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Media consumption during COVID-19 and its impact on psychological well-being

Introduction: Media have never been as essential as it has become during the time of pandemic. Every information related to disease, prevention, and precaution was on media. Since most of the people confined to their homes, they used media not only to get the information about pandemic but also used media as companion, which enhanced the overall consumption of media significantly. This study aims to assess the changed consumption pattern of media in Indian population before and during the pandemic and its relation to the psychological well-being. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional web-based survey. Four hundred and five respondents participated in it. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: It was found that media consumption pattern and duration both have changed during the pandemic. There was a significant difference between before and after usage of all types of media. There was also significant difference for viewing media category in demographic subgroups, age (P = 0.000), marital status (P = 0.000), occupation (P = 0.000), and place of living (P = 0.036). Females (odds ratio [OR] =2.045, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.305, 3.203) and retired (OR = 0.039, 95% CI: 0.003, 0.470) were significantly associated with poor mental well-being. Respondents consumed media for sometimes (OR = 2.045, 95% CI: 1.557, 4.012) and frequently (OR = 4.946, 95% CI: 1.995, 12.264) were also associated with poor mental well-being. Conclusion: The study demonstrates the existence of poor mental well-being among women and retires more. It also demonstrates that people who preferred watching news more during the pandemic had the chance of suffering from poor mental well-being.