Recent research shows significant effects of the pandemic COVID-19 situation information in mass media on the population’s mental health. These effects have to be impartially assessed and thoroughly analyzed in order to prevent mental and psychosomatic diseases, maladjustment to restrictions caused by a lockdown. Social media platforms are among the most widely used sources of information in the world, the easy and inexpensive access to the internet and a large number of social networks make them the most effective ways to disseminate information. The problem is that this information may be truthful or fake. Mass media play a crucial role in people’s lives in regular situation and is especially significant in the situation of lockdown due to COVID-19 spreading. It is obvious that for complete understanding of people’s anxiety and unexplainable fear social surveys using standard psychological tools should be used, although special scales for evaluating pandemic effects on people’s lives have not been created yet. The authors emphasize the need to take into account qualitative analysis of the entire completeness of stress effects in a situation of pandemic (virtual threat and information stress, deprivation, self-isolation, loneliness, socio-economic stress) and suggest a means to prevent stress-associated mental and psychosomatic disorders. Copyright © 2021 by Academic Publishing House Researcher s.r.o.
Phenomena of loneliness and fear caused by the mass media threat in the situation of COVID-19 pandemic