarantine, its presence in people's lives has grown prior to the pandemic. These circumstances have led to an overconsumption of social media.

Forbes came out with an article on different ways to overcome social fatigue, which demonstrates different ways in which we can work on not allowing our social media usage to affect our day to day lives. [8] First of all, especially since our days have been consumed by social media throughout the pandemic, it is important to make ourselves step away and indulge in non-technical activities. This can include painting, cooking/ baking, going on walks, hanging out with friends, etc. Next, we can learn to be more selective about our social media usage. This means choosing one platform to go on when being on our phones for a short period of time, which in turn minimizes overload of information and social media fatigue. Since a lot of people's work revolves around social media, it can be especially hard to step away from the screen during the day. However, it is important to still take breaks and not consume our days with screen time, which can actually lead to being more creative and productive when you do return to your social media work.

Avoidance

Avoidance can occur during media selection, for example, actively choosing one source of information over another. Avoidance can also occur during media consumption, for example, by changing the channel or tuning out the message. [1] Tilo Hartmann suggests humans engage in avoidance behaviors to avoid cognitive dissonance, because the current messages they are receiving are challenging their current belief systems. [11] "For example, dissonances can result from cognitive overtaxing, leading to an end to TV exposure." [11] Another theoretical underpinning is a cost-benefit analysis the media consumer performs, whether intentional or subconscious. There are perceived benefits and costs to consuming media, and one reason a person might choose to avoid media from this perspective would be to avoid costs such as "money, time, physical and mental effort, and possible feelings of guilt, fear, irritation and dissonance." [11]

Social media habits can also include selective avoidance, meaning the user chooses to expose themselves to specific topics and news online. [12] Filtering technologies on social media allow users to be presented with content that supports their opinions. [13] Because of these technologies, users can spend more time on social media. In short, selective avoidance is a result of media fatigue, in which a user takes steps to prevent feeling overwhelmed when a specific subject is brought up. [12]

Zoom fatigue

René Riedl defines Zoom fatigue as the tendency to feel inclined to avoid video conferencing software due to extensive overuse. [14] In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a dependence on video conference software to keep in contact with those not living in the same household. While the term Zoom fatigue is referring directly to the online video conferencing software, it can also be applied to all other types of online video conferencing software that we have had to use throughout the pandemic. Zoom has become a significant part of our everyday lives in the past 2 years with the rise of the pandemic. All types of people are using Zoom, including students, teachers, employees, managers, etc. [14] The shift from in person to online has not been an easy one for many people, and having to learn and converse through a screen has affected many, leading to things such as Zoom fatigue.

Liz Fosslien and Millie West Duffy state that Zoom calls have been draining and have led to Zoom fatigue because "they force us to focus more intently on conversations in order to absorb information". [15] Since stay at home and quarantine orders had made it impossible for us to meet in person, Zoom was the solution that most people had to resort to. Therefore, we had to come up with solutions and ways to help with our Zoom fatigue since we couldn't just go back to in person. Some fixes and solutions to Zoom fatigue have been listed as not multitasking to not divert your attention too much while on Zoom calls, scheduling breaks between Zoom calls to have off-screen time to not exhaust your media fatigue, shortening meetings if you are able to and are in control of it, etc. [16]

Related Research Articles

In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is described as the mental disturbance people feel when they realize their cognitions and actions are inconsistent or contradictory. This may ultimately result in some change in their cognitions or actions to cause greater alignment between them so as to reduce this dissonance. Relevant items of information include peoples' actions, feelings, ideas, beliefs, values, and things in the environment. Cognitive dissonance is typically experienced as psychological stress when persons participate in an action that goes against one or more of those things. According to this theory, when an action or idea is psychologically inconsistent with the other, people do all in their power to change either so that they become consistent. The discomfort is triggered by the person's belief clashing with new information perceived, wherein the individual tries to find a way to resolve the contradiction to reduce their discomfort.

Information overload is the difficulty in understanding an issue and effectively making decisions when one has too much information (TMI) about that issue, and is generally associated with the excessive quantity of daily information. The term "information overload" was first used as early as 1962 by scholars in management and information studies, including in Bertram Gross' 1964 book, The Managing of Organizations, and was further popularized by Alvin Toffler in his bestselling 1970 book Future Shock. Speier et al. (1999) said that if input exceeds the processing capacity, information overload occurs, which is likely to reduce the quality of the decisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Misinformation</span> Incorrect information with or without an intention to deceive

Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. Misinformation can exist without specific malicious intent; disinformation is distinct in that it is deliberately deceptive and propagated. Misinformation can include inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, or false information as well as selective or half-truths.

Sensory overload occurs when one or more of the body's senses experiences over-stimulation from the environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social media</span> Virtual online communities

Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the creation, sharing and aggregation of content amongst virtual communities and networks. Common features include:

Selective exposure is a theory within the practice of psychology, often used in media and communication research, that historically refers to individuals' tendency to favor information which reinforces their pre-existing views while avoiding contradictory information. Selective exposure has also been known and defined as "congeniality bias" or "confirmation bias" in various texts throughout the years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ostrich effect</span> Attempt made by investors to avoid negative financial information

The ostrich effect, also known as the ostrich problem, was originally coined by Galai & Sade (2003). The name comes from the common legend that ostriches bury their heads in the sand to avoid danger. This effect is a cognitive bias where people tend to “bury their head in the sand” and avoid potentially negative but useful information, such as feedback on progress, to avoid psychological discomfort.

Overchoice or choice overload is the paradoxical phenomenon that choosing between a large variety of options can be detrimental to decision making processes. The term was first introduced by Alvin Toffler in his 1970 book, Future Shock.

Motivated reasoning is a cognitive and social response in which individuals, consciously or sub-consciously, allow emotion-loaded motivational biases to affect how new information is perceived. Individuals tend to favor evidence that coincides with their current beliefs and reject new information that contradicts them, despite contrary evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decision fatigue</span> Process of decline in quality of decisions over time

In decision making and psychology, decision fatigue refers to the deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision making. It is now understood as one of the causes of irrational trade-offs in decision making. Decision fatigue may also lead to consumers making poor choices with their purchases.

In social psychology, the boomerang effect, also known as "reactance", refers to the unintended consequences of an attempt to persuade resulting in the adoption of an opposing position instead. It is sometimes also referred to as "the theory of psychological reactance", stating that attempts to restrict a person's freedom often produce an "anticonformity boomerang effect". In other words, the boomerang effect is a situation where people tend to pick the opposite of what something or someone is saying or doing because of how it is presented to them. Typically, the more aggressively a position is presented to someone, the more likely they are to adopt an opposing view.

Compassion fatigue (CF) is an evolving concept in the field of traumatology. The term has been used interchangeably with secondary traumatic stress (STS)s. Secondary traumatic stress is the term commonly employed in academic literature, although recent assessments have identified certain distinctions between compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress (STS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic</span> Aspect of viral outbreak

Media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic has varied by country, time period and media outlet. News media has simultaneously kept viewers informed about current events related to the pandemic, and contributed to misinformation or fake news.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media</span>

Social media became an important platform for interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic, coinciding with the onset of social distancing. According to a study conducted by Facebook's analytics department, messaging rates rose by over 50% during this period. Individuals confined to their homes utilized social media not only to maintain social connections but also as a source of entertainment to alleviate boredom. Concerns arose regarding the overreliance on social media for primary social interactions, particularly given the constraints imposed by the pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic</span> Psychological aspect of viral outbreak

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health of people across the globe. The pandemic has caused widespread anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. According to the UN health agency WHO, in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, prevalence of common mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, went up by more than 25 percent. The pandemic has damaged social relationships, trust in institutions and in other people, has caused changes in work and income, and has imposed a substantial burden of anxiety and worry on the population. Women and young people face the greatest risk of depression and anxiety. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic, "63 percent of young people reported experiencing substantial symptoms of anxiety and depression".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers</span>

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted healthcare workers physically and psychologically. Healthcare workers are more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection than the general population due to frequent contact with infected individuals. Healthcare workers have been required to work under stressful conditions without proper protective equipment, and make difficult decisions involving ethical implications. Health and social systems across the globe are struggling to cope. The situation is especially challenging in humanitarian, fragile and low-income country contexts, where health and social systems are already weak. Services to provide sexual and reproductive health care risk being sidelined, which will lead to higher maternal mortality and morbidity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doomscrolling</span> Compulsive consumption of large quantity of negative online news

Doomscrolling or doomsurfing is the act of spending an excessive amount of time reading large quantities of news, particularly negative news, on the web and social media. Doomscrolling can also be defined as the excessive consumption of short-form videos or social media content for an excessive period of time without stopping. The concept was coined around 2020, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pandemic fatigue</span> Psychological phenomenon

Pandemic fatigue is understood as a natural and expected reaction to sustained and unresolved adversity in people's everyday life. Those affected show symptoms of feeling burnt out and tired, while also expressing feelings of demotivation to engage in protection behaviors and seek COVID-19 related information as complacency, alienation and hopelessness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in popular culture</span> References to the COVID-19 pandemic in popular culture

The COVID-19 pandemic swept the world in the early months of 2020, causing massive economic and social disruption. In addition to the disease itself, populations have often dealt with lockdowns, shortages and pandemic fatigue, political and cultural turmoil. This has made the pandemic era a time of exceptional stress. The pandemic has driven some people to seek peaceful escapism in media, but others towards fictional pandemics as an alternate form of escapism.

Zoom fatigue is tiredness, worry, or burnout associated with the overuse of online platforms of communication, particularly videotelephony. The name derives from the cloud-based videoconferencing and online chat software Zoom, but the term can be used to refer to fatigue from other video conferencing platforms.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Gurr, Gwendolin; Metag, Julia (27 March 2021). "Examining Avoidance of Ongoing Political Issues in the News: A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Audience Issue Fatigue". International Journal of Communication. 15: 21. ISSN   1932-8036.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lee, Ae Ri; Son, Soo-Min; Kim, Kyung Kyu (1 February 2016). "Information and communication technology overload and social networking service fatigue: A stress perspective". Computers in Human Behavior. 55: 51–61. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.011. ISSN   0747-5632.
  3. 1 2 3 Dhir, Amandeep; Kaur, Puneet; Chen, Sufen; Pallesen, Ståle (1 October 2019). "Antecedents and consequences of social media fatigue". International Journal of Information Management. 48: 193–202. doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.05.021. hdl: 1956/22540 . ISSN   0268-4012. S2CID   198476114.
  4. 1 2 3 Lee, Sun Kyong; Lindsey, Nathan J.; Kim, Kyun Soo (1 October 2017). "The effects of news consumption via social media and news information overload on perceptions of journalistic norms and practices". Computers in Human Behavior. 75: 254–263. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.05.007. ISSN   0747-5632.
  5. ↑ Moeller, Susan D. (2016). Compassion fatigue : how the media sell disease, famine, war and death. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-138-17358-3. OCLC   1001612000.
  6. ↑ Vandenplas, Ruben; Truyens, Pauljan; Vis, Sarah; Picone, Ike (30 October 2021). "Tuning Out the News. A Cross-Media Perspective on News Avoidance Practices of Young News Users in Flanders During the COVID-19 Pandemic". Journalism Studies. 22 (16): 2197–2217. doi:10.1080/1461670X.2021.1990788. ISSN   1461-670X. S2CID   240320346 . Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  7. ↑ Mannell, Kate; Meese, James (5 January 2022). "From Doom-Scrolling to News Avoidance: Limiting News as a Wellbeing Strategy During COVID Lockdown". Journalism Studies. 23 (3): 302–319. doi:10.1080/1461670X.2021.2021105. ISSN   1461-670X. S2CID   245809592 . Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  8. 1 2 Agarwal, Dr Pragya (30 July 2018). "5 Ways To Overcome Online Social Media Fatigue For Mental Well-Being". Forbes. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  9. ↑ Subramanian, Dr. K.R. (May–June 2018). "Myth and Mystery of Shrinking Attention Span" (PDF). International Journal of Trend in Research and Development. 5 (3): 1.
  10. ↑ Buneviciene, I.; Bunevicius, R.; Bagdonas, S.; Bunevicius, A. (July 2021). "COVID-19 media fatigue: predictors of decreasing interest and avoidance of COVID-19–related news". Public Health. 196: 124–128. doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2021.05.024. PMC   8164337 . PMID   34192604.
  11. 1 2 3 Hartmann, Tilo (2009). Media choice : a theoretical and empirical overview. Routledge. ISBN   978-0-203-93865-2. OCLC   401768048.
  12. 1 2 Mukerjee, Subhayan; Yang, Tian (25 May 2020). "Choosing to Avoid? A Conjoint Experimental Study to Understand Selective Exposure and Avoidance on Social Media". Political Communication. 38 (3): 222–240. doi:10.1080/10584609.2020.1763531. ISSN   1058-4609. S2CID   219496842 . Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  13. ↑ Parmelee, John H.; Roman, Nataliya (September 2020). "Insta-echoes: Selective exposure and selective avoidance on Instagram". Telematics and Informatics. 52: 101432. doi:10.1016/j.tele.2020.101432. S2CID   218961908 . Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  14. 1 2 Riedl, René (6 December 2021). "On the stress potential of videoconferencing: definition and root causes of Zoom fatigue". Electronic Markets. 32 (1): 153–177. doi:10.1007/s12525-021-00501-3. ISSN   1422-8890. PMC   8645680 . PMID   35600914 . Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  15. ↑ Sheehan, Hannah (1 November 2021). "Zoom Fatigue: Symptoms, Causes, and Ways to Combat It". Fellow.app. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  16. ↑ Huggins, Blake (29 April 2021). "6 Tips to Beat Zoom Fatigue". The Best Schools. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
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