Abstract

This study investigates the degree of news avoidance during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. Based on two panel surveys conducted in the period April–June 2020, this study shows that the increased presence of this behavior, can be explained by negative emotions and feelings the news causes by citizens. Moreover, news avoidance indeed has a positive effect on perceived well-being. These findings point to an acting balance for individual news consumers. In a pandemic such as Covid-19 news consumers need to be informed, but avoiding news is sometimes necessary to stay mentally healthy.

中文翻译：

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Covid-19 危机期间的新闻回避：了解信息过载

摘要

这项研究调查了在荷兰 Covid-19 大流行的头几个月内回避新闻的程度。根据 2020 年 4 月至 6 月期间进行的两项小组调查，该研究表明，这种行为的增加可以用新闻引起的负面情绪和情绪来解释。此外，新闻回避确实对感知幸福感有积极影响。这些发现表明个人新闻消费者的行为平衡。在诸如 Covid-19 之类的大流行中，需要通知消费者，但有时需要避免新闻以保持心理健康。