Social Media Addiction during COVID-19-Mandated Physical Distancing: Relatedness Needs as Motives.

In the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, national lockdowns and stay-at-home orders were implemented by many countries to curb the rate of infection. An extended stay-at-home period can frustrate people's need for relatedness, with many turning to social media to interact with others in the outside world. However, social media use may be maladaptive due to its associations with social media addiction and psychosocial problems.

Social Capital-Accrual, Escape-From-Self, and Time-Displacement Effects of Internet Use During the COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Period: Prospective, Quantitative Survey Study.

Background: COVID-19 has spread like wildfire across the globe, prompting many governments to impose unprecedented stay-at-home orders to limit its transmission. During an extended stay-at-home period, individuals may engage in more online leisure activities. Internet use is a double-edged sword that may have both desirable and undesirable effects on psychological well-being, and this study sought to disentangle adaptive from maladaptive internet use amidst this unusual health crisis.

Maladaptive coping with the infodemic and sleep disturbance in the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 is caused by a novel virus with an unknown aetiology. People across the globe are dealing with not only a health crisis but also an 'infodemic', a term coined by the World Health Organization to refer to the avalanche of contradictory information that is arousing widespread confusion and anxiety. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of anxiety and sleep disturbance at the early stage of the pandemic, and unveil the information coping process underlying differential susceptibility to COVID-19 infection anxiety and sleep disturbance.