COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Patterns of Parent Media Use: The influence of parent media use profiles on parental mediation, technoference, and problematic media use
Holmgren HG, Booth MA, Ashby S, Coyne SM, Clifford BN and Davis E
Mothers play an important role in setting the overall media culture within the home. Research suggests that children model parental behavior in many ways, including in media use habits. The current study explores profiles or patterns of maternal media use and associations between these patterns and parenting behaviors surrounding media use and parent and child problematic media use two years later. In our sample of 268 mothers of young children in a large Mountain West city, latent profile analysis was utilized, and four distinct profiles of media users were identified. Results suggest that mothers in a low media use profile set limits around their child's media use and report low levels of both technoference and parent problematic media use. Conversely, mothers in a higher social use profile exhibit high levels of parent and child problematic media use compared to other profiles. We encourage mothers to be mindful users of media, remembering that their media use behaviors can impact the overall media use climate in the home.
The Growth of Problematic Media Use Over Early Childhood: Associations with Long-Term Social and Emotional Outcomes
Coyne SM, Shawcroft J, Holmgren H, Christensen-Duerden C, Ashby S, Rogers A, Reschke PJ, Barr R, Domoff S, Van Alfen M, Meldrum M and Porter CL
Problematic media use (PMU) tends to be related to significant social, emotional, and behavioral problems throughout life. Little research, however, has examined the development of PMU during early childhood, where media habits begin to form. The current longitudinal study examines the growth of PMU across early childhood (between 2.5 and 5.5 years of age) with a focus on predictors and outcomes (social, emotional, and parenting) of the intercept and slope of PMU over time. Participants ( = 269 children and their parents; 4.9% Asian American, 8.2% Black, 21% Hispanic or Latino, 63% White, 7% Mixed or Other race) completed questionnaires assessing PMU, media parenting, parental warmth and connection, and child social and emotional problems. Results indicated slight overall increases in PMU from ages 2.5 to 5.5. Emotional reactivity, aggression, and overall TV time predicted initial levels of PMU. Additionally, initial levels of PMU were related to social and emotional problems four years later. An increasing trajectory of PMU was associated with later aggression in childhood, even when controlling for initial levels of aggression. Implications for parents and prevention efforts aimed at reducing PMU are discussed.
The Trajectories of Online Mental Health Information Seeking: Modeling Search Behavior Before and After Completion of Self-report Screens
Lekkas D, Yom-Tov E, Heinz MV, Gyorda JA, Nguyen T, Barr PJ and Jacobson NC
There is an appreciable mental health treatment gap in the United States. Efforts to bridge this gap and improve resource accessibility have led to the provision of online, clinically-validated tools for mental health self-assessment. In theory, these screens serve as an invaluable component of information-seeking, representing the preparative and action-oriented stages of this process while altering or reinforcing the search content and language of individuals as they engage with information online. Accordingly, this work investigated the association of screen completion with mental health-related search behaviors. Three-year internet search histories from 7,572 Microsoft Bing users were paired with their respective depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or psychosis online screen completion and sociodemographic data available through Mental Health America. Data was transformed into network representations to model queries as discrete steps with probabilities and times-to-transition from one search type to another. Search data subsequent to screen completion was also modeled using Markov chains to simulate likelihood trajectories of different search types through time. Differences in querying dynamics relative to screen completion were observed, with searches involving treatment, diagnosis, suicidal ideation, and suicidal intent commonly emerging as the highest probability behavioral information seeking endpoints. Moreover, results pointed to the association of low risk states of psychopathology with transitions to extreme clinical outcomes (i.e., active suicidal intent). Future research is required to draw definitive conclusions regarding causal relationships between screens and search behavior.
The Cyborg Method: A Method to Identify Fraudulent Responses from Crowdsourced Data
Price M, Hidalgo JE, Kim JN, Legrand AC, Brier ZMF, van Stolk-Cooke K, Lansing AH and Contractor AA
Crowdsourcing is an essential data collection method for psychological research. Concerns about the validity and quality of crowdsourced data persist, however. A recent documented increase in the number of invalid responses within crowdsourced data has highlighted the need for quality control measures. Although a number of approaches are recommended, few have been empirically evaluated. The present study evaluated a Cyborg Method that used automated evaluation of participant meta-data and a review of short answer responses. Two samples were recruited - in the first, the Cyborg Method was applied after data collection to gauge the extent to which invalid responses were collected when quality controls were absent. In the second, the Cyborg Method was applied during data collection to determine if the method would proactively screen invalid responses. Results suggested that Cyborg Method identified a substantial portion of invalid responses and both automated and human evaluation components was necessary. Furthermore, the Cyborg Method could be applied proactively to screen invalid responses and substantially reduced the per participant cost of data collection. These results suggest that the Cyborg Method is a promising means by which to collect high quality crowdsourced data.
The new social landscape: Relationships among social media use, social skills, and offline friendships from age 10-18 years
Steinsbekk S, Bjørklund O, Valkenburg P, Nesi J and Wichstrøm L
Social media has created a new social landscape for adolescents. Knowledge is needed on how this landscape shapes adolescents' social skills and time spent with friends, as these outcomes are important to mental health and psychosocial functioning. Using five waves of biennially collected data from a birth cohort assessed throughout age 10-18 years (n = 812), we found that increased social media use predicted more time with friends offline but was unrelated to future changes in social skills. Age and sex did not moderate these associations but increased social media use predicted declined social skills among those high in social anxiety symptoms. The findings suggest that social media use may neither harm nor benefit the development of social skills and may promote, rather than displace, offline interaction with friends during adolescence. However, increased social media use may pose a risk for reduced social skills in socially anxious individuals.
Parents' Desire to Change Phone Use: Associations with Objective Smartphone Use and Feelings About Problematic Use and Distraction
McDaniel BT, Pater J, Cornet V, Mughal S, Reining L, Schaller A, Radesky J and Drouin M
We examined objective smartphone use (via a mobile sensing application) and self-reported desire to change phone use among a sample of 268 U.S. parents of infants. Using the Transtheoretical Stages of Change model as a conceptual foundation, we contextualized their attitudes and behaviors and explored how phone use and desire to change relate to perceptions of distraction and problematic phone use around their child. Latent profile analysis of parents' precontemplation, contemplation, and action scores revealed two classes-precontemplators (15%) and contemplators (85%). Contemplators-those considering or desiring change-showed more bedtime phone use and general social networking than precontemplors; however, there were no significant differences between groups on other objective use measures (e.g., total daily duration of phone use, phone use around child, etc.). Contemplators also showed greater perceptions of problematic use around their child and parenting distraction. Moreover, parents' problematic use and distraction were predictive of higher contemplation scores, even after controlling for demographic and objective phone use variables. Taken together, these results suggest that perceptions of phone use as problematic may be more important than actual phone habits, especially total phone use duration, for desire to change. Suggestions for future research and intervention are provided.
Exploring rumor behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic through an information processing perspective: The moderating role of critical thinking
Liu J, Liu X, Lai KH, Zhang X and Ma X
In the midst of the pervasive disruption caused by the proliferation of rumors, it is unclear how individuals react to such information. Guided by the SOR theory (Stimuli-Organism-Response), our study investigates the association between different information sources (stimuli), emotions experienced by individuals (organism), and resulting rumor behaviors such as sharing and refuting (response). Furthermore, we examine the moderating role of individual critical thinking in this process. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a study scenario, we collected questionnaire data from 4588 respondents. Our results reveal a large positive association between pandemic-related information and feelings of fear. Additionally, a medium negative correlation between fear and rumor sharing was observed while a moderate positive correlation between fear and rumor refuting was identified. Moreover, we found that individual critical thinking abilities can effectively moderate the relationship between fear and online COVID-19-related information and strengthen the link between fear and rumor sharing while weakening the link between fear and rumor refuting. Additionally, our study indicates that an individual's fear plays a mediating role in the relationship between information sources and rumor behavior. Our findings shed light on the information processing mechanisms underlying rumor behaviors and yield practical and policy implications for managing them.
Are we ready for hotel robots after the pandemic? A profile analysis
Binesh F and Baloglu S
COVID-19 has changed many aspects of the hospitality and tourism industry, including technology-oriented and contactless solutions. Despite the increasing number of service companies using robots on their premises, most of the previous attempts and practices of adoption have remained unsuccessful. Prior research hints that socioeconomic factors could influence the successful adoption of these emerging technologies. Nevertheless, these studies ignore the role of profile factors and assume a homogenous response to using robots in service operations during the pandemic. Based on the theory of diffusion of innovation and a sample of 525 participants, this study investigates the differences in customers' attitudes, their level of involvement, and optimism for service robots as well as their intentions to use service robots in the five main areas of hotel operations (front desk, concierge, housekeeping, room service, and food and beverage) based on five profile factors (age, gender, income level, education, and purpose of trip). MANOVA tests show significant differences in all variables based on demographic factors; male, younger, more educated, higher income, and leisure travelers show more positive attitudes, higher involvement, optimism, and intention to use service robots across various hotel departments. In particular, mean scores were found to be smaller for the traditionally human-oriented functional areas of the hotel operations. We also clustered the participants based on their level of comfort and optimism about using service robots in hotels. Given the rapid changes in the service industry and the increasing adoption of service robots, this paper adds a much-needed contribution to the ongoing research on service robots in the service industry by investigating the impact of profile factors on guests' behavior towards service robots.
Social media behaviors and symptoms of anxiety and depression. A four-wave cohort study from age 10-16 years
Steinsbekk S, Nesi J and Wichstrøm L
Concerns have been raised that social media use causes mental health problems in adolescents, but findings are mixed, and effects are typically small. The present inquiry is the first to measure diagnostically-defined symptoms of depression and anxiety, examining whether changes in social media behavior predict changes in levels of symptoms from age 10 to 16, and vice versa. We differentiate between activity related to one's own vs. others' social media content or pages (i.e., self-oriented: posting updates, photos vs other-oriented: liking, commenting).
The bright and dark sides of social media use during COVID-19 lockdown: Contrasting social media effects through social liability vs. social support
Cho H, Li P, Ngien A, Tan MG, Chen A and Nekmat E
There exist ongoing discussions regarding whether, when, or why heightened reliance on social media becomes benefits or drawbacks, especially in times of crisis. Using the concepts of social liability, social support, and cognitive appraisal theory, this study examines distinct theoretical pathways through which the relational use of social media has contrasting impacts on cognitive appraisals of and emotional responses to the COVID-19 lockdown. We collected online survey data from 494 social media users in the U.S. during the COVID-19 lockdown. The results based on structural equation modeling (SEM) showed double-edged social media effects. When social media use results in perceived social support, it has a favorable impact on coping appraisals of the COVID-19 lockdown. This, in turn, is associated with lower levels of negative affective responses, such as anger, anxiety, and loneliness. In contrast, when social media use results in increased social liability (i.e., obligation to provide support to others), it negatively impacts cognitive appraisals and affective responses. The study makes significant contributions by unpacking two distinct theoretical mechanisms underlying social media effects: particularly social liability which has been underexplored but was found to be an essential concept to explain the dualistic impact of social media.
How changing needs change technological practices during a crisis: An explanation using practice theory
Schlosser PG, Chung TR and Grover V
The COVID-19 pandemic as a global crisis has created an opportunity to examine the theoretical tenets of the technology as routine capability perspective, and its extensions. We argue that the pandemic acted as a crisis that shifted technology use patterns via changing daily routines, or patterns of what we practice, and how we communicate in the social context. Specifically, we focus on changes in human needs as the primary mechanism that mediate the impact of the pandemic crisis on changes in technology practices. We collected survey responses from 213 participants before COVID-19, and 447 after the rapid spread of COVID-19. Empirical results mostly confirmed our hypotheses, and revealed that the pandemic crisis created a significant shift in four practices: communication, browsing, information sourcing, and material sourcing. We also found that the human needs of autonomy and relatedness mediated this relationship between the pandemic crisis and technology practices. These findings provided support for our proposed mediating role of human needs in explaining how major shifts create technology change and extending the technology as routine capability perspective. We conclude with a discussion, implications, and directions for future researchers.
The assessment of presence and performance in an AR environment for motor imitation learning: A case-study on violinists
Campo A, Michałko A, Van Kerrebroeck B, Stajic B, Pokric M and Leman M
The acquisition of advanced gestures is a challenge in various domains of proficient sensorimotor performance. For example, orchestral violinists must move in sync with the lead violinist's gestures. To help train these gestures, an educational music play-back system was developed using a HoloLens 2 simulated AR environment and an avatar representation of the lead violinist. This study aimed to investigate the impact of using a 2D or 3D representation of the lead violinist's avatar on students' learning experience in the AR environment. To assess the learning outcome, the study employed a longitudinal experiment design, in which eleven participants practiced two pieces of music in four trials, evenly spaced over a month. Participants were asked to mimic the avatar's gestures as closely as possible when it came to using the bow, including bowing, articulations, and dynamics. The study compared the similarities between the avatar's gestures and those of the participants at the biomechanical level, using motion capture measurements, as well as the smoothness of the participants' movements. Additionally, presence and perceived difficulty were assessed using questionnaires. The results suggest that using a 3D representation of the avatar leads to better gesture resemblance and a higher experience of presence compared to a 2D representation. The 2D representation, however, showed a learning effect, but this was not observed in the 3D condition. The findings suggest that the 3D condition benefits from stereoscopic information that enhances spatial cognition, making it more effective in relation to sensorimotor performance. Overall, the 3D condition had a greater impact on performance than on learning. This work concludes with recommendations for future efforts directed towards AR-based advanced gesture training to address the challenges related to measurement methodology and participants' feedback on the AR application.
Exploring the impact of sentiment on multi-dimensional information dissemination using COVID-19 data in China
Luo H, Meng X, Zhao Y and Cai M
The outbreak of information epidemic in crisis events, with the channel effect of social media, has brought severe challenges to global public health. Combining information, users and environment, understanding how emotional information spreads on social media plays a vital role in public opinion governance and affective comfort, preventing mass incidents and stabilizing the network order. Therefore, from the perspective of the information ecology and elaboration likelihood model (ELM), this study conducted a comparative analysis based on two large-scale datasets related to COVID-19 to explore the influence mechanism of sentiment on the forwarding volume, spreading depth and network influence of information dissemination. Based on machine learning and social network methods, topics, sentiments, and network variables are extracted from large-scale text data, and the dissemination characteristics and evolution rules of online public opinions in crisis events are further analyzed. The results show that negative sentiment positively affects the volume, depth, and influence compared with positive sentiment. In addition, information characteristics such as richness, authority, and topic influence moderate the relationship between sentiment and information dissemination. Therefore, the research can build a more comprehensive connection between the emotional reaction of network users and information dissemination and analyze the internal characteristics and evolution trend of online public opinion. Then it can help sentiment management and information release strategy when emergencies occur.
Examining thematic and emotional differences across Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube: The case of COVID-19 vaccine side effects
Kwon S and Park A
Social media discourse has become a key data source for understanding the public's perception of, and sentiments during a public health crisis. However, given the different niches which platforms occupy in terms of information exchange, reliance on a single platform would provide an incomplete picture of public opinions. Based on the schema theory, this study suggests a 'social media platform schema' to indicate users' different expectations based on previous usages of platform and argues that a platform's distinct characteristics foster distinct platform schema and, in turn, distinct nature of information. We analyzed COVID-19 vaccine side effect-related discussions from Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube, each of which represents a different type of the platform, and found thematic and emotional differences across platforms. Thematic analysis using -means clustering algorithm identified seven clusters in each platform. To computationally group and contrast thematic clusters across platforms, we employed modularity analysis using the Louvain algorithm to determine a semantic network structure based on themes. We also observed differences in emotional contexts across platforms. Theoretical and public health implications are then discussed.
Dialogic communication on local government social media during the first wave of COVID-19: Evidence from the health commissions of prefecture-level cities in China
Chen Q, Zhang Y, Liu H, Zhang W and Evans R
Although some scholars have explored the level and determinants of Dialogic Communication on Government Social Media (DCGSM), none have conducted their studies in the context of public crisis. The current study contributes to the understanding on DCGSM by 16,822 posts crawled from the official Sina Weibo accounts of 104 Chinese health commissions in prefecture-level cities during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that Chinese local government agencies have great variations in their DCGSM during the pandemic and the overall performance is poor. Furthermore, Chinese local governments prefer to conserve visitors and generate return visits, rather than dialogic loops development and the usefulness of information enhancement. The findings suggest that both public pressure and peer pressure contribute to the DCGSM of Chinese local governments during the public health crisis. In addition, the effect of public pressure is stronger than that of the peer pressure, indicating that local government agencies have experienced more demand-pull DCGSM.
Breaking the chain with individual gain? Investigating the moral intensity of COVID-19 digital contact tracing
Zabel S, Schlaile MP and Otto S
During the COVID-19 pandemic, contact tracing apps such as the German Corona-Warning-App (CWA) were introduced to facilitate contact tracing of infected individuals with the aim of breaking chains of infection. Therefore, using a contact tracing app is beneficial to society as a whole. Even though this is a good cause, the rather reluctant use of the CWA in the beginning indicated that the pains (e.g., privacy concerns) obviously outweighed the gains (helping others) at the level of the individual user. Thus, in order to identify what lies behind the gain of this app and how it can be promoted, we were interested in the individual's moral perspective (helping others) on the app. We expected a positive relation between CWA download and moral intensity derived from (i) the magnitude or seriousness of consequences, (ii) social norms about app use, (iii) the individual proximity to COVID-19 cases, and (iv) the probability of the app's positive effect. Using a heterogeneous German sample of  = 1,454, we found a strong influence of moral intensity on app download. Furthermore, a manipulation of moral intensity among non-users led to a higher number of downloads in a follow-up study ( = 662) as compared to the population. Our results show possibilities to enhance the adoption of contact tracing apps and potentially other apps for the common good in the population.
Analysis of individual characteristics influencing user polarization in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy
Xie L, Wang D and Ma F
During the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine hesitancy proved to be a major obstacle in efforts to control and mitigate the negative consequences of COVID-19. This study centered on the degree of polarization on social media about vaccine use and contributing factors to vaccine hesitancy among social media users. Examining the discussion about COVID-19 vaccine on the Weibo platform, a relatively comprehensive system of user features was constructed based on psychological theories and models such as the curiosity-drive theory and the big five model of personality. Then machine learning methods were used to explore the paramount impacting factors that led users into polarization. Findings revealed that factors reflecting the activity and effectiveness of social media use promoted user polarization. In contrast, features reflecting users' information processing ability and personal qualities had a negative impact on polarization. This study hopes to help healthcare organizations and governments understand and curb social media polarization around vaccine development in the face of future surges of pandemics.
Community-oriented Motivational Interviewing (MI): A novel framework extending MI to address COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in online social media platforms
Scales D, Gorman JM, DiCaprio P, Hurth L, Radhakrishnan M, Windham S, Akunne A, Florman J, Leininger L and Starks TJ
Researchers have linked circulating misinformation in online platforms to low COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Two disparate literatures provide relevant initial guidance to address the problem. Motivational Interviewing (MI) effectively reduces vaccine hesitancy in clinical environments; meanwhile, social scientists note inoculation, rebuttal, and appeals to accuracy are persuasive in digital contexts. A tension is inherent in these approaches. MI in digital forums may induce an 'illusory truth effect,' wherein falsehoods appear more accurate through repetition. Yet, rebutting misinformation directly may elicit backfire or reactance effects, motivating some to amplify their presentation of misinformation. Building on Identity Process Theory, we propose a theoretical framework for conducting MI-based infodemiology interventions among digital communities that conceptualizes the community in toto (rather than one specific person) as the unit of focus. Case examples from interventions on public Facebook posts illustrate three processes unique to such interventions: 1) Navigating tension between addressing commenters and "bystanders"; 2) Activating pro-vaccine bystanders; and 3) Reframing uncertainty or information individuals might find concerning or threatening according to implied collective values. This paper suggests community-oriented MI can maximize persuasive effects on bystanders while minimizing potential reactance from those with committed beliefs, thereby guiding community-oriented public health messaging interventions enacted in digital environments.
Impacts of video communication on psychological well-being and cosmetic surgery acceptance
Chen Y and Zhou S
Video communication via platforms such as Zoom has been routinely used as a communication tool during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientific evidence has suggested that constant video communication can have detrimental consequences such as "Zoom fatigue", inhibiting collaboration, and new information exchange. The current study focuses on the effects of using video communication technology on self-esteem, affect, and image perception under the framework of objective self-awareness (OSA). We implemented a survey among a large sample of video communication users. The results revealed a nuanced picture of OSA with video communication: merely seeing self-video and the time of using video communication won't activate OSA. However, being a listener and a part of the audience in video communication activated OSA. In turn, OSA significantly increased the attention paid to oneself, leading to critical self-evaluation, negative affect, and a greater level of cosmetic surgery acceptance. Moreover, OSA reduced the level of self-esteem. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Parasocial relationship in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: A moderated mediation model of digital media exposure on political trust among Chinese young people
Liu PL
How to retain people's trust in the government becomes a critical topic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research on media use and government public relations has proliferated in the past several decades. However, there is a paucity of research investigating political trust in the context of a public health crisis as a communicative process from a relational perspective. This study examined collectivism and parasocial relationships as two potential mechanisms linking digital media exposure to political trust in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 465 Chinese young adults aged between 18 and 35 responded to anonymous questionnaires regarding digital media exposure to Nanshan Zhong, collectivism, parasocial relationships, COVID-19 political trust, and general political trust. The results suggested that the formation of parasocial relationships with Nanshan Zhong mediated the impact of digital media exposure on COVID-19 political trust and general political trust, respectively. Meanwhile, the indirect associations were moderated by collectivism. Through repeated exposure to news of Nanshan Zhong on multiple digital media, individuals with higher levels of collectivism were more likely to develop parasocial relationships with him, which subsequently resulted in increased political trust.
Screen media exposure and behavioral adjustment in early childhood during and after COVID-19 home lockdown periods
Gueron-Sela N, Shalev I, Gordon-Hacker A, Egotubov A and Barr R
There is ample evidence that young children's screen media use has sharply increased since the outbreak of the novel 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, the long-term impact of these changes on children's adjustment is currently unclear. The goals of the current study were to assess longitudinal trajectories of young children's screen media exposure through a series of national COVID-19 home lockdowns and to examine the predictive associations between different aspects of media exposure and post-lockdown behavioral adjustment. Data were collected at four timepoints during and after home lockdown periods in Israel. Longitudinal data measuring various aspects of media use, behavioral conduct and emotional problems were gathered from a sample of 313 Israeli children (54% females) between the ages two to five years (age at T1 = 3.6), by surveying their mothers at 5 points in time. Child overall screen time use, exposure to background television, use of media to regulate child distress and maternal mobile device use all changed throughout the lockdown periods. Moreover, during lockdowns children's behavior problems were concurrently and positively correlated with screen time, use of media to regulate child distress, and exposure to background television. However, these were not longitudinally related to child behavior problems in the post-lockdown period. Possible implications for family media use during a public health crisis are discussed.
Fighting rumors to fight COVID-19: Investigating rumor belief and sharing on social media during the pandemic
Guo F, Zhou A, Zhang X, Xu X and Liu X
The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a significant health threat, influenced information-related behaviors and induced increased rumor-sharing behaviors on social media. Fighting COVID-19 thus entails the need to fight the rumors as well, providing a strong motivation to explore rumor-related behavior during this extraordinary period. From the perspective of information acquisition, we predicted that information acquisition from social and traditional media would interactively influence rumor-related decisions (i.e., rumor belief and sharing) and that critical thinking would shape this relationship. Through a survey of 2424 individuals who used social media during the pandemic, we found that information acquisition from social media was negatively related to rumor sharing and that rumor belief mediated this relationship. Meanwhile, information acquisition from traditional media weakened the negative effect of information acquisition from social media on rumor belief, and critical thinking alleviated the positive effect of rumor belief on rumor sharing. This study contributes to the literature by explaining the diffusion of COVID-19 rumors on social media from an information perspective and revealing how different information sources and thinking styles come into conflict in rumor decisions.
Experiencing herd immunity in virtual reality increases COVID-19 vaccination intention: Evidence from a large-scale field intervention study
Plechatá A, Vandeweerdt C, Atchapero M, Luong T, Holz C, Betsch C, Dietermann B, Schultka Y, Böhm R and Makransky G
This study investigates the impact of an immersive virtual reality (VR) simulation of herd immunity on vaccination intentions and its potential underlying mechanisms. In this preregistered field study,  = 654 participants were randomly assigned to one of the three VR conditions: (1) Gamified Herd Immunity; (2) Gamified Herd Immunity + Empathy (with additional narrative elements); (3) Control (gamified with no vaccination-related content). In the Gamified Herd Immunity simulation, participants embodied a vulnerable person and navigated a wedding venue trying to avoid getting infected. A total of 455 participants with below maximum intentions to take a novel vaccine and without severe cybersickness were analyzed. The Gamified Herd Immunity + Empathy and the Gamified Herd Immunity conditions increased vaccination intentions by 6.68 and 7.06 points on a 0-100 scale, respectively, compared to 1.91 for the Control condition. The Gamified Herd Immunity + Empathy condition enhanced empathy significantly more than the Gamified Herd Immunity condition but did not result in higher vaccination intentions. Experienced presence was related to the change in vaccination intentions. The results suggest that VR vaccination communication can effectively increase vaccination intentions; the effect is not solely due to the technological novelty and does not depend on empathy.
Children's excessive digital media use, mental health problems and the protective role of parenting during COVID-19
Shutzman B and Gershy N
COVID-19's outbreak in March 2020 and the social distancing measures that followed it changed the lives of children worldwide. Studies assessing the pandemic's implications for children have reported an alarming increase in the use of digital media (DM) and warned of its adverse impacts on children's functioning and development. The current study aimed to assess the relationship between excessive and problematic DM use and emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning among Israeli adolescents during COVID-19 and to identify adolescents at elevated risk of developing problematic DM use. Three hundred forty-seven Israeli parent-child dyads ( = 11.81,  = 1.41) separately completed measures assessing children's DM use (time and addiction), functioning (academic, social, emotional, and behavioral), behavioral dysregulation, and the parents' parenting practices. The results showed that DM addiction, but not DM use, was related to children's emotional, behavioral, and academic difficulties. Moreover, the results indicated that negative parenting and behavioral dysregulation increased the risk of DM addiction, which in turn increased emotional, behavioral, and academic difficulties. The results underscored parents' role in preventing problematic DM use and highlighted the need to treat DM use and problematic DM use as distinct constructs.
How new ways of working during COVID-19 affect employee well-being via technostress, need for recovery, and work engagement
Andrulli R and Gerards R
COVID-19 led to a surge in employees experiencing New Ways of Working (NWW), as many had to work from home supported by ICT. This paper studies how experiencing NWW during COVID-19 affected job-related affective well-being (JAWS) for a sample of employees of the Dutch working population. Hypotheses are tested using Preacher and Hayes' (Behav Res Methods 40 (3):879-891, 2008) bootstrap method, including technostress, need for recovery and work engagement as serial mediators. The results show that higher levels of NWW relate to higher JAWS, to more feelings of positive well-being (PAWS), and less feelings of negative well-being (NAWS). Much of these relations is indirect, via reduced technostress and need for recovery, and increased work engagement. Distinguishing the separate facets of NWW and their relations to PAWS/NAWS, the results show that NWW facets management of output, access to colleagues and access to information directly relate to less negative well-being. However, as the NWW facet time- and location-independent work negatively relates to feelings of positive well-being, NWW as a bundle of facets is not a set-and-forget strategy. Therefore, this study recommends that NWW be supplemented with regular monitoring of employees' well-being, technostress, need for recovery and work engagement.
Portugal AM, Hendry A, Smith TJ and Bedford R
The recent increase in children's use of digital media, both TV and touchscreen devices (e.g., tablets and smartphones), has been associated with developmental differences in Executive Functions (EF). It has been hypothesised that early exposure to attention-commanding and contingent stimulation provided by touchscreens may increase reliance on bottom-up perceptual processes and limit the opportunity for practice of voluntary (i.e., top-down) attention leading to differences in EF. This study tests the concurrent and longitudinal associations between touchscreen use (high use, HU ≥ 15 min/day; low use, LU < 15 min/day), and two components of EF (working-memory/cognitive-flexibility, and impulse/self-control), building explicitly on recent developmental models that point to a bidimensional structure of EF during toddlerhood and pre-school years. A longitudinal sample of 46 3.5-year-olds (23 girls) was tested on a battery of lab-based measures and matched at 12 months on a range of background variables including temperament. Touchscreen HU showed significantly reduced performance in lab-based Working Memory/Cognitive Flexibility, although this became non-significant when controlling for background TV. Impulse/Self-control was not significantly associated with touchscreen use but was negatively associated with non-child-directed television. Our results provide partial support for the hypothesis that using touchscreen devices might reduce capacity for top-down behaviour control, and indicate that broader media environment may be implicated in early executive function development. However, it may also be the case that individuals who are predisposed towards exogenous stimulation are more drawn to screen use. Future studies are needed to replicate findings, demonstrate causality, and investigate bidirectionality.
Determinants of the digital outcome divide in E-learning between rural and urban students: Empirical evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic based on capital theory
Zhao L, Cao C, Li Y and Li Y
Digital outcome divide, the inequality of the outcomes of exploiting and benefitting from the ICT access and usage, has been raised as a severe concern of the e-learning practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study drew on capital theory and related literature and conducted a survey of 492 Chinese middle school students to explore: (1) whether a digital outcome divide exists between rural and urban students under the e-learning condition during the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) if it does, how does students' every form of capital impact the digital outcome divide. Our results revealed several important findings. First, we confirmed the existence of the digital outcome divide between rural and urban students, as rural students reported lower levels of behavioral engagement in e-learning courses compared to their urban peers. Second, we found that differences exist between rural and urban students in habitus (i.e., intrinsic motivation) and forms of capital, including cultural (i.e., e-learning self-efficacy) and social capital (i.e., parental support and teacher support), which are the main causes of the digital outcome divide. Third, a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis further confirmed that those factors could explain the major parts of the digital outcome divide between urban and rural students and that e-learning self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and parental support were the most dominant factors contributing to the rural-urban digital outcome divide in the e-learning context. Our study provides several important theoretical and managerial implications for researchers and educators.
Might insecurity and use of ICT enhance internet addiction and exhaust people? A study in two European countries during emergency remote working
Ghislieri C, Dolce V, Sanseverino D, Wodociag S, Vonthron AM, Vayre É, Giunchi M and Molino M
Facing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, we have witnessed a strong recourse to generalised lockdowns and to the deployment of remote working. These emergency measures have also thrown employers and employees into uncertainty regarding the present and future existence of their job. The present study aimed to examine the role of job insecurity and job demands in non-working hours through technologies on emotional exhaustion mediated by Internet addiction. A total of 999 remote workers, 501 of whom live in France and 498 in Italy, completed a self-report questionnaire during the first lockdown. Results suggest that both job insecurity and the requests to use technology for work purposes during non-work time exacerbate emotional exhaustion through the mediation of Internet Addiction. Limitations, future perspectives, and implications for management are discussed.
Designing a remote professional development course to support teacher customization in science
Bichler S, Gerard L, Bradford A and Linn MC
This study reports on the design, implementation, and impact of a remote professional development (PD) course for secondary school teachers who were transitioning to remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. We designed technology innovations to strengthen the previously successful in-person course. The innovations support teachers to customize an instructional unit by setting and revising goals based on evidence from their students' prior work on the unit. A Curriculum Visualizer makes the pedagogy of the unit visible and guides planning for customization. Carefully curated small group activities using Zoom breakout rooms ensure that each teacher could share their thoughts, ideas, and impressions with other teachers. Participants were 23 science teachers from 12 different schools in a western U.S. state. We developed rubrics to code customization goals, plans, and moves using bottom-up methods and iterative refinement. Reflections on student work and use of the Curriculum Visualizer enabled teachers to set and refine customization goals and make evidence-based and pedagogy-aligned customization decisions that enhanced the interactive learning opportunities for their students. Our results reinforce the C-b model proposed by Sailer et al. (this issue) by illustrating the value of using technology to support collaborative, interactive PD activities.
Emotions in the time of coronavirus: Antecedents of digital and social media use among Millennials
Beaudoin CE and Hong T
Increasingly, people are turning to digital and social media to address health threats. While research has commonly investigated the psychosocial antecedents of digital health information seeking behavior (digital HISB) and social media use (SMU), there has been limited research on the independent effects of emotions and no research on the interactive effects of emotions. In the context of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, this study investigates the affective, personal relevance, and socio-demographic antecedents of digital HISB and SMU, using data from an online survey of U.S. Millennials (N = 1037) in April-May 2020. Linear regression results show the effects of socio-demographic and personal relevance factors. For the independent effects of emotions, fear and sadness were associated with digital HISB; fear, joy, and disgust were associated with high-informational SMU; and joy and disgust were associated with low-informational SMU. Three interactive effects of discrete negative emotions suggest that an increase in one emotion can amplify the effect of another emotion on a measure of digital and social media use. In the fourth interaction of two negative emotions with strong biological regulatory processes, there is evidence that an increase in one emotion can diminish the effect of another emotion. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.