The Impact of COVID-19-Related Onlinenetworking Sites Use on Wellness: Insights from a34-Wave Longitudinal Study

The paper investigates the consequences of COVID-19-relatedonline media on indivudual’s wellfare a longitudinal analysis of 34 wavesof data from a representative Austrian panel. Focusing on both betweenpersoncorrelations and individual changes, the study explores how varyinglevels of engagement with COVID-19 content—via reading, liking, sharing,and posting. Between-person analyses show that increased engagementwith COVID-19 content is linked to reduced wellness, particularly highernegative effects, while individual effects remain small and statisticallyinsignificant. Although some statistically significant individual changesare observed—such as reduced positive affect from reading COVID-19content and increased negative affect from sharing—it is concluded thatthese effects are minor and not practically meaningful. Notably, thestudy finds that posting COVID-19-related content slightly increasesboth positive and negative effects, with more negative effects observedfor Generation Z. Communication channels also show varying impacts,with Twitter and YouTube associated with more negative outcomes thanFacebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Overall, the findings suggest thatthe effect of COVID-19-related online networking sites engagement onwellness is limited, with factors like physical health and exercise exertinga more substantial influence. The study highlights the importance ofdistinguishing between different online networking sites activities andchannels when assessing their effects on mental health.