The Media, Covid-19 and…
2020 has seen one of the largest health concerns in the UK. Let’s explore the media, covid-19 and…
Coronavirus has put immense pressure on our hospitals, our economy and our mental health as we digested the scattered and inconsistent messages shared by news media.
The challenges Covid-19 has presented are, to some degree, unfathomable. It is this however that inspires this blog post, to delve into the news medias representation of multifaceted disease and the specific impact this had had on health and wellbeing.
Key Takeaways:
o News media and the increment of fear
o News media and misinformation
o News media and community
Coronavirus, and specifically the lockdowns it has enforced, hit the nation like a tsunami.
In a matter of hour’s the entire world looked different and right from the get-go there was a lack of clarity about what you could and couldn’t do.
A brief look at UN Sustainable Development:
The UN sustainable development goal ranks health and wellbeing 3rd.
The plan, focused primarily on increasing life expectancy and reducing ‘common killers’ specifically within child and maternal mortality in the midst of the pandemic faced a shift in focus.
They mention a ‘critical need for preparedness’ in terms of health and mental health with the offer of guidance and advice ‘for people to look after their mental health’.
During the pandemic the news began to frame our society in such a way that split it into 4 categories:
1. Front line NHS workers
2. Key workers/Essential workers
3. The elderly
4. The rest
We were encouraged to praise the hard-working front-line staff, ringing bells and bashing pots and pans together on the streets. Citizen journalism ensured this lovely gesture caught media attention. And while this could be considered a light in the dark there is a risk of making ‘the rest’ –those who do not work on the front line- feel like their problems are minuscule in comparison.
In a report by the BBC, it was mentioned that there was a significant drop in reports to mental health services in the early stages of the pandemic. And we know from previous mental health research that the effects rise in times of distress and disaster.
Douglas et al said “in times of pandemic, as in disasters, there is an increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety’.
In ‘normal’ situations any degree of uncertainty can make us feel anxious, stressed and on edge so when we consider the severity of Covid these effects are heightened.
Personally, I can count on one hand the number of people I know who have added Citalopram (an anti-depressant) to their prescription, for the first time, or upped their usual dose.
The isolation, from family, friends and routine, that lockdown demands is harmful to the mental health of even the strongest.
In a report carried out this year (2020) by Shatla et al it was found that
“1,921 [people who responded to a questionnaire] reported public concerns included disturbed lifestyle, getting self or family member infected, loss job or part of income, difficult access to routine health care, and 55.8% reported negative impact on their mental health.”
But there is more to consider than the guidelines set by the government and health officials. As a society heavily reliant on social and news media their influence must also be considered.
This blog will analyse how the media coped with Covid-19 and another factor such as; the increment of fear and the forming of digital communities.
Let’s Begin.
The media, Covid-19 and…
Headlines + Fear:
Headlines shared by The Guardian and the Telegraph speak to the public concern for Britain’s ‘mental health crisis’ expressing fears for ‘an epidemic of depression and anxiety’ in the wake of the pandemic.
From the Guardian article, author Polly Waite stated that there has been a 35% increase in children who meet the threshold for clinical diagnosis.
It appears that the intersection between Covid-19 and mental health when covered by news media is incredibly sombre; sharing concerns for the general well-being for the public as we approach winter and punctuating these points with daunting statistics like the one above. Many have commented on platforms such as Facebook during this time, tired of the overwhelmingly negative news; accusing the news media of scaremongering.
It is hard to decipher whether these articles are an example of scaremongering due to the abundance of information out there — each bit conflicting with the last. The cause is more likely to be a general lack of understanding.
Beyond this, it is also poignant to say that the role of the news media within this pandemic is to keep the public up to date and in times like these the volume of news is high and the rate of misinformation; even more so.
Misinformation:
The role of misinformation in increasing the cases of poor mental health in a time of crisis is overwhelming.
It has been seen frequently since Covid-19 emerged.
Prime examples focused on how to ‘cure’ or ‘prevent’ covid-19 from, the likes of drinking water frequently (every 5 minutes) in order to flush it out of your system to ingesting cleaning products.
The presence of misinformation is troubling particularly within a time of public unrest.
As the virus became more predominant it the lack of understanding became apparent. The news media scrambled for breaking news with regard to solutions; how to protect individuals and their loved ones but in many cases these ‘solutions’ bared no truth.
Many of these false claims stem from a place of desperation. In some cases elite sources would share the latest cure they heard and from here it would spread like wildfire.
Some scrutiny surrounding the news media’s intentions have arisen amongst their readers, believing the striking headlines and dire statistics to be a method of scaremongering which when analysing the root of news values and newsworthiness have merit.
As offered by Galtung and Ruge we know that bad news sells, and the effectiveness of human interest is second-to-none.
In this Covid-19 crisis all of these values and more can be found in the way that it is being broadcasted. However, it has been through the portrayal of the virus by real people whether that be videos shared on social media these individual accounts have been vital to showing the public just how beastly this disease is.
Community:
The final focus this blog will explore is the medias role in creating and maintaining a sense of community.
There was a new focus on overcoming the physical boundaries through utlizing online platforms such as Zoom and House Party to close the geographical distance we all felt intensely. The space between one bubble and the next was no longer as far as from one country to another but as close as from one road to the next.
Pieh et al (2020) looked specifically at the impact of covid-19 upon people in varying marital statuses and the health of their relationships and how this altered their experiences of the lockdown.
‘the lockdown is a challenge especially for those with poor relationship quality.’ ‘it underlies the fact that not only but especially in times like this, the choice of partner should be carefully considered.’
Although I am looking at the wider impact on mental health and how the news media dealt with this, the research above is vital to understanding how this has impacted individuals more generally whilst also highlighting the importance of having people around us.
As quickly as the initial lockdown occurred the media became all consumed with statistics and new-found rules and regulations.
The influence of blogs and platforms such as BuzzFeed who started to share tips to survive the lockdown mentally caused a domino effect.
This was the first break in the media trying to ‘fix’ everything.
These reports were focused on trying to ease our experience of the situation rather than finding an instant solution.
And then came articles from BBC. Following the trend of sharing things to do in lockdown but also featuring some elite sources to remind the world that even the elites of the world are going through the same experience.
In the same way that the media encouraged us all to cheer for NHS workers, every Thursday, the news media began to share hope in the form of things to make the time pass.
There was also a focus on those who saw lockdown as a ‘blessing’, an opportunity to pick up hobbies they never had time for and to really focus on themselves. It was a little bit of light in the media storm and distracted many from the crushing unemployment/redundancy statistics and the declining economy.
I know myself that although the lockdown stripped me of all the ‘normal’ university experiences for my final year it reconnected me with a love of running. I was able to reconnect with family through spending time with my mum and watch my little brothers continue to grow.
As McLuhan explains, and the role of social media during Covid-19 exemplifies, we are living in a bustling global village.
The term global village describes people who are interconnected through new media technologies.
When theorised Marshall McLuhan was describing radio and television however today we are faced with an a-ray of options to overcome geographical boundaries.
The increased use of platforms like Zoom for: education, pub quizzes and group movie streaming sessions just highlights this. Personally, I feel that in many ways the lockdown presented me with more opportunities to be social as I valued keeping a consistant connection with my work team and university friends.
Despite all of the anger towards the news media with regard to the ‘scaremongering’ and the overwhelming booming governmental voice I would argue that it’s redemption is found in the efforts made to ensure the public has access to:
- New things to do
- Contact details for support
- Relatable posts, and signs of camaraderie, from elites
- Frequent updates even if they aren’t always what we want to hear
The Role of Civilian Journalism:
Other than looking at the way the media (news and social) has handled the pandemic I also wanted to briefly look at the importance of civilian journalism in this particular event.
Civilian journalism is something we have seen for an incredibly long time. It is a powerful way of seeing an event unfold through the eyes of the people there. It is often used to corroborate happenings, to understand how the event began to unfold and perhaps even identify those involved.
We have seen it used in the London Bridge terrorist attack (2017) and the Arab Spring (2011) where iphone footage and Twitter posts highlighted technology as an accelerant.
In the case of London Bridge it enabled the world to see the horrors and help the police with their investigation.
The use of the internet during the Arab Spring gave courage to the people and encouraged them to speak out in a time of political strain.
In terms of covid-19 it was used to debunk myths, capture the severity and to draw attention away from headlines and remind the public that this is a real thing happening to real people.
This does argue that perhaps the media coverage of Covid-19 became too focused on statistics and advice from health or government official’s as shown in the following examples.
In the picture above 3 out of the 4 articles featured on the Coronavirus homepage of the BBC all concern the medical or statistical elements of the virus. The one remaining taking on the personal and professional challenges people are facing as a result.
There is an absence of humility.
Sometimes, in times as daunting as these, we need to hear from people just like ourselves. The role of citizen journalism here is vital. In the same way that this kind of journalism can debunk any misinformation being spread by the news media it can also help to shed light on the situation and convince any whom previously questioned its existence.
To Summarise…
The whirlwind that has been, and is, Covid-19 has taken us all by storm and that includes the news media.
We have heavily relied on information and the news media gave that too us in full force, even if at times it was unwelcomed, daunting and in some cases incorrect.
In truth, the situation of Covid-19 and how it has been handled is a difficult one to argue.
Although it is easy enough for any one of us to say we would have handled it differently or better this is something no one had encountered until it surfaced and the media has reflected that.
It is hard to decipher whether media’s representation and handling of the pandemic and lockdown is the root of the issue, like most things I believe it has a part in it, however it’s role in keeping us all connected; reminding us that all is not lost — that there are things we can do to keep busy is vital in our recovery.
